Legendary artist Gerald Scarfe has been commissioned to create artworks to brand the city of Cannes during this year’s 60th anniversary of the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. These will be revealed to the public in France when the Festival begins on 16 June.
Scarfe established himself as a satirical cartoonist during the early 1960s, working for Punch magazine and Private Eye. He has been political cartoonist for the Sunday Times for 46 years, and his work regularly appears in many periodicals, including The New Yorker, Vogue and Tatler. His film work includes designing and directing the animation for Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’, and Disney’s ‘Hercules’.
“The artist was a clear match to help the Festival celebrate 60 years of creativity. Not only has Gerald Scarfe been working professionally since the very earliest years of Cannes Lions, but throughout his career he’s been pushing boundaries, a quality very much identified with our industry and celebrated at the Festival,” says Philip Thomas, Lions Festivals CEO. “As part of our anniversary celebrations, we wanted to highlight the importance of creativity, which is at the heart of Cannes Lions, by having something unique and iconic commissioned befitting this special milestone in the history of the Festival.”
To mark the start of the collaboration, Cannes Lions TV has produced a short film in which the artist discusses his career and inspiration.
Scarfe has had many works exhibited worldwide, most recently in the Czech Republic, and more than 50 one-man shows. He has designed the sets and costumes for plays, operas and musicals in London, Houston, Los Angeles and Detroit. Scarfe has written and directed live action and documentary films for the BBC and Channel 4 and has published many books of his work.
He has recently completed the title sequence for a new TV series of ‘Yes, Prime Minister’ and is currently designing animated sequences for a documentary film with Jonathan Franzen. Gerald was awarded the CBE in 2008.
All delegates will receive a commemorative t-shirt designed by Scarfe. For further information on the 60th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity or to register to attend, please visit www.canneslions.com
