"The Art of Arabella Proffer" Book to be Released by Cooperative Press

PRLog (Press Release) - Sep. 4, 2011 - Taking inspiration from artists of the Renaissance to Rococo periods, contemporary artist Arabella Proffer has re-imagined the mannerist portrait with a pop surrealist twist. After researching fashion history, heraldry, and peerage protocol, she went on to create her own world parallel to that of old world Europe. Concocting a family legacy -- ancestors that could belong to anyone – it has become an impulse and a passion the artist continues to explore, adding characters and stories to her ever-growing private empire of punks, goths, and nobility behaving badly.

As a young punk Arabella Proffer observed firsthand how important fashion was to groups that supposedly rejected being labeled. Their uniformed rebellion became commonplace; tattoos, piercings, bizarre hair colors… all have gone on to become high fashion. As a lover of Elizabethan portraiture, she wondered what it would have been like if the aristocracy of centuries past had taken to these fashions, looking rebellious, shocking, regal and grand all at once as a reminder of their legacy.

“To get a tattoo or piercing is expensive even in the modern age,” says Proffer. “These would have been considered status symbols for only the very rich in centuries past, and thus, they’d want to flaunt them in their commissioned portraits. A king or queen would have had the biggest Mohawk and sleeve tattoos, that’s how I imagine it. These are very tribal adornments, but if marketed as a luxury, you can bet the royal courts of Europe would have taken it to an extreme. I wanted to combine the ancestor worship perpetuated by noble families with my love of old portraiture and punk imagery.”

Included are over 40 portraits created between 2000 and 2011, their stories, family trees, map and more, as well as a foreword by Josh Geiser of Creep Machine and Paper Devil.

About the Artist
Arabella Proffer is an oil painter whose loose narrative themes revolve around a fascination with punk rock, Elizabethan fashion, gothic divas, religious icons, and the decline of the European aristocracy. Her figurative work and portraiture has been described as everything from neorealism to pop surrealism, dealing with identity, history, and the dualities within herself. Growing up she enjoyed shows like Jem & The Holograms and She-Ra, while also indulging in the films of Joan Crawford and Fred Astaire. A lover of punk music and fashion, Proffer could be seen wandering The Frick or The Hermitage in torn fishnets and a white mohawk. Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, she earned her BFA from California Institute of the Arts, and has participated in group and solo exhibitions throughout North America and Europe. She is also an arts educator and co-founder of indie record label Elephant Stone Records.


For additional information or interviews
Arabella Proffer: http://www.arabellaproffer.com
Cooperative Press: http://www.cooperativepress.com
Shannon Okey: info@cooperativepress.com

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About Cooperative Press
Cooperative Press is an independent publishing company based on the audacious concept that artists and creators deserve to earn more for their work. Owner and publisher Shannon Okey is an internationally-known fiber artist with over a dozen books to her credit; she is also the former editor of a UK-based fiber arts magazine. Cooperative Press’ expansion into fine arts publishing builds on another facet of Okey’s overall curatorial goals: to present the most interesting and innovative art books by talented creators in a modern and innovative way.

Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/11646711/1