Project Name
Swoosh Art
Posted in
New media (digital)
Artist
Davide Bedoni
Detailed Information
Project NameSwoosh ArtPosted inNew media (digital)ArtistDavide Bedoni

Swoosh on Narcissus (1881) by Gyula Benczúr (1844-1920).

Swoosh on Narcissus (1881) by Gyula Benczúr (1844-1920).

Swoosh on Patrocle (1780) by Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825).

Swoosh on Patrocle (1780) by Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825).

Italian creative wunderkind Davide Bedoni is an award-winning fashion film director and self-confessed internet addict based in Milan, who in his free time (that is, when he’s not making videos for clients such as Furla and Gucci) is occupied with a very peculiar hobby. He enjoys making digital mash-ups of the well-known Nike logo and European figurative painting masterpieces, which he then posts on a dedicated Tumblr called Swoosh Art. Undoubtedly one of the most recognisable commercial logos in the world, also known as The Swoosh, was originally designed in 1971 by Carolyn Davidson; in the hands of Bedoni however, the dynamic and commercial Swoosh invades 19th century painting iconography with hilarious results.

Swoosh on The Execution of Lady Jane Grey (1833) by Paul Delaroche (1797-1856).

Swoosh on The Execution of Lady Jane Grey (1833) by Paul Delaroche (1797-1856).

In some of the images, the logo becomes an absurd object held comically by mythical and religious figures, while in others, it cheekily interrupts dramatic scenes. Davide Bedoni uses other Nike trademarks with the same humorous flair: 18th and 19th century bourgeois figures seem to encourage people to ''Just Do It,'' as if advertising their notoriously decadent lifestyle. As far as we can see from his more recent Tumblr activity, Bedoni’s Swoosh Art has now taken the streets as well, in the form of large posters pasted all over walls and billboards.

photo © Davide Bedoni.

photo © Davide Bedoni.

Swoosh on Rene-Charles Dassy and His Brother Jean-Baptiste-Claude Amede Dassy (1850) by Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin (1809 - 1864).

Swoosh on Rene-Charles Dassy and His Brother Jean-Baptiste-Claude Amede Dassy (1850) by Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin (1809 - 1864).

Swoosh on The hard lesson (1884) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905).

Swoosh on The hard lesson (1884) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905).

Swoosh on The Judgment of Paris (1870) by Anselm Feuerbach (1829-1880).

Swoosh on The Judgment of Paris (1870) by Anselm Feuerbach (1829-1880).

Swoosh on the Execution of Torrijos and His Companions on the Beaches of Malaga (1888) by Antonio Gisbert Pérez (1834-1901).

Swoosh on the Execution of Torrijos and His Companions on the Beaches of Malaga (1888) by Antonio Gisbert Pérez (1834-1901).

Swoosh on Pieta (1876) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905).

Swoosh on the Portrait of M. and Mme Lavoisier (1788) by Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825).

Swoosh on the Portrait of M. and Mme Lavoisier (1788) by Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825).

Swoosh on the Clouds over Lake Geneva by Gustave Courbet (1819-1877).

Swoosh on The Wave (1896) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905).

Swoosh on The Wave (1896) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905).

Swoosh on The Birth of Venus (1879) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905).

Swoosh on The Birth of Venus (1879) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905).

Swoosh on the Portrait of Irma Brunner (1880) by Edouard Manet (1832-1883).

Swoosh on the Portrait of Irma Brunner (1880) by Edouard Manet (1832-1883).

Swoosh on Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta appraised by Dante and Virgil (1835) by Ary Scheffer (1795-1858)

Swoosh on Ajax and Cassandra (1886) by Joseph Solomon (1860-1927).

Swoosh on Ajax and Cassandra (1886) by Joseph Solomon (1860-1927).

Swoosh on The Remorse of Orestes (1862) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905).

Swoosh on The Remorse of Orestes (1862) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905).

Swoosh on Le Chemin du Marché, Finistère (1878) by Emile-Auguste Hublin (1830-1891).

Swoosh on Le Chemin du Marché, Finistère (1878) by Emile-Auguste Hublin (1830-1891).

Swoosh on Scene of deluge (1827) by Joseph-Désiré Court (1797-1865).

Swoosh on The Flagellation of Our Lord Jesus Christ (1880) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905).

Swoosh on The Flagellation of Our Lord Jesus Christ (1880) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905).

Nike’s Swoosh Invades The Elevated Realm Of 18th & 19th Century Paintings

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