HEROES?! aandres.com
HEROES?! 33 portraits by Michael Pfister for AAndres
Michael Pfister
HEROES?!
33 extraordinary, controversial and celebrated characters of the 20th century in a unique art and design special edition
A very special shelf system, awarded with the famous red dot design award 2011, is now released in an extraordinary special edition: Exclusively for AAndres, the Munich artist Michael Pfister provided a completely new interpretation of 33 famous, controversial and celebrated characters of the 20th century. In a perfect unit with AAndres‘ Eileen33 shelf system, the portraits are produced in a unique edition. The motives are printed in museum standard quality directly from the original onto an aluminum board used as the shelf system’s back wall. The Eileen 33 shelf system will be delivered mounted and including 7 glass shelves aligning with the colours of the back wall. The shelf boards can be adjusted or removed at any time after the delivery. This edition’s exclusivity increases by the fact that of each motive only one unique copy is printed and signed by the artist personally. The whole edition including all 33 portraits can be seen in an exhibition touring in Zurich, Munich, Milan and Paris in 2012.
01
Che Guevara
In this picture, we meet Che as a “Jesus-resembling� cult figure, gazing off into the height and the distance. Pfister ironically placed rays of light and a camouflage in the background of this picture. Che seems to be young, wild and impetuous on the one hand and Madonna-like, holy, ethereal and glorified on the other hand.
Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, (June 14, 1928 – October 9, 1967), commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist. A major figure of the Cuban Revolution, his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous countercultural symbol of rebellion and global insignia within popular culture. Guevara remains both a revered and reviled historical figure, polarized in the collective imagination in a multitude of biographies, memoirs, essays, documentaries, songs, and films. As a result of his perceived martyrdom, poetic invocations for class struggle, and desire to create the consciousness of a "new man" driven by moral rather than material incentives; he has evolved into a quintessential icon of various leftist-inspired movements. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century, while a photograph of him entitled Guerrillero Heroico, was declared "the most famous photograph in the world". (Source: Wikipedia)
The colored glass shelves can be replaced with white transparent glass shelves.
02
Winston Churchill
Scraggy, acrimonious, sharp but with awake eyes – this is the fearless, brave fighter Churchill presented to us by Pfister. The Union Jack in the background shows some battle scars but is still in an overall good condition.
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British Conservative politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice. A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian, a writer, and an artist. He is the only British prime minister to have received the Nobel Prize in Literature, and was the first person to be made an Honorary Citizen of the United States. On 10 May 1940, Churchill became Prime Minister. His steadfast refusal to consider defeat, surrender or a compromise peace helped inspire British resistance, especially during the difficult early days of the War when Britain stood alone in its active opposition to Hitler. Churchill was particularly noted for his speeches and radio broadcasts, which helped inspire the British people. He led Britain as Prime Minister until victory had been secured over Nazi Germany. (Source: Wikipedia)
The colored glass shelves can be replaced with white transparent glass shelves.
03
Clint Eastwood
The viewer will note these darting eyes in the shade of the battered flap as well as the necktie which he always wears protecting him from dust and coldness. This, and only THIS is what a real, tough and absolutely fearless cowboy looks like who is always involved in some violent deals.
Clinton Eastwood jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood has contributed to over 50 films over his career as actor, director, producer, and composer. He has acted in several television series, most notably starring in Rawhide. He started directing in 1971 and made his debut as a producer in 1982 with Firefox, though he had been functioning as uncredited producer on all of his Malpaso Company films since Hang 'Em High in 1968. Eastwood also has contributed music to his films, either through performing, writing, or composing. He has mainly starred in western, action, and drama films. According to the box office-revenue tracking website, Box Office Mojo, films featuring Eastwood have grossed a total of more than US$1.68 billion domestically, with an average of $37 million per film. Eastwood has fathered at least seven children by five different women and has been described as a "serial womanizer". (Source: Wikipedia)
The colored glass shelves can be replaced with white transparent glass shelves.
04
Steve McQueen
In the background surrounded by the typical stripes that we know from car racing environments, by colours flickering on a hot and sunny day, clean-shaven and with tousled hair, wearing the typical leather jacket that pilots normally wear - that’s what hardcore race drivers look like.
Terence Steven McQueen (March 24, 1930 – November 7, 1980) was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. He was an avid racer of both motorcycles and cars. While he studied acting, he supported himself partly by competing in weekend motorcycle races and bought his first motorcycle with his winnings. He is also recognized for performing many of his own stunts. On November 7, 1980, McQueen died at the age of 50 in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, following an operation to remove or reduce several metastatic tumors in his neck and abdomen. The blue-tinted Persol 714 sunglasses worn by McQueen in the 1968 movie The Thomas Crown Affair sold at a Bonhams & Butterfields auction in Los Angeles for $70,200 in 2006. One of his motorcycles, a 1937 Crocker, sold for a world-record price of $276,500 at the same auction. McQueen's 1963 metallic-brown Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso sold for $2.31 million USD at auction on August 16, 2007. (Source: Wikipedia)
The colored glass shelves can be replaced with white transparent glass shelves.
