DETROIT — Holy Hip Hop! Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Common and Russell Simmons are coming to the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD).   Twelve paintings featuring the royalty of hip-hop music will make their world debut at MOCAD in the exhibition Holy Hip Hop!: New Paintings by Alex Melamid, from February 8 to April 20, 2008. These life-size portraits convey the larger than life personas of these men, who are some of the most popular and wealthy musicians in the world.

The hip-hop artists who are represented in the exhibition are 50 Cent, Common, DJ Whoo Kid, Don “Magic” Juan, Easy Mo Bee, Marc Ecko, Kanye West, Lil Jon, MC Duke, Reverend Run, Russell Simmons and Snoop Dogg. The twelve, dressed in their everyday clothes, are rendered with the style and quality of classic 18th century paintings, providing a fascinating perspective on these contemporary icons in association with masterpieces of the past.

Alex Melamid, a Russian-born contemporary artist, has claimed a prominent position in art history, breaking artistic boundaries and introducing unprecedented artistic expressions. He is most widely known for his 40-year artistic partnership with his peer, Vitaly Komar.  They toured as Komar & Melamid and made headlines from the start as revolutionaries whose paintings and performance pieces attracted controversy and critical acclaim.  As part of his rebellious past, Melamid was a key player in the public outdoor exhibition in 1974 that was bulldozed because the artists had not received permits to display the art. Probably, their most lasting mark in art history is their creation of Sots Art, an artistic parody on Soviet Socialist Realism. 

Holy Hip Hop! was conceived when Melamid decided to start working solo and his son, Dan “Dan the Man” Melamid, a successful hip-hop music video director, introduced him to some hip-hop musicians.  From 2003 to 2005, Melamid spent time with each of the men, got to know them, then photographed and drew them as the basis for his paintings. “Art is the key that unlocked a door that would not have opened for me,” said Melamid.  “I thought it would be interesting to paint the men of hip-hop using the traditional European style I have been perfecting for 40 years.”

“Holy Hip-Hop! is important for Detroit because it presents a world-renowned artist whose portraits and their meanings will resonate strongly within our community,” said MOCAD Acting Director Marsha Miro.  “Melamid’s paintings explore the dominance of hip-hop culture and what it means to today’s youth.  The exhibition will provide opportunities that we haven’t yet explored at the museum.”

MOCAD opened at 4454 Woodward Avenue in Midtown, Detroit in 2006 to critical acclaim as an institution that presents art at the forefront of contemporary culture. The museum is open Wednesdays and Sundays, noon to 5 p.m., Thursdays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Admission to the museum is free.

For more information, call 313.832.6622 or visit www.mocadetroit.com.