MONROE'S LAST NUDES LOHAN REDUX
3-14-08 POST KEYWORDS: Lindsay Lohan Nude, Bert Stern, Marilyn Monroe, New York Magazine, The Last Sitting, Hotel Bel-Air, Lindsay Lohan, Layout, Comparison, Side-by-Side, (NOT SAFE FOR WORK), Cojo Art Juggernaut, Artsucks.com, Cojo
The original photoshoot "THE LAST (nude) SITTING" by legendary photographer Bert Stern, was commissioned by American Vogue and took place over three days in 1962 at the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles, six weeks before Marilyn was found dead from an overdose. Marilyn was naked, and the only props were a selection of scarves, jewelry and a steady flow of champagne. (Source MSNBC).
When I heard that New York Magazine had commissioned Stern to remake his famous Monroe shoot at the Hotel Bel-Air with similar props I was intrigued. When I heard who he was using as a model, I was hesitant.
Looking at the New York Magazine Nude Lohan prints (which are splattered all over the internet) I felt like the pictures only told half the story. As an artist who's done many reference photoshoots for my various projects over the years (both commercial and fine art, including four years with Maxim Magazine) for perspective I needed to see how the Lohan shots compared to the original Marilyn shots, and which Marilyn photos were used for reference.
I painstakingly (it was fun) went through the original Bert Stern / Monroe "the last sitting" shot-by-shot and figured out (to my best guess) which pictures he referenced for the Lohan shoot. Here is what I came up with: (see below) 
The photos themselves are masterfully shot, as Bert Stern is a brilliant artist, but the model leaves a lot to be desired. The recently rehabbed (no champagne this time) Lindsay Lohan plays a great Marilyn Monroe, if it was Freaky Friday and Monroe was somehow transmogrified into a 21 going on 62-year-old freckle chested ginger with unnatural looking boob orbs, tiny flesh toned nipples, a blonde draggish fright wig, rocky horror picture show style lashes, and a complete lack of charisma.
To buy Bert Stern's book of original Marilyn photos "THE LAST SITTING"
Click Here.
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check back next week (when the site relaunches fully Flux integrated) for ART SUCKS TOP TWENTY 21st CENTURY MARILYN'S companion compendium post. I started writing it as I was tediously going over these photos. I couldn't help but think about all the other current pop culture heroines I would have preferred to have seen Stern remake the historic shoot with. I feel like I've developed a natural casting director ability, so I've come up with a list for Hollywood's consideration. . . coming next week.
