Artist Jenny Hart illustrated The Wanted for Buzzworthy's Best New Artist "inspiration illustration" series.
Each of the 15 VMA categories carries its own prestige and distinction. But the VMA Best New Artist category is perhaps one of the night's most anticipated categories. The Best New Artist category represents a diverse roster of some of the best and brightest new faces and names to enter the musical landscape and pop culture conversation over the past year. To celebrate the artistic influence of this year's Best New Artist nominees on Buzzworthy, where we're committed to celebrating pop music, pop culture, and, of course, music fans, I asked five different young artists to pay homage to the 2012 Best New Artist nominees with an "inspiration illustration," to look at that musical artist and the impact of their art through another artist's eyes. (Yes, we're taking a break from animated GIFs for some real-deal art appreciation. We're almost grown-ups!)
Each of this year's Best New Artists has opened our minds (and, quite often, hearts) by writing a tribute to eternal youth (fun. and Janelle Monaé), writing an unforgettable (and unstoppably catchy) ode to first crushes (Carly Rae Jepsen), inciting boy band mania all over again (The Wanted and One Direction, of course), or by breathing new, poetic life into R&B (Frank Ocean). It may sound corny, but it's true -- how we as music fans experience music, videos, lyrics, and the visual images surrounding music creates a visceral, emotional bond that transcends music itself (I can't remember the last time a song truly transported and swept me away the way Frank Ocean's "Swim Good" did the first time I heard it). Essentially, this is an artist-on-artist series. Hopefully you'll enjoy seeing how five visual artists connected to and interpreted each of the 2012 MTV VMA Best New Artist nominees.
Earlier in the series, Brooklyn artist Jess Rotter took on 2012 VMA Best New Artist nominee Frank Ocean and "Swim Good," while Oakland artist Jon Stich captured Carly Rae Jepsen and her unstoppable, inescapable, always adorable "Call Me Maybe" crush anthem.
And today, Jenny Hart takes on The Wanted and "Glad You Came," their dance-pop ode to the timeless boy band tradition of grabbing the nearest girl -- and the nearest drink -- and living in the moment. Here's what she had to say about her The Wanted illustration.
Check out Jenny Hart's 2012 VMA Best New Artist "inspiration illustration" of The Wanted after the jump.
"I love the idea of boy bands that make girls cry and swoon. So, when MTV asked me to give The Wanted a dreamy treatment, I didn't have to look farther than their own nominated video. This drawing is based on the video's opening, where each member is shown staring winsomely at the sunset. My work incorporates imagery of embroidery even when I'm not actually embroidering, and the drawing is embellished with floral stitching motifs and the kind of decorations a fan might stitch on their own portrait." -- Jenny Hart
Jenny Hart's "inspiration illustration" of 2012 Best New Artist nominee The Wanted. Click the image to expand.
About the artist: Jenny Hart is known worldwide for her artwork in hand embroidery and also her revolutionary craft company Sublime Stitching. Hart's work has been published in numerous books and countless magazines including Vogue, Nylon, Spin, The Face, Juxtapoz, The New York Times Magazine and others. She has exhibited in Los Angeles, London and New York, and most recently held a solo show of drawings in Paris. Hart is also an award-winning author of seven titles on embroidery for Chronicle Books. Jenny's work is in multiple public and private collections of note, including the estate of Elizabeth Taylor and the permanent collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Jenny Hart has lived in Kansas, France and Texas. She resides in and works from Los Angeles, California.
Don't miss the 2012 MTV VMAs live from Staples Center in Los Angeles on Thursday, Sept. 6, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Go to VMA.MTV.com now through Aug. 24 to vote.
Credits: Photo: Interscope; Illustration: Jenny Hart for MTV
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