Pop Art Exhibit Pays Homage to Justin Timberlake

by Jarrett Martineau | March 28, 2008 at 09:52 am

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For one night only, Justin 'Prince of Pop' Timberlake had a full-blown contemporary art show curated and exhibited in his honour. And what a great title for the show: "If I Told You You Were Beautiful Would You Date Me on the Regular?"

I'm sure this is the start of more pop-inspired art events to come. I'm thinking "I Said, No No No" -- a series of woodblock prints inspired by the songs and antics of Amy Winehouse could be a real crowd pleaser.

Nicholas Weist, a New York art curator and Justin Timberlake über-fan, was sipping margaritas with roommates one night while listening to his favorite pop singer, when he had an inspiration.
"We were listening to the [Timberlake] song 'My Love,' " Weist recalled. "We were having such a great time listening to the music that I thought, 'Wouldn't it be awesome if that level of excited-ness was funneled into the art world?' So right then, I knew I had to curate a show about him."

He elaborated on his revelation in more dreamlike terms. "In the midst of our little party, Justin Timberlake — like an old and terrible god — demanded my attention: 'You must curate a show about me,' he said. And three weeks later, out of the darkness was born a show."

That show, "If I Told You You Were Beautiful Would You Date Me on the Regular?," which was open for just one night at the Oliver Kamm 5BE Gallery in New York last weekend, is (according to Weist, anyway) the first-ever contemporary art exhibit solely devoted to work inspired by Justin Timberlake. The show included collage, sculpture, site-specific installation, photography, drawing, performance and video art. The variety of media in the show reflects Weist's fascination with the evolution of Timberlake's music and image, as well as the pop star's own forays into other kinds of artistic expression, including film, fashion and television.