ArtistInfo

Alexander Melamid

*1945 RU
Hip-Hop/Rap, Rock, R&B/Soul and Pop
A.k.a. Александр Данилович Меламид (Alexander Danilovich Melamid)

Alexander Melamid (b. 1945) is a Russian-American conceptualist artist and painter, father of hip hop music video director Dan Melamid, best known as one-half of Komar & Melamid tandem, in which he extensively collaborated with Vitaly Komar from 1972 to 2003. He met Vitaly while studying at Stroganov Institute of Art and Design, they soon became friends and started working in co-authorship after graduating together in 1967. Since 1978, Alexander had been living in the United States. In 1972, Komar and Melamid established a new Sots Art (соц-арт in Russian) movement, combining official 'Socialist Realism' communist aesthetic doctrine with elements of Pop art and Dadaism. Such political art drew attention of Soviet authorities and international audience. The duo was arrested during one of the performances, and their Double Self-Portrait was destroyed with other non-conformist paintings at infamous 'Bulldozer Exhibition' in September 1974. Two years later, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Inc in New York hosted first V.Komar/A.Melamid joint international exhibition, which the authors couldn't attend since the Soviet government denied them permission to leave USSR. In 1977, Melamid's immigration request was finally approved, and he left the country to reconnect with his Jewish relatives in Israel. Soon after, Alex moved to the USA with Vitaly Komar and settled in New York City. In 1988, both Melamid and Komar became US citizens. After working together for over 35 years, the artists dissolved K&M project in 2003. Melamid's first solo exhibition, Holy Hip-Hop!, was opened at MOCAD (Museum Of Contemporary Art Detroit) in 2008. Alexander painted a dozen of portraits of modern hip hop icons, such as producer and showbiz mogul Russell Simmons, ex-graffiti artist and fashion designer Marc Ecko, and rappers Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, and 50 Cent, in the 'Old Masters' style that recalls the court portraits of Velázquez. Portrayed artists and entrepreneurs are wearing expensive designer clothing, Louis Vuitton backpacks, flashy watches, diamond-encrusted medallions and crosses. Melamid was introduced to the world of hip hop by his youngest son, Dan Melamid, a renowned director and video producer. Dan 'The Man' was employed by G Unit label, shooting videos for The Massacre (Special Edition) DVD album. Daniel offered his business partner, DJ Whoo Kid, to visit Alexander's studio in SoHo for a trial portrait. Soon after, 50 Cent himself posed in the same chair. Intrigued by the rich history of hip hop society, as well as the pompous celebrity lifestyle and flamboyant fashion choices of the rappers, Alex Melamid decided to continue the series. He spent two days at Snoop Dogg's compound in LA with a camera and sketchbook, following the renowned hip hop producer who was finishing a track for Tha Blue Carpet Treatment album. In 2011, Melamid together with Gary Krimershmoy of (Art) Amalgamated opened the Art Healing Ministry Clinic in SoHo – a practicing clinic where healing powers of art are used to treat insomnia, impotence, depression, and other physiological and psychological conditions. During an hour-long session, the patients are exposed to the reproductions and on-body projections of art masterpieces from Leonardo Da Vinci to Jackson Pollock, which are supposed to have an immediate DAP (Deep-Art-Penetration) effect. Following the initial success of his ongoing project, Alexander Melamid opened a Chelsea branch of Art Healing Ministry at 130 West 29th Street. He started lecturing on his art therapy approach, and eventually became an artist-in-residence for Behavior Health at the Queens Hospital Center in Jamaica, Queens. Some of Alexander Melamid's works had been purchased for the permanent collection by Metropolitan Museum Of Art, MoMA, Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, Victoria And Albert Museum, and other prestigious museums and galleries. Name variations: Александр Меламид, Александр Данилович Меламид, Alexander Danilovich Melamid, Alex Melamid, Alexander Melamed

Genres

• Hip-Hop/Rap
• Rock
• R&B/Soul
• Pop

Plays With

ArtistInfo App

Acknowledgements

ArtistInfo for Mac, iPad, and iPhone