Painting of Bedouin wearing Louis Vuitton

My friend Nishat Kurwa of Turnstyle News is traveling in the Middle East right now where she spotted this striking painting by Eric Esmail Parnes in the UAE's Maraya Art Centre. It's titled "Neo Orientalist TM." Parnes writes, "The underlying concept of this series is based on appropriating original “Orientalist” paintings from the 19th and early 20th century, and modifying them while incorporating the brands that have now become heavily embedded within the contemporary world of the Levant and its periphery." More of Parnes's work here. Follow Nishat on Instagram @nishatjaan

David Pescovitz is Boing Boing's co-editor/managing partner. He's also a research director at Institute for the Future. On Instagram, he's @pesco.

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That_Anonymous_Coward

And insane takedown demands by LV in 3…2…1…
- LydiRae
  
  If the gallery isn’t prone to knee-jerk reactions, they’d easily win against a Louis Vuitton suit.
  
  ..mmm, Louis Vuitton suit..
willionaire

This is not art, it’s simply plagiarized…There’s no significant alteration to the original- no substantive or dramatic change through any meaningful addition….it’s just Sargent’s 1891 painting of an Arab Bedouin with an overlay.
- Antinous / Moderator
  
  Why do you think it’s called Neo Orientalist ?
  - willionaire
    
    There’s nothing “Neo” here. If he had painted anything, I might agree with you. Running a couple of Photoshop filters over found art and adding a simple overlay….no. Fairey changes the pieces he uses enough that his work can at least be discussed as genuine art. Even Bob Dylan’s recent copying of old photos and claiming them as his own paintings required more effort than this.
willionaire

Judge for yourself: http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/john-singer-sargent/a-bedouin-arab
willionaire

Sincere apologies, to Nishat Kurwa and Antinous! I should have scrutinized the high-res images on Nishat Kurwa’s site before jumping to conclusions. This really looked like a faux digital oil-painting to me; now that I see it on a bigger screen, I absolutely believe it is real (and am thoroughly impressed by the others in the series and the concept). I’m left with egg on my face. That’ll teach me. Again, apologies.