05
Steve Jobs
For this portrait, Pfister selected a more senior Jobs: at the peak of his creative power, on the one hand but weedy already. He presents Jobs as a magician, having a sheet of LSD blotting paper with the second - still coloured - Apple logo on his tongue. The picture shows the somber, muted colours that were so typical for Jobs. The shades of blue remind the viewer of Jobs’ bias for jeans trousers.
Steven „Steve“ Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc. Jobs was co-founder and previously served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios; he became a member of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company in 2006, following the acquisition of Pixar by Disney. Steven Paul Jobs was born in San Francisco on 24 February 1955, to two university students, Joanne Carole Schieble and Syrian born Abdulfattah "John" Jandali, who were both unmarried at the time. He was adopted at birth by Paul Reinhold and Clara Jobs. Jobs was widely described as a visionary, pioneer and genius - perhaps one of the foremost - in the field of business, innovation, and product design, and a man who had profoundly changed the face of the modern world, revolutionized at least six different industries, and who was an "exemplar for all chief executives". His death was widely mourned and considered a loss to the world by commentators across the globe.
(Source: Wikipedia)
The colored glass shelves can be replaced with white transparent glass shelves.
06
Dalai Lama
A decent and contemplative person, listening carefully and fully focused - this is the way Pfister presents the Big Spiritual Guide of the Tibetian Buddhists. By purpose, Pfister abstains from any assessment and, using the typical colours of Buddhistic monks’ robes, only illustrates in a terrific way the enormous energy emanating from the spirit of this contemplative and calm man.
Lhamo DĂśndrub was born on 6 July 1935 to a farming and horse trading family in the small hamlet of Taktser in the eastern border of the former Tibetan region of Amdo. Lhamo DĂśndrub was recognised formally as the reincarnated 14. Dalai Lama and renamed Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso (Holy Lord, Gentle Glory, Compassionate, Defender of the Faith, Ocean of Wisdom) although he was not formally enthroned as the temporal ruler of Tibet until the age of 15. The Dalai Lama is believed by his devotees to be the rebirth of a long line of holy people who are considered to be manifestations of the bodhisattva of compassion. Thus, he is thought of as the latest reincarnation of a series of spiritual leaders who have chosen to be reborn in order to enlighten others. In 1989, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Dalai Lama the Nobel Peace Prize. (Source: Wikipedia)
The colored glass shelves can be replaced with white transparent glass shelves.
07
Mick Jagger
Isn’t it incredible: The bad wild rock star, lady killer of innumerable women and famous Bad Boy, has been conferred the knightly accolade upon. Pfister, consecutively, places the bearskin of the Royal Horse Guards right on his head. And Mick looks out a little bit sadly from under this big hat.
Sir Michael Philip Jagger, (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones. Jagger gained much press notoriety for admitted drug use and romantic involvements, and was often portrayed as a counterculture figure. In the late 1960s Jagger began acting in films. Jagger's career has spanned over fifty years. His performance style has been said to have "opened up definitions of gendered masculinity and so laid the foundations for selfinvention and sexual plasticity which are now an integral part of contemporary youth culture". Jagger is known for his many high-profile relationships. He has been married twice and has had numerous romantic connections. He has seven children by four women. In 2003, Jagger was knighted for Services to Music, as Sir Michael Jagger by The Prince of Wales. Charlie Watts was quoted in the book According to the Rolling Stones as saying, "Anybody else would be lynched: 18 wives and 20 children and he's knighted, fantastic!" (Source: Wikipedia)
The colored glass shelves can be replaced with white transparent glass shelves.
08
Michael Jackson
The “King of Pop“ in his very best days. He was the Greatest of his guild, the uncrowned king of this world’s stages. He was wild, colourful and new, his music had drive, soul and beat, and his shows were at world-class level. Pfister bows deeply before this exceptional artist and presents him in a timeless beauty.
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance, and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5, and began his solo career in 1971. Time described Jackson's influence at that point as "Star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style and color too". The New York Times wrote that, "in the world of pop music, there is Michael Jackson and there is everybody else".
(Source: Wikipedia)
The colored glass shelves can be replaced with white transparent glass shelves.
09
Salvador Dalí
The great surrealist would have taken much pleasure in this portrait. Pfister managed to master the game with the beard and the beetles, and Dalí’s loving attention for hidden detail has been interpreted once more in a facetious new way.
Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marqués de Púbol (May 11, 1904 – January 23, 1989), commonly known as Salvador Dalí was a prominent Spanish surrealist painter born in Figueres, Spain. Dalí was a skilled draftsman, best known for the striking and bizarre images in his surrealist work. His painterly skills are often attributed to the influence of Renaissance masters. Dalí's expansive artistic repertoire includes film, sculpture, and photography, in collaboration with a range of artists in a variety of media. Salvador Dalí has been cited as major inspiration from many modern artists, such as Damien Hirst, Noel Fielding, Jeff Koons and most other modern surrealists. Salvador Dalí's manic expression and famous moustache have made him something of a cultural icon for the bizarre & surreal. Various animals appear throughout his work as well: ants point to death, decay, and immense sexual desire, and locusts are a symbol of waste and fear.
