Saturday, October 24, 2009

Patrick Nagel illustrated the 80's Iconic Woman.






Like some of the old print masters Toulouse-Lautrec and Bonnard, Nagel (1945-1984) was influenced by the Japanese woodblock print, with figures silhouetted against a neutral background, with strong areas of black and white, and with bold line and unusual angles of view. His simple and precise imagery is also reminiscent of the art-deco style of the 1920s and 1930s- its sharp linear treatment, geometric simplicity, and stylization of form yield images that are formal yet decorative.


Born in Ohio, lived most of his life in LA, where he accepted commissions from major corporations and magazines, including IBM, ITT, United Artists, MGM, Universal Studios, Playboy, Architectural Digest, Rolling Stone, Oui, and Harpers. 





By 1976, Nagel became very popular for his sexy illustrations defining "the Nagel Woman". In 1978, he created his first poster image for Mirage Editions. He also painted the cover of rock group Duran Duran's Rio album, which later became a top selling album.





He influenced the esthetic of a decade, introducing a stronger almost insensitive extremely beautyful woman never portrayed before. Some say that he inspired the look of the Robert Palmer's babes in videos like Addiction to Love and Simply Irresistible. Watch them at: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xh51d_robert-palmer-addicted-to-love_music and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrGw_cOgwa8







This last one later turned in a Pepsy commercial. Watch it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0CSs7_6jHs&feature=related and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzQWjByw-rE&feature=related






And let's not forget ladies, the improved version of the "Addicted to Love", "Man, I Feel like a Woman" by Shania Twain. Now we may call it "the Nagel Man" Enjoy the view... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfXEeBj6u-Y&feature=related




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