Interscope Records is kicking off its 30th anniversary today, January 13. To coincide with the anniversary, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) will display over 50 artworks in an exhibition called Artists Inspired by Music: Interscope Reimagined.
This exhibition will feature new works by a diverse group of visual artists who have responded to the groundbreaking music of some of Interscope’s most influential and iconic recording artists. Cecily Brown, Julie Curtiss, Shepard Fairey, Lauren Halsey, Damien Hirst, Rashid Johnson, Takashi Murakami, Richard Prince, Ed Ruscha, Kehinde Wiley, and many other notable visual artists have created an original work of art inspired by albums and songs from 2Pac, Billie Eilish, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Gwen Stefani, Juice WRLD, Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Mary J. Blige, MGK, Nine Inch Nails, No Doubt, Olivia Rodrigo, Selena Gomez, Snoop Dogg, and U2 and to name a few. A complete list of visual artists and the music creators they are paired with is below.
Today three artist images have been revealed: Kehinde Wiley has created a work inspired by Dr. Dre’s The Chronic. Cecily Brown has created a work inspired by Billie Eilish’s EP dont smile at me, and Rashid Johnson has created a work inspired by Kendrick Lamar’s good kid m.A.A.d. city.
Artists Inspired by Music: Interscope Reimagined will be on view Sunday, January 30 through February 13, 2022, in LACMA’s Resnick Pavilion. The installation foregrounds the creative pairings, visually reflecting on a history of musical innovation and powerful performances across genres. In some cases, multiple artists responded to the same musician, offering different interpretations of their work through the years.
The ambitious project was organized by Interscope Records Co-founder Jimmy Iovine, current Chairman, John Janick, music executive Josh Abraham, along with Interscope Vice Chairman Steve Berman, who worked closely with all of the music and visual artists. The team also worked with LACMA Associate Curator of Decorative Arts and Design, Staci Steinberger, to collectively organize the exhibition. The scope and size of the selection of music recognizes the profound impact that Interscope artists have had on global culture in the past three decades.
“Interscope’s original mission was to find the most profound artists, empower their creativity and watch what happens,” said Iovine. “For the 30th, we wanted to continue that vision by assembling the most admired visual artists and empower them with that same creative license to honor the musical artists we have worked with over three decades.”
