“In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too), those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” – Charles Darwin
The portrait photographer Felix Kunze once said, “I would argue that Sarah Oliphant’s art has been seen by more people on the planet than any other living artist’s work.” It is impossible to calculate whether this is true or not, but Oliphant’s large paintings are ubiquitous. They have provided the background for thousands of iconic photographs for nearly half a century, appearing in magazines and newspapers and on city buses, movie posters, Saturday Night Live, and haute couture fashion runways worldwide.
Oliphant’s paintings, which are acrylic and latex paint on canvas, are backdrops that photographers and event planners use to create scenes and inflect moods. Her work’s function is to highlight the primary subject matter, which may be a celebrity, a dignitary, a bottle of shampoo, or a wedding stage set. She considers herself an art collaborator rather than a solo artist and is renowned for solving other people’s artistic challenges. “I am not the ‘it’; I am behind the ‘it,’” Oliphant said. “I need the pressure of knowing that what I produce includes someone else’s vision and is part of someone else’s experience.”
Oliphant is a master at working in very large format and sometimes employs a small team of painters. She created the massive woodland painting, shown here, to cover the walls of a large wedding tent this past summer. The painting comprised 12 separate panels covering 8,000 square feet.
Art can take on many forms and functions outside museum walls. It often enhances our daily experiences as we encounter music, architecture, design – and even a summer wedding.
Sarah Oliphant’s work can be viewed on her website.