(Source: Wikipedia)
The colored glass shelves can be replaced with white transparent glass shelves.
10
Karl Lagerfeld
Black and white, straight and strict: Pfister manages to restage Lagerfeld’s famous habitus in a wonderfully-ironical way. The strict casket pattern continues on Lagerfeld’s obligatory sunglasses.
Karl Otto Lagerfeld (born Karl Otto Lagerfeldt on September 10, 1933 in Hamburg) is a German fashion designer, artist and photographer based in Paris. He has collaborated on a variety of fashion and art related projects, most notably as head designer and creative director for the fashion house Chanel. Lagerfeld has his own label fashion house, as well as the Italian house Fendi. His signature line, which is developed from sketches, features very structural and dramatic women's wear, mostly in black and white. As an avid photographer, Lagerfeld often shoots his own press photos, and is sometimes called "Kaiser Karl" by the press. His personal trademarks include a fan, a long ponytail for his powdered-white hair, and sunglasses. He is a uniquely confident man and speaks German, French, English, and Italian.
(Source: Wikipedia, Infomat)
The colored glass shelves can be replaced with white transparent glass shelves.
11
John Lennon
He is the incarnation of a whole generation’s ideas and wishes. Having started off as pop bard, he later became a combatant for peace and justice. Pfister presents the Great Master of PR with his world-famous symbol.
John Winston Lennon (9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Along with fellow Beatle Paul McCartney, he formed one of the most successful songwriting partnerships of the 20th century. After his marriage to Yoko Ono in 1969, he changed his name to John Ono Lennon. Lennon disengaged himself from the music business in 1975 to devote time to his infant son Sean, but re-emerged in 1980 with a new album, Double Fantasy. Lennon revealed a rebellious nature and acerbic wit in his music, his writing, his drawings, on film, and in interviews, becoming controversial through his political and peace activism. Lennon was shot by Mark David Chapman at the entrance of the building where he lived, The Dakota, in New York City, on Monday, 8 December 1980; in the morning of the same day he and his wife Ono had a photo session with the famous photographer Annie Leibovitz for the title of the Rolling Stone magazine. (Source: Wikipedia)
The colored glass shelves can be replaced with white transparent glass shelves.
12
Elvis Presley
We seem to meet a “washed-out”, unclear, soft and somehow intangible Elvis designed by Pfister: The typical pompadour dyed in an aggressive purple colour – a hint on the fascinating cross between tough machismo and a female prima donna, united in Elvis’ flamboyant personality.
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King". His energized interpretations of songs, many from African American sources, and his uninhibited performance style made him enormously popular - and controversial. In November 1956, he made his film debut in Love Me Tender. Presley is regarded as one of the most important figures of 20th-century popular culture. He had a versatile voice and unusually wide success encompassing many genres, including country, pop ballads, gospel, and blues. He is the best-selling solo artist in the history of popular music. Nominated for 14 competitive Grammys, he won three, and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36. "Elvis Presley is the greatest cultural force in the twentieth century", said composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein. "He introduced the beat to everything and he changed everything - music, language, clothes. It's a whole new social revolution - the sixties came from it." (Source: Wikipedia)
The colored glass shelves can be replaced with white transparent glass shelves.
Michael Pfister
HEROES?! Preview 2012
In 2011, 12 portraits were launched. This series is going to be continued in 2012, the total number of published portraits will increase to 33. We are pleased to provide you with a preview to the portraits planned so far. Please note, however, that this information is subject to change without prior notification. We will be pleased to receive your reservation or suggestions for further portraits. 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Frank Sinatra Andy Warhol Charlie Chaplin James Bond Johnny Cash Jimi Hendrix Herbert von Karajan Louis Armstrong John F. Kennedy Nelson Mandela Sigmund Freud Pablo Picasso Charles De Gaulle Muhammad Ali Mahatma Gandhi Martin Luther King
Shelf System Eileen 33 Special Edition
Michael Pfister HEROES?!
Construction 2 partition walls, 1 element with a width of 120 cm, 7 adjustable shelf boards made from colored glass. Depth: 33cm, 4 feet adjustable in height. Materials Partition walls and cross bars: aluminum, manually ground, anodized. Shelves also available in pure white transparent glass. Portrait Printed in museum standard quality from the original directly onto the aluminum surface, UV-resistant colors. Edition A strictly limited and numbered edition will be produced and then autographed by the artist. Dimensions W 1260 H 1980 D 334mm
Manufacturing and distribution SFS Swiss Furniture Systems GmbH Stockhornweg 30 CH-3123 Belp info@swissfurniture.ch www.swissfurniture.ch
The design Eileen & Frank is protected by law and copyright AAndres is a registered trademark It is not permitted to use the HEROES?! artwork for advertising
Printed in Europe Copyright by SFS Swiss Furniture Systems. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce or store online or in databases without the written consent of SFS Swiss Furniture Systems.
Customer service Phone +41 44 500 44 38 heroes@aandres.com
HEROES?! aandres.com
HEROES?! 33 portraits by Michael Pfister for AAndres