She's a piece of work! Kanye West 'commissions Warhol of Kim from Andy's distant cousin' as it's revealed LaChapelle Christmas card cost $250k

By Amelia Proud

PUBLISHED: 17:36 EST, 3 December 2013 | UPDATED: 20:02 EST, 3 December 2013

He foresaw our celebrity obsessed era by predicting that in the future, almost everybody would be famous for 15 minutes without needing any specific talent.

The father of pop art, Andy Warhol, was a self-proclaimed fan of the superficial, the plastic Los Angeles look, conspicuous consumption and TV; he even said making money is itself 'art.'

So it's fair to assume he would've loved the Kardashians and in particular, Kim, 33; who has the epic, almost cartoonish beauty of the stars he was drawn to paint like Marilyn Monroe and Liz Taylor.

She's a work of art! Kim Kardashian has been turned into a 'Warhol' reportedly at the behest of fiance Kanye West

She's a work of art! Kim Kardashian has been turned into a 'Warhol' reportedly at the behest of fiance Kanye West

Family name: Factory founder Andy Warhol died in 1987 so his cousin from Ariziona has immortalised Kim

Family name: Factory founder Andy Warhol died in 1987 so his cousin from Ariziona has immortalised Kim

Sadly, Andy died in 1987 and so Kim's fiance Kanye West, 36, allegedly went looking for the next best thing in order to have a 'Warhol' of the woman he calls his 'perfect b****' created.

In Touch, who have the first exclusive look at the prints, report that Yeezus spent $30,000 on the canvas although E! write that the rapper did not commission the piece.

 

More...

Whatever the exact origins, there's no denying the tradition of the canvas that now bears the reality star's vacantly beguiling likeness.

In shades of pink and yellow, Kim's huge eyes and plump pout stand out in the classic Warhol style but the image is fuzzier then the artist's famous portraits tended to be.

The ultimate gift: Kanye West wants to have a Warhol painted of Kim Kardashian but the artist died in 1987, so he's having a distant cousin paint it

The ultimate gift: Kanye West is said to have wanted to have a Warhol painted of Kim but the Manhattan-based artist died in 1987

Perfect subject: Kim is striking in the piece, with her large, cartoonish features leaping out

Perfect subject: Kim is striking in the piece, with her large, cartoonish features leaping out

The originals: Andy's Marilyn and Elizabeth are beyond iconic
The originals: Andy's Marilyn and Elizabeth are beyond iconic

The originals: Andy's Marilyn and Elizabeth are beyond iconic

Instead of enlisting a modern equivalent like Russell Marshall (who has captured Kate Moss's iconic look in a series of silk prints for a retrospective with Beautiful Crime that launches in London next year) it's said that Kanye apparently turned to a very distant relation of the artist.

Monica Warhol is a mother of six who lives in Arizona and she's Andy's cousin, which means the couple can legitimately could call the piece 'a Warhol.'

She insists she has her own style - although a quick look at her Twitter throws up images of Campbells soup cans and she also makes silk-screen works from photographs, just like Andy.

Iconic: Kim certainly does fit into Warhol's superficial aesthetic with her Hollywood looks

Iconic: Kim certainly does fit into Warhol's superficial aesthetic with her Hollywood looks

Sneak preview: Kim's portrait in the 'new Warhol' will probably look quite a lot like these canvas renderings of Flo Rida

Artist to the stars: Monica has already painted Flo Rida and Lenny Kravitz

Art: Monica has paid tribute to her relative's famous pieces (left) and worked on her own original collection (right)
Art: Monica has paid tribute to her relative's famous pieces (left) and worked on her own original collection (right)

Art: Monica has paid tribute to her relative's famous pieces (left) and worked on her own original collection (right)

She never met the great scenester and 'never owned a book about him until about a year ago.'

But having the famous name is serving her  well and she's done two portraits of Flo Rida and one of Lenny Kravitz in 'the new Warhol format.'

She did get it right when she told the New York Daily News that Andy would've loved to paint Nori's mama because 'she's an icon, she's famous for nothing.'

The billionaire rapper's latest arty splurge comes as it's revealed that the latest Kardashian Christmas Card - shot by Kanye's favourite photograper David LaChapelle - cost $250,000.

Genius: It's hard to imagine that any piece of art could surpass this Kimye selfie for sheer brilliance

Genius: It's hard to imagine that any piece of art could surpass this Kimye selfie for sheer brilliance

None too subtle: LaChapelle draws the viewer's attention to Kim's cleavage with an arrow, but then that could be satire relating to how she became famous and her sex appeal

Money, money, money: It cost $250,000 to send the Kardashians' up for being obsessed with fame and er, money

Which means that $280,000 could've been spent on capturing Kim's image this week alone.

Factory guru Andy saw value in beautiful things no matter how transient and empty and would therefore have been a better artist to capture the reality phenomenon than LaChapelle who seems to have used the opportunity to satirize the fame-craving, consumerist clan.

But the whole enterprise turns into a meta-joke when you consider how much it cost to make a point about the Kardashians' relationship with fame, money and shallowness.

Subtext: Kris sits at the box-office with her hands on the words 'Kardashians' and 'fame' and the face of her main draw, Kim, hovers below

Craven: Kris Jenner was placed on the box office with her hands on the words 'money' and 'fame'

And there it is again: The Illuminati symbol pops up again between Kylie and Kendall and in front of a packet of Wheaties featuring Bruce Jenner in the '70s; it's clear the photographer is having fun

Hidden meaning: The Jenner sisters Kylie and Kendall stand in front of an Illuminati pyramid and all seeing eye that has sent the internet into a frenzy conspiracy of theories

The cost of wardrobe - including Kim plunging Yves Saint Laurent dress - apparently took a big chunk out of the budget.

A source told RadarOnline.com: 'It wasn't a cheap photo shoot, and the production company of 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians' paid the $250,000 invoice.

'Hair, make-up, wardrobe, were all paid for by production, and the Kardashians didn't pay one dime for their Christmas card!'

Pop art star: London's Russell Marshall would've been a great choice to render Kim; his Kate Moss retrospective is garnering acclaim and can be seen from January 17 at Imitate Modern gallery in Marylebone

Pop art star: London's Russell Marshall would've been a great choice to render Kim; his Kate Moss retrospective is garnering acclaim and can be seen from January 17 at Imitate Modern gallery in Marylebone





Comments (150)

Share what you think

 View all

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

Pass me the bucket!

2
116
 Click to rate

$250,000? That's the funniest thing I've heard in a long time...

2
107
 Click to rate

Are you sure this was not done by one of the Kardashians children.?? It is about Kindergarten level.!!!!

1
80
 Click to rate

Kim certainly does fit into Warhol's superficial aesthetic with her Hollywood looks - welcome to the burn academy, Kim!

1
56
 Click to rate

More like a Piece of ...shhhhh . . . aving cream, be nice and clean. . . . Shave ev''ry day and you'll be nice and keen.

2
35
 Click to rate

Kanye, remember what Estelle, said to you, don't act fool now, now. You always act a fool, how, how,........

0
43
 Click to rate

If they are ever going to break up he will ruin her, he behaves like psychopath he has no remorse and very self centered , and Kim is his victim. Sick obsession with the victim, total manipulation and then total control, all the symptoms are there just saying

6
89
 Click to rate

I am surprised that they don't try and charge people for the privilege of receiving a Christmas card from the Kardashdian.

2
59
 Click to rate

So she put her engagement ring on her right hand to take that selfie because she didn't like how she looked from the left, but clearly didn't want us to not see her stupidly ugly 15 carat rock. Could you be more self-obsessed woman?

2
57
 Click to rate

i watched the christmas special. kourtney was so excited at the idea to win $10,000, but they could easily afford a $250,000 photo? And the combined income of everyone in just the Kardashian-Jenner clan is in the hundreds of millions. Makes no sense they'd be so conscious, as if they're just scraping it day to day when it's anything but.

2
41
 Click to rate

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Add your comment

By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now