Art is a subjective thing. What moves us to tears may barely speak to the next audience. For Twitter user @jadineisart, she finds art in showbiz power couple James Reid and Nadine Lustre. Using photos of the couple, she positions them next to images of classical paintings that depict a similar scenario. The results? A cheeky comparison that marries cultures which are normally worlds apart. The pictures may appear part-satirical, but are pure gold.
We spoke to the person (who wishes to remain anonymous) behind this growing art account on what got her started, the tedious process behind curating the art, and her feelings towards the superstars themselves. (Believe it or not, she used to hate them.)
What inspired you to create this Twitter account?
I’m in the Game of Thrones fandom too and I’ve seen a lot of accounts do threads of art x character parallels so I decided to do a local one myself. The original thread was actually on my other fan account but a mutual convinced me to create a separate account for it and the rest is history.
Where do you source your art images? Surely, it’s not easy leafing through thousands of paintings just to find one that perfectly fits the Jadine photograph.
Fortunately, when I decided to create @jadineisart, the Google Arts and Culture app finally gained some popularity so I started using it for quick searches. I normally get the photos from Wikipedia too.
How do you decide which piece of art goes with its respective Jadine photo?
I pick portraits and paintings that closely look like or resemble her poses and clothes, or paintings that just agree with the general mood of the photo that I have. It’s a long, tedious process of going through all the works of Titian and Rembrandt. When I started, I was a bit uptight about the painting matching the photo up to the smallest details. But now I’m more relaxed.
Are you also into art yourself?
I consider myself a bit of an art enthusiast. The account may have started out of whim, but now I feel like through it I was able to do the two things I love: fangirling and consuming art. It’s also a fun way to make people see these wonderful creations alongside a local celebrity. I’d like to believe this is my contribution to art appreciation.
“It’s also a fun way to make people see these wonderful creations alongside a local celebrity. I’d like to believe this is my contribution to art appreciation.”
So, what else do you do besides being a Jadine fan?
I am currently working as a writer for ABS-CBN by day, and by night I get to be an anon fangirl and cat mom. I’ve been a JaDine fan since On The Wings of Love but I used to hate James and Nadine lol.
You can check out more of her art on @jadineisart.
Header image from James Reid’s “Cool Down” music video
Text by Isabella Argosino