PlasticGod is the tag of Los Angeles-based artist, Doug Murphy, also known as “The 21st Century Warhol.” His paintings of Pop icons from the world of music, art, fashion, cinema, theater and celebrity has made PlasticGod a Pop icon in his own right. Early Work and Education PlasticGod studied graphic art and packaging design at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and in Switzerland. He began drawing at a very young age and combined his fascination by Pop Culture […]
PlasticGod is the tag of Los Angeles-based artist, Doug Murphy, also known as “The 21st Century Warhol.” His paintings of Pop icons from the world of music, art, fashion, cinema, theater and celebrity has made PlasticGod a Pop icon in his own right.
Early Work and Education
PlasticGod studied graphic art and packaging design at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and in Switzerland. He began drawing at a very young age and combined his fascination by Pop Culture with his talent for graphic design and packaging. PlasticGod said that his first portrait idea came to him in a dream about two Lego characters. As his work became more refined, it became more in demand.
Recent Work and Career
Doug Murphy used the alias PlasticF#$%er but changed it to PlasticGod when he began to get media attention and realized that PlasticF#$%er needed to be censored in the publicity that he garnered. He ran a contest and asked his fans to come up with a new alias. The winner was PlasticGod.
In 2001, PlasticGod’s work was displayed at the Brewery Art Walk in Los Angeles, and his career took off. His work generated a cult following from the fans of the Big Bang Theory, Star Wars and other Pop icons and attention from the celebrities he painted, like Bruce Willis, Anne Hathaway and Depeche Mode.
PlasticGod’s work has garnered him international attention. His Hello Kitty X PlasticGod series merges western and Japanese culture in creations so popular that they have set off a craze of Hello Kitty X PlasticGod tattoos. PlasticGod has done created than 1200 paintings that range from portraits of famous architects to portraits of Zoolander’s outfits.
Shepard Fairey is a big fan of PlasticGod…and Zoolander. PlasticGod makes giclees of his portraits, prints them on textured paper and wraps them onto box frames, so that each portrait is like a personalized gift package. He has also created a popular series of Nick Cave dolls that have become collectors items.
PlasticGod has been commissioned to do murals and other works by MTV, Marvel, Mattel, Coachella Arts Festival, Hewlitt-Packard, Lucas Films, Linkin Park, The Standard Hotel and others. He has been featured in major publications including the LA Times, Vanity Fair, Wired and the Huffington Post.
Police in cities around the world still chase after graffiti artists for vandalizing property. Some of those artists are often commissioned, by the same authorities who considered them vandals, to paint public works in their cities.
