Stargazing at the National Portrait Gallery in DC

Americas Now

“Eye Pop: The Celebrity Gaze.” At Washington’s National Portrait Gallery.

Usually when we think about the word “portrait” we think of an oil painting or photograph with the subject in a formal pose. But a new exhibit at The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC is re-inventing the notion of a “portrait” in a new exhibition.  It’s called “Eye Pop: The Celebrity Gaze.”   

In addition to showing traditional portraits of pop culture icons it features works of art on a multi-media platform.

Two of the artists, for example, created what you might call “video portraits.”

For this week’s Urban Voices segment on “Americas Now” we introduce you to artists Bo Gehring and Luke DuBois.

 All of the subjects in the “Eye Pop” exhibit are currently living. And all 54 portraits were created since 2013.

Portraits of Brad Pitt, Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, Marc Anthony and Eva Longoria are all included in the exhibition.

“Eye Pop” was unveiled by National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet last summer. It will run through July 2016.

Take a look at this week’s Urban Voices to check out some pioneering forms of portraiture.