Vogue angers artist’s fans with Rihanna photo shoot
CRITICS on both sides of the Atlantic have praised Mickalene Thomas’s strikingly vivid artwork for her positive representation of black women.
So when Vogue magazine ran a cover of pop star Rihanna that bore more than a passing similarity to Thomas’s own style, it prompted angry accusations from fans of the African-American artist.
Juergen Teller, the German fashion photographer who took the image, faces accusations of “cultural appropriation” amid claims he copied central elements of Thomas’s trademark style.
The French edition of Vogue published photographs of Rihanna posing against a backdrop of vibrantly contrasting throws, interspersed with shrubbery and animal sculptures.
One admirer of Thomas, who calls himself Steve Jxseph, wrote: “This is very similar to Mickalene Thomas’s work and Juergen needs to explain what’s going on.”
Lehmann Maupin, Thomas’s gallery in New York, weighed into the row last week, issuing a statement saying: “As Mickalene’s long-time gallery and advocate, we vigorously stand by her in defending the originality of her work.”
It also pointed out that she had “developed an internationally recognised visual language” using photography, collage and painting, suggesting it regarded Teller’s work as an imitation.
Vogue appeared to acknowledge the similarity when they posted one of Teller’s photographs of Rihanna with the tag-line “#MikaleneThomas” on Instagram to promote the edition.
Teller refused to comment.