Granular Marilyn

Andy Warhol took a newspaper image of Marilyn Monroe and put her through screen printing processes. George Barber appropriated an image of Marilyn and put her through a mixture of old analogue video processes and new digital CGI. The result is Granular Marilyn (2022). The visually abstract sequence is composed of colourful beads which occasionally resolve intriguingly into the face of Marilyn. Just as Warhol appropriated a newspaper image of Marilyn, Barber has used today's technology to re-enact this famous act. Yet Granular Marilyn also references his own early career and importance in Scratch Video, a 1980’s video genre Barber made a name in, and came to define.