In the most recent edition of Format Picks, our ongoing contest series, we celebrated the launch of our new creative project Format Classics by asking you to tell us about an individual from history who inspires you to create.
Format Classics is a creative interpretation of the personal portfolio websites a few famous historical figures might have made if they had access to the internet. Classics re-contextualizes icons from history to foster the idea that sharing work is central to the creative process. Whether work is new or old, it’s imperative that creators share in order to learn, grow, inspire—and create more.
We were impressed by the various ways creators added their own viewpoint to the project, but in the end we had to choose a winner.
Winner Lasha Beraia
Artist Beraia chose to highlight Henri Matisse because his minimalist and expressive style of forms and colors align with Beraia’s own work.
“I began making art in the early 1990s. My initial interest was photography. I am a book designer with more than 20 years of experience. One of the central motives of my artworks is the beauty of the human body. I show the viewer my attitudes towards themes of importance to me, such as the wholeness of the world and the interconnectedness of its elements, freedom, love, sensuality, and sexuality.”
Beraia won a grand prize of $250 cash, plus a $250 gift card from ONA Bags.
Runner Up Isadora Almeida
Illustrator and graphic designer Isadora Almeida shared her inspiration, Cindy Sherman, with us. “Since the ’70s, Cindy Sherman has been photographing herself in many scenarios, as historical paintings and women characters in movies. She talks about the representation of women in art, their clichés, and the way the male gaze frequently uses the female body in the works created by man. I’ve chosen her because of her way to create an art that reports the prejudice against women artists and the chauvinism presents in culture. I’ve used two of her works, Untitled #193 (1989) and Untitled #175 (1987) to make this photo collage.
Almeida won a $250 cash prize.
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