Kanye West by Sam Spratt

By Zachary Swickey

When digital painter Sam Spratt was a spry art college grad in June 2010, he immediately became the (first) in-house staff illustrator for popular media conglomerate Gawker. Articles boasting his work were getting plenty more hits than ones carrying boring stock photo images. Before long, Spratt was getting more commission work than he could handle and had to say goodbye to Gawker and venture out on his own. (But trust us, he’s doing just fine!)

Since his departure, Spratt has diversified his portfolio - creating merch designs for herbal enthusiast and rapper Wiz Khalifa, as well as album artwork for rockers Foxy Shazam and metal-heads Trivium. Spratt has no problem with tricky imagery, whether it’s a Renaissance period piece for a private client or his collaboration with Rovio Mobile’s super-mega-smash-hit “Angry Birds.” It seems he’s up for any type of visual challenge.

Quite the fan of pop culture, Spratt has painted multiple interesting likenesses of various characters, including Ron Swanson from “Parks and Recreation,” quirky Dwight Schrute of “The Office,” Kanye West, a breathtaking portrait of “2 Broke Girls” star Kat Dennings and a hilarious take on Troy and Abed of “Community” in a fake movie poster for “Inspector Spacetime." Even his personal self-portrait is stunning to say the least. We are simply floored by the visual creations Spratt manages to create and with Twitter as an outlet – some of his creations have gone viral. Rainn Wilson is even using his portrait as his Twitter avatar.

Spratt is currently based in Brooklyn, New York, and was kind enough to chat with us about his interesting craft and provide us a look into his digital art domain.

MTV: It took me a moment to realize your works were digital paintings when I first discovered you. I know you were not originally trained on digital media, so how was that transition?

Sam: Not too hard, actually. In college I first learned oil painting under the technique of Peter Paul Rubens – studying every step of his process. The transition to digital touched on many of the same concepts: ground color, sketch, grayscale painting, cool and warm color additions and final color/detail-work. It's a different medium ... a cleaner one, but it can be treated almost identically.

MTV: You're only 23 and you've already got quite the clientele list. Was it a nerve-wracking experience to be Gawker’s in-house artist at only - what, 21?

Sam: It was terrifying. I walked in there with this massive ego that my professors had helped build, and was almost instantaneously knocked down 10 pegs and it was like starting all over. The crew there was great in both bringing me down to earth and challenging me to work my ass off. It was a one of a kind experience that I wouldn't change in any way despite its wealth of difficulties. Getting put back in reality and being demanded to learn and grow in a very real environment with very quick deadlines was the best thing that could've possibly happened to me after four years of people telling you almost nothing but candy-coated pleasantries.

MTV: So several of your most interesting pieces feature characters from some of our favorite comedy television shows ("Park and Rec's" Ron Swanson and "The Office's" Dwight among the many). Did you do these pieces just for your own personal fun?

Sam: Thank you. I love television and keep it going while I work during the day. I could have a busy as hell 14-hour day of painting and blow through an entire season of a show in the background, so they've become a weird part of my productivity. When I started doing them, they were for fun, but I treat all of my pop-culture/non-client pieces as one of the most important parts of my business. Ron Swanson, Dwight and Inspector Spacetime each had pretty large viral-pickups and sent dozens of clients my way and granted me some nice exposure. I treat them like my advertising – except they are also some of my favorite pieces to make.

Kat Dennings by Sam Spratt

MTV: How did "2 Broke Girls" star Kat Dennings like her portrait painting? We're big fans of her and the show.

Sam: She's this unusual archetype of beauty and dark humor that many seem to respond very well to. She seemed very happy with it and apparently "likes the voodoo that [I] do".

MTV: That Foxy Shazam album art work you did was incredible as well as the Wiz Khalifa merch design. Do you find yourself getting more music-related commissions? Are there any musicians you're itching to paint?

Sam: Much appreciated. I've worked with a few. Foxy Shazam being a personal favorite as those guys are both amazingly talented and complete and total characters in their appearances. I keep my toes in the water in the music industry as I definitely have my share of interest there and would love to contribute album covers to some of my favorite artists. If I can score a cover for Broken Social Scene and Kanye West in my lifetime, I'll consider it a success.

MTV: Do you know if Kanye has seen his portrait you did of him?

Sam: I have no idea, and if he did, he wouldn't be Kanye if he acknowledged it. His appeal to me is in his utter honesty with how completely self-absorbed he is. No one wants a humble or appreciative Kanye. Those who value him, value his god complex – which, when it comes to music, I think he has largely earned.

