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Russell King, New York City. Photo via Loftygoalsnyc.com.

Reading the Streets: KM by Russell King

Russell King, New York City. Photo via Loftygoalsnyc.com.
Russell King, New York City. Photo via Loftygoalsnyc.com.

NEW YORK – A mysterious woman bathed in pink light stared out mysteriously from an Orchard Street doorway, wedged so tightly that when I tried to take a picture, I found myself contorting in uncomfortable directions, attracting stares from nearby construction workers. Fortunately, the woman didn’t mind, as she was on a poster created by street artist Russell King.

The woman has the symmetrical features and practiced stare of a model. A halo of fuchsia light envelopes her features, which would make most of us look as if we were melting, only serves to make her more interesting, a spotlight for her features, much more sharply rendered than many street portraits I’ve seen. Her Cupid’s bow lips and blue eyes were so clear, it seemed like a photograph.

The slickness of the lighting and the very clearly labeled signature made me think that my interest was the result of a particularly effective guerrilla marketing campaign for a mysterious product (clothing? vodka?) called KM by Russell King. The overall effect seemed so art directed I thought, this has to be an ad.

While the subject, Karolina Muller, is in fact a model, the picture isn’t selling anything. It turns out that Mr. King is simply talented at figure drawing, and that perhaps I am too cynical.


ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE


Russell King, New York City. Photo via Loftygoalsnyc.com.
Russell King, New York City. Photo via Loftygoalsnyc.com.
Russell King, New York City. Photo by Ilana Novick.
Russell King, New York City. Photo by Ilana Novick.
Russell King, New York City. Photo by Ilana Novick.
Russell King, New York City. Photo by Ilana Novick.
Russell King, New York City. Photo via Street Art NYC: http://streetartnyc.org/blog/2012/02/07/speaking-with-russell-king/
Russell King, New York City. Photo via Street Art NYC: http://streetartnyc.org/blog/2012/02/07/speaking-with-russell-king/