NEW YORK, NY.- Music and art have always gone hand in hand, pushing creativity and collaboration. What's one without the other?
Hennessy V.S Blending of Art celebrates the two as one, in a collaborative project that aligns the visually arresting with the sonically bold; the musically adventurous with the artistically free. An exclusive series of future thinking artworks that connect some of musicʼs most vibrant revolutionaries with visual artists and graphic designers that dance to the same beat.
Inspired by the Hennessy Artistry curation process, Hennessy has invited a posse of artists to express themselves around the iconic Hennessy V.S bottle with true creative freedom creating five new iconic bottle designs.
2010 Hennessy Artistry Curators Questlove and Q-Tip, alongside the musical talents of A-Trak, Kid Sister and Steve Aoki and stunning visual artists Dust La Rock, Spaceknuckle, Aerosyn-Lex Mestrovic, Fafi and Laundry are all part of this collaboration process.
Taking a purely artistic approach and creating five new iconic bottle designs (not commercially available, although a handful will be manufactured and later auctioned for charity), the artworks were revealed at the Hennessy Artistry Halo event at New York Cityʼs Cipriani Wall Street on October 14th that featured an epic live line-up including The Roots, Q-Tip, Erykah Badu, Mary J Blige and many more.
The Blending of Art blog is the home for more exclusive interviews, features and behind the scenes photos from this creative collaboration, involving all ten visionary artists, inspired by the craft and heritage of Hennessy V.S and their own artistic stories and is updated weekly.
The Artists
A-Trak VS Dust La Rock
As one of the most talented DJs of his generation, New Yorkʼs A-Trak became the youngest ever DMC DJ World Champion at the age of 15, winning every DJ award conceivable and an acclaimed music producer in his own right. Together with his Blending of Art collaborator, the hugely gifted designer Dust La Rock, they own Foolʼs Gold records (with DJ Nick Catchdubs) constantly on the search for musical and aesthetic perfection.
“We wanted to maintain the integrity of Hennessy and decided to work the artwork around the existing branding. Music and art is as synonymous with, and as necessary as the blood that flows through our veins.”
Kid Sister VS Fafi
Celebrated as one of the sceneʼs most unique new female artists, Kid Sisterʼs acclaimed blend of electro rap and new wave pop has taken her from Chicago to the world. In Paris she met Fafi, the legendary female graffiti artist infamous for her vibrant, bold and sexy Fafinette characters. Together, Kid Sister and Fafi represent a game changing female attitude for a new generation of artists.
“With Blending of Art we are taking the Hennessy heritage and making it live through shattering ingenuity!”
Q-Tip VS Spaceknuckle
Q-Tipʼs legendary status as the leader of the classic hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest is unparalleled. Graced with one of the most unique voices in rap music, for 20 years New Yorker has ruled with creativity and originality. Collaborating with North Carolinaʼs Spaceknuckle, the acclaimed artist whose own cutting edge vision pushes the boundaries of dark, stark graphics with added soul, the duo celebrate heritage whilst staring down the future.
“Hennessy is steeped in tradition, but always keeping up with the times and staying relevant, without trying too hard.
Questlove VS Aerosyn-Lex Mestrovic