MTV: I constantly refer to him as "King Midas" in my write-ups.

Sam: Perfect.

MTV: Have you thought about or been approached by film studios for design work? I can't help but think you could've lent a hand with Ridley Scott’s upcoming “Prometheus” or a Pixar flick.

Sam: I've been approached by a few; some haven't been things that have excited me, others I can't talk about quite yet. That said, I want to see a renaissance in illustrated film posters. Things are getting pretty generic out there.

MTV: That actually leads me to my next question... Would you like to tackle movie posters someday? You seem like a worthy candidate to take the torch from Drew Struzan and bring it to the digital world.

Sam: Every time someone draws a link between myself and Struzan, I get absurdly nervous – the man is an illustrative deity and someone I couldn't possibly ever match in technical achievement. One of the nicest and most pressure inducing things said to me was by Ryan Kalil of the Carolina Panthers, who made a similar parallel. I can only hope to even be in a league similar to Struzan. That said, the genre he tackled is one I would love to visit and approach in my own way. I mean, I love photographers, but for a movie poster – studios/the ad-agencies behind them have to hire a photographer, a crew, sets, retouchers, compositors, etc. Big movies easily have six figures poured into some of these posters dispersed across the many facets that go into them. Why not hire just one painter?

MTV: We hear you, man. Right there with you. Lastly, you don't have divulge any names, but have you done private commissions for any big-time celebs? Any star struck moments there?

Sam: Sadly, the nature of private commissions is that they remain private, but I have definitely had my star struck moments. What I'd really like to do is to eventually segue my painting into advertising/promotional tools for television. I find the industry hugely fascinating and though I have the benefit of a job I already love every second of it that supports me well, the closer I get to other industries I'm passionate about, the bigger the results seem to be.

The spirit of the evening was lighthearted and welcoming, with a vaudeville-esque lineup of readings, short films and musical numbers. Also, everyone in attendance was encouraged to record however much of the show they wanted. The video below, which features Gordon-Levitt, hitRECord artist the Metafictionis and Hathaway, will give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

Admittedly, I expected to be further charmed by Gordon-Levitt. He is just so darn talented and passionate and genuine, it's irresistible and inspiring watching him move smoothly from narrating to dancing, to singing, to drumming to improv'ing. He's an artist in every sense of the word, and while his name is attached to hitRECord and he emceed the program, it is obvious that Gordon-Levitt truly enjoys creating art that comes from a collaboration and collection of other equally talented individuals.

Also, when you get Oldman, Hathaway, Harris and Sia to come in and play with you during their time off, you know you are loved.

It was hard to pick a favorite moment, but when Oldman got up onstage to read a "Tiny Story" called "The Man With a Turnip for a Head," written by hitRECord artist Metaphorest, he brought down the house.

"It's going to be hard to top that," Gordon-Levitt told the crowd as Oldman left the stage. Yet somehow, I'm sure he will figure out a way to do just that for next year's event.

What do you think of Gordon-Levitt's passion project, hitRECord? Tell us in the comments!

Let's Make a Sandwich by James Roper

Music video auteur Chris Marrs Piliero (Britney Spears, the Black Keys, Taking Back Sunday) is mixing his love for the medium and his love for art with a new art show, aptly titled "I Want My Music Video Art Show." The director kindly provided MTV News with some insight on the project and some first looks at what music video lovers will see when the show kicks off this October in the City of Angels.

"I love art shows and have always wanted to put together one myself," he tells MTV News about the project, which features re-imaginings of videos by the Smashing Pumpkins, Lady Gaga and more. "I wanted to pay tribute to the art of the music video beyond just the musician and the song. Music videos have always provided us with really f---ing rad imagery. There's so many iconic visuals thanks to music videos and the medium has opened the door for so many amazingly talented directors that have gone on to influence television, commercials and movies. An art show like this needed to be created."

Of course, the show also pays some homage to MTV, which became the network and driving force for music video creation. "MTV changed the face of music with its creation and its devotion to the Music Video art form so it only made sense to give MTV a proper tribute," he says of the art show's title, an homage to MTV's old-school slogan, "I Want My MTV."

"I am curating the show with an artist friend of mine, Dave MacDowell. This came about because after my Black Keys video for 'Tighten Up' won the Breakthrough Video VMA I hit up Dave to commission some art pieces to give to the band and management and label as a thank you," he continued. "Dave did such an awesome job and I told him I really wanted to put together this art show. I'd never done anything of the sort, though, so he said he was down to team up with me and help gather artists to put the show together. And then ... bam ... now we have a f---ing rad art show put together with almost 100 artists involved featuring art inspired by music videos from the 70s to 2011."

