Art inspired by Valentine's Day
By Victoria Kim
Girls are wooed by candy hearts, cute stuffed animals and love notes all year round, not just on Valentine’s Day. The feelings around romance and crushes are familiar feelings we've continued to experience since grade school. This report explores the love-related graphics from Valentine-related art, icons, signs, and fashion items.
Inspiration
- Heart
Artists use love and romance often as a central theme in their work.
Damien Hirst is known for his use of butterflies. For his “In and out of Love” series, he displays butterflies flying over a heart’s surface. One of the lucky owners of this series is Harper Beckham, David and Victoria Beckham's daughter.
Other popular artists like Jeff Koons and Keith Haring both use the heart in a variety of ways. Artist Tracey Emin has made neon light love quotes famous worldwide with great installation pieces. Graffiti artists also use romance in their work often provoking deep emotions in on-lookers.
- Internet
The younger generation who are used to the Internet may find digital art more familiar. They express their feelings creatively online.
- Teenagers
Some arts are inspired by teenagers. These graphics recall our teenage memories of plucking the petals off a daisy one by one while reciting “he loves me, he loves me not” or that first kiss that was super awkward and weird because you both had braces. Teenager-inspired art is created as if teenage girls are scribbling the name of their crush over and over on their notebooks or gossiping with friends about the cutest boys in school.
- Quotes
Humorous love quotes also regularly appear on Valentine’s Day cartoons. They wouldn't be complete without our favorite awkward teen cartoon, Tina from Bob's Burgers.
- Lips
The gap between the two front teeth has become a new sexy look paired with red lips, thanks in part to model Georgia May Jagger.
- Cards
Remember the days when you exchanged Valentine's Day cards in class? You would always make sure to give your crush the best one. Artists take graphic and text inspiration from these cards.
Fashion
Here are a few key items featuring 'love' inspired graphics. Half drop heart prints and quotes are perfect for t-shirts and bodysuits, while sweaters are great for collage graphics and placement prints. Jackets feature placement quotes on the back while heart cutouts add a sexy effect to flirty dresses.
Packaging
- Chocolate
Chocolate is not a tough product to sell but the market is over saturated and in order to grab attention, unique and attractive packaging is necessary. The need for individuality has resulted in some captivating and innovative branding.