From a “California Gurl” to the Cupcake Queen!
According to the gallery’s website, Katy Perry’s portrait will debut June 18 at the Smithsonian together with the other collection at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
The portrait was created in 2010, where artist Will Cotton, who also collaborated with Perry on her 2010 music video for “California Gurls,” painted Perry wearing a crinkly white dress inspired by a cupcake wrapper as well as a candy crown, necklace and sceptre.
Kim Sajet, director of the Portrait Gallery, said the tongue-in-cheek portrait represents Perry’s powerful impact on the music industry. “Katy Perry comes from an American tradition of strong women entertainers who have ‘turned the tables’ on their audiences by challenging the supposedly superficial representation of their pop personas,” Sajet said. “On a closer look, they are complex figures: musically powerful, visually alluring and business savvy.”
Perry’s cupcake dress was designed by Cotton and constructed by designer Cynthia Rowley.
According to the museum, “Cupcake Katy” is expected to “enrich the National Portrait Gallery’s important collection of influential women in the music industry.”
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