The show will take place starting on October 7 and running through October 20. It all goes down at Meltdown Gallery in L.A. Can't make it to the show? Here's some exclusive first-looks.

Tonight Tonight by Joka

Let's Make A Sandwich by James Roper

The Wicker Man by Larkin

The Damned by Crystal Barbre

This is because the clip, which appeared yesterday on the foppish faux-hippies' official Web site, is basically just six loooong minutes of super-scarring, deeply psychic child abuse. The kind you need decades of therapy to un-scrub from your brain. You know, the awesome kind.

Starring a precocious tyke (certainly no older than two), who for the duration of the video is positively brutalized by visions of terrifying, maw-dripping monsters, it's both incredibly unsettling and incredibly provocative, recalling both the sorta-twisted Saturday morning visions of Sid and Marty Krofft's "H.R. Pufnstuf" and the definitely twisted photography of Jill Greenberg, only, you know, on drugs. And with some flames and animation and an on-screen quote incorrectly attributed to Mark Twain.

And while all that is amazing, the real testament to MGMT (and director Ray Tintori's) brilliance is the reactions the video elicits from people. I've shown this clip to about six different folks, and their reactions have run the gamut from "wide-eyed shock" to "face-tightening delight." Oh, and one dude broke down and started weeping openly, too.

Basically, it's part high art, part psychological barometer, only with really gruesome monsters thrown in for good measure. They really don't make videos like this any more ... mostly for legal reasons.

Want to be entertained/horrified? Check out MGMT's "Kids" video, after the jump.

So, what do you think? Are you in the "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" or the "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" camp? And, more importantly, does your answer scare you?

It is sort of insane. It is sort of compelling. And it is quite possibly the most amazing thing ever foisted on these Interwebs of ours.

So far, Snoop has broadcast four episodes of "Dogg TV" (or, more specifically, two very-long episodes broken up into four segments of indeterminate length and subject matter ... usually whenever the Web cam conks out), which means that it's not too late to get on the bandwagon before this thing turns into another Shiba Inu cam.

And to get you up to speed on what you've missed so far, I've compiled a handy episode guide, which you can read after the jump.

Episode One, "The Wake-N-Bake Show": Opens with Snoop holding his chain in the air, clutching a baby-arm sized spliff (which he puffs on almost immediately). This goes on for several minutes, until Snoop proclaims "Obama smoke too!" and lowers the spliff to the diamond-encrusted Obama portrait on his T-shirt. He dispenses advice to various online viewers ("You gotta keep your page fresh, Lisa. Stop bulls---ting"), grooves to some of his own tunes, and spouts various nonsequiturs ("That was some weird s--t!" "We just smoke and play music!") to no one in particular. At one point, his assistant, a white, hoodie-wearing kid named "Gucci," wanders in and out of the frame. Compelling stuff.

Episode Two, (Apparently Also "The Wake-N-Bake Show"): This is basically just the same thing as the first "W-N-B Show," only Snoop appears to be sitting closer to the camera.

Episode Three, "Wake-N-Bake 3": You can sense a theme developing here. Snoop is holding a plate of what appears to be BBQ in one hand (and a blunt in the other), proclaims "I can't eat all this s--t right here!" He hands his plate off to one of his various associates, gives a shout out to an online follower ("What's up coney420!") then surveys the lighting situation in the rec room and announces "We need to get some better lights in this motherf---er." He also checks his Blackberry.

Episode Four, "Untitled:" High drama as Snoop checks his email, sings along to a tune playing on his computer. "Gucci" is screwing around with the Web cam. At one point, Snoop tells us "I'm gonna go check on the Laker game real quick, see how we doing." He then leaves the room, and does not return for the remainder of the episode, leaving us to stare at an empty office chair. There is also a nice grandfather clock in the room.

As of 12:45 p.m. Friday, "Snoop Dogg TV" has yet to return to the air (Snoop is probably napping or something) ... but when it does, rest assured I will be watching. And you should be too. The Internet is rarely this compelling. Or this insane.

So you're telling us that Pharrell can produce Madonna, sing the hook on another hit record, get ready to drop the new N.E.R.D. album...and get home in time to design furniture??

What have we been doing with our free time?

Oh, and it's called the "perspective" chair. For some reason.

Thanks to Kanye's always excellent blog for pointing this out. 'Ye also recently posted some ridiculous Chinese fashion pics that are totally in line with the spooky aesthetic trip he's been on lately...

