7 minute read
in focus
The art of drinks
Jane Ryan looks at the some of the most inspiring collaborations between artists and drinks brands
Claudia Winkleman’s book Quite is the very best thing I have ever read on the subject of art. It’s only one little chapter in a book that gives a lot more time to eyeliner and the importance of black clothing, but it’s awe-inspiring nonetheless. In it she details the first time she saw Titian’s Assumption of the Virgin, painted for a church in Venice in 1516-18, and which brought her to tears. Winkleman goes on to say that art is the answer, that seeing art is the most enriching thing you can do with your time, and that it is even better for your soul than mascara. What’s that got to do with alcohol brands and their collaborations with artists? Hold on, I’m getting there. You see, The Assumption of the Virgin was Titian’s first major commission and it did wonders for his career, but better still it did wonders for the Church. Art, it turns out, has always been used to sell things to us, whether it was religion, a can of soup or a bottle of Campari – which seems like an excellent place to start. It was Campari, in the early 1920s, that became one of the first brands to forge the link between art and alcohol when it commissioned Fortunato Depero to produce adverts with his graphic style of broken lines, strong use of colour and attention to lettering. Depero was not the only artist on Campari’s books, but all those called on shared his modern style – many were futurists, like Depero, and all were incredibly innovative. Depero’s remit was extensive, from the design of the Campari Soda vending machine signs to his 1926 painting Squisito al Selz (Delicious with Seltzer), which straddled the world of advertising and high art. It was this same image Depero chose to illustrate his manifesto, Il futurismo e l’arte pubblicitaria (Futurism and Advertising Art), where he considered the idea of industrial leaders like Campari as parallel to the great art patrons of the Renaissance. You can still see Depero’s work for the brand to this day, with his colourful designs gracing limited-edition bottles, and in the elegant simplicity of the Campari Soda bottle, first produced in 1932, which he conceived in 1927 by reversing the shape of the traditional bitter glass. Almost 50 years after Campari first worked with the Futurist artists, another artist making waves for their progressive pop art style placed the following advert in New York’s Village Voice: “I’ll endorse with my name any of the following: clothing, AC-DC, cigarettes, small tapes, sound equipment, ROCK N’ ROLL RECORDS, anything, film, and film equipment, Food, Helium, Whips, MONEY!!” That artist was Andy Warhol, and while he doesn’t specify alcohol, I think we can say it definitely falls under the remit of ‘anything’, has a lot to do with money, some ties to food and could be held responsible for quite a bit of rock ‘n’ roll. No surprise then that in 1985 Warhol endorsed with his name and his art a Swedish vodka brand trying to stand out in the USA. There are several iterations of Warhol’s paintings for Absolut, but the most famous would be his chalk-like black bottle with the striking K and A of ‘vodka’ coloured pink and yellow, and the rest of the lettering in Absolut’s tell-tale deep blue. It’s playful but still recognisable, distinctly Warhol and distinctly Absolut, yet it was what the brand did after Warhol that made the campaign one of the world’s most successful. Following the triumph of the ‘Absolut Warhol’ ads, Warhol was asked to suggest other artists who could be used to continue the campaign. Rather than relying on the one artist, over the years more than 350 have been commissioned by Absolut, including Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Louise Bourgeois, Damien Hirst and Ed Ruscha, all invited to re-envision the clean design of its vodka bottle in their own signature styles. It’s produced some enchanting, some bizarre, always subversive art. Just three years into the campaign Absolut had another stroke of genius when it began selecting lesser-known artists, positioning the commission as an
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s bottles for 1800 Tequila Essential Artists Series 6
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Zhang Huan for Hennessy; Andy Warhol x Absolut; Sir Peter Blake at work on The Macallan
opportunity to foster young and under-theradar talent with, perhaps, the chance to launch a career. Fast forward to 2021 and Absolut’s brand identity is synonymous with progressive art, street art, neo-pop, tattoo art and even performance art. “Absolut has a long history with artists,” said Anish Kapoor when he was selected in 2014 for a collaboration. “It is a strange notion, but one that I felt I could at least go in pursuit of.” Of course, Absolut isn’t the only brand harnessing youth trends of street art to shift liquid. They might not have started back in the 80s but Hennessy and 1800 Tequila are both making up for lost time. For Hennessy’s part, it’s completely sidestepped traditional art forms and made connections with artists like Futura, KAWS, OSGEMEOS, Ryan McGinness and Shepard Fairey, who have all designed their own bottle of Hennessy V.S Cognac. What’s the purpose of these bright, disruptive labels? Art plays an interesting trick on us here, communicating a new personality for the brand that keeps us engaged, that of an edgy outsider. The liquid inside is still the same V.S, and the brand’s core values haven’t shifted – we’re talking about a traditional brandy made under luxury goods giant LVMH – yet through the collaboration with artists who made their names with countercultural (and often illegal) artwork, Hennessy co-opts their punk, outsider image and effectively stands out from the crowd of old-world cognac houses. In 2008, 1800 Tequila launched its Essential Artists project, an annual release of bottles designed by young artists including UrbanMedium, Shepard Fairey and Gary Baseman. Perhaps even more subversive than the art on the bottles though, Hennessey, 1800 Tequila and Absolut aren’t charging the end drinker any more than you’d expect to pay for cognac, tequila and vodka. It’s the accessible end of their product line that’s chosen to be decorated and given these edgy new personas, unlike Dom Pérignon’s 2003 collaboration with artist Jeff Koons, whose Champagne holders retailed at $20,000. It’s not always graffiti, bold graphics and metallic balloon animals though – perhaps thankfully. Somewhere in the middle of Titian’s Virgin and Koons’ Balloon Venus is the four-decade-long partnership between pop artist Sir Peter Blake and The Macallan whisky. Beginning just a year after the Absolut Warhol ads, Blake was first asked to design the label for 12 remarkable 60-year-old single malts from 1926. Their collaboration was most recently celebrated by The Macallan when, in 2012, a set of eight miniatures, each with a label reflecting a particular decade of Blake’s life, was released to celebrate 80 years of the artist. The value of tying a brand to art has yet to lose its appeal. It’s now 90 years since Depero published his manifesto suggesting brands could be the new patrons, and the fairly new Italicus aperitivo – made in Depero’s home country – is currently running its annual Art of Italicus competition, asking new and established artists alike to create an artwork inspired by a major city. We’ve brushed over a good century of art, dropped in a mere seven brands, and gone from classical paintings to graffiti and back to pop art. I doubt the previous 1,200 words could possibly do justice to the time, the effort and the sheer creativity alcohol brands have asked from artists. But at least we’ve spent some time observing art – better than bath salts for the soul, remember – and isn’t it wonderful to be celebrating an industry that has such a rich history for supporting art. Even if it’s with the purpose of selling, these collaborations keep artists doing what they do best. So now, when you order your next cocktail, you can say, I am a patron of the arts. And that’s got to be better than any mascara.
