From The Sphinx to Mona Lisa: Has Photoshop Gone Too Far?
Who doesn’t love a classic with a touch of modern? Ever since photoshop artists have unlocked a new era of digital mashups. Surely, advanced photoshop skills laid the groundwork for a hilarious and odd gallery of art that may never see the light of day at the Louvre but have made to the social media hall of fame. With the good comes the bad and photoshop has created an endless opportunity of rumors and myths as well as unattainable beauty standards. From Mona Lisa dabbing to the latest Sphinx going to sleep, we bring you a list of the most bizarre digital art mashups and image manipulations and the stories behind them.
The Sphinx Takes A Nap
Recently photos of the Sphinx with his eyes shut have taken over social media platforms. The original post commented that several pictures have been taken of the sphinx with his eyes closed. It explained that this phenomenon happened without any human intervention or restoration operations. The images have been linked to the Ancient Egyptian mythology that when the Sphinx sleeps and the seasons change, it will be the end of time. So what’s the truth? The Ministry of Tourism and Antiques has had to officially deny the circulating news and explained that the photos were modified and in fact it is not the end of days. The original images were derived from the website Getty Images and have been taken from a specific angle that makes it look like the sphinx eyes are shut. Some users went above and beyond and photoshopped more images to prove said rumours.
The Mona Lisa
One can’t hear the word ‘painting’ without thinking of the Mona Lisa. We have all seen pictures of original Mona Lisa at-least once in our lifetime. Because of how familiar it is to our eyes, digital artists have continued to make their own mashups of the famous painting. Some are rather spoofy while others are rather spooky. In some cases, the artists add a subtle change whereas others take the remix to the next level. Amongst the most famous is the Mona Lisa duck face and the one where Mona Lisa is dabbing.
Every Van Gough painting to ever exist
The most popular artists of all times, Van Gough’s paintings continue to be the main source of inspiration for mashups, remixes, and reinterpretations in several mediums and formats. From “Starry Nights” to “The Scream”, artists have managed to create bizarre mashups of the painting whilst maintaining the Van Gough painting spirit. After an artist recreated Van Gough’s self-portrait featuring Leo Di Caprio, critics were concerned that mashups have led to art losing its aura and uniqueness.
Girl with a Pearl earring
Painted by Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer, the image shows a painting of a young woman in an exotic dress and very large pearl earrings. We have seen the face of the model being replaced with figures from Shrek to Santa Claus. Out of all the paintings, are you wondering why this one, in particular, is being photoshopped? Perhaps it could be due to the mysterious identity of the woman in the photo. Where some people believe she is Vermeer’s daughter and others believe she could have been his mistress. The unknown identity of the woman in the picture has gained the painting further admiration and thus prompted artists to photoshop the image in bizarre ways.
The question remains to be has Photoshop gone too far? While some may think manipulated images are harmless other believe they spread fake news, start rumors and kill the idea of original art.
WE SAID THIS: What do you think of photoshopped images?