Because Cap'n Montgomery refuses to let the Weezer album-cover controversy die, we're inspired to point out that this is not the first time a talented band/artist has chosen to make themselves look ridiculous in public through flamboyantly awkward album cover art. Oh no, there have been many, many instances of this throughout rock history.

And, you know, we can speculate about the source of the bad judgment -- anything before 1980 we're blaming on one drug; anything after 1980 on another; anything during the mid-90's was more likely due to an over-developed, overly self-conscious sense of irony. Anything in the early 00's can be blamed on "sincerity"; anything since on the generational-sincerity backlash. Or something.

After the jump, a few of our most favorite examples of when artists have chosen to artistically display themselves on the covers of their (quite excellent) albums -- to spectacularly bad effect. Seriously, these are great records, but you kind of want to brown-paper-bag 'em...

· The Beatles, Magical Mystery Tour
John [bored]: OK, so we're the biggest band in the entire universe. What now?
George: Dunno.
Ringo: I totally have it. Why don't we get done up like big muppet-puppets and look kind of enthusiastic like we're at a parade? That would be a total laugh.
Paul: A total laugh.
[The Fab Four high-fives.]

· Fleetwood Mac, Rumours
Do you ever get the urge to head to one of those Renaissance fairs? It's just that they seem sort of classy to us -- what with the fitted vests with the antique buttons, and the scarves, and those wonderfully wide sleeves that take flight like beautiful white birds. What's that, you too? We knew we weren't alone in that sentiment.

· Lil Wayne, Tha Block Is Hot
Hip-hop produces some fabulously (read: preposterously) Photoshopped images that require the big-time suspension of disbelief. I mean, Lil Wayne doesn't look like he's much for those cops to handle -- what does he weigh there, 80 pounds?? He looks about as threatening as Chris Brown.

· The Slits, Cut
OK, we realize that this album's artistic merit is up for debate. But it's not! The Slits were a terrific punk-reggae band. You just couldn't contain them -- they wanted what they wanted! And if that meant rolling in the mud under the bushes during their cover shoot, you had to run with it.

· Prince, Lovesexy
And finally, the coup de grace. Of all the self-immolating covers, this one takes the cupcake. Prince is small and delicate, like a tiny elfin. And he's also so tired -- why can't he take a little rest on this jumbo-sized iris? Don't you know that iris means "rainbow"...?

Any more to add? We know this is just the tip of the iceberg...

OK, we get it: you're into some heavy business. On that tip, we're taking you deeper into the black-metal experience, with the down-and-dirty -- and pretty terrifying -- video series "True Norwegian Black Metal" photog Peter Beste made with VBS. It's wild to think that a trip to Milwaukee Metalfest to snap some band pics could have unfolded into a years-long obsession with this outrageous crew.

Head to Norway and meet up with the key players on this deadly-dark scene -- first covered in the mainstream Norwegian press in the mid-90's in relation to a dozen church burnings, and the ritualistic murder of Mayhem's guitarist by his bandmate. Central to the series is Gaahl, the frontman of extreme, Satanic band Gorgoroth, who's been convicted of assault and torture. This isn't stuff that goes down easy -- but it's a side of metal that's rarely been captured. And depending on where you work, this is also, um, fairly NSFW.

More of the series after the jump.

And if you haven't had enough, head here for the final 3 of 5 installments.

You know, we in the States tend to think we've cornered the market on metal. But those Norwegians make Ministry look about as dark as My Little Pony. Black metal, based on a completely bonkers 'n' bloody Viking lifestyle fantasy of death and destruction (pig's head on a stake, anyone?) has been bubbling up in Norway for the last 20 years. It's a combo of extreme metal, paganism, and even Satanism -- and it's redefined the meaning of "underground."

So we were heavily impressed by "True Norwegian Black Metal," photog Peter Beste's collection of photos of the radical community, published by our frienemies at Vice. Beste spent the last seven years snapping pics of the scene, which he boils down to "a war against Christianity, a return to the worship of the ancient Norse gods, and the complete rejection of mainstream society." No biggie. The bulk of the book is portraits of black metal disciples -- with names like King, Nocturno Culto, and Necrobutcher -- stomping through the Norwegian woods (puts a whole new spin on that Beatles track). But there are also great pics of the scene itself -- bands like Mayhem and Immortal live -- packed with lots of, well, pigs' heads on sticks. Sheep's heads, too. Oh, and can't forget the gentleman in a loincloth covered in blood and "nailed" to a crucifix onstage.

Not for the faint of heart.

More pics after the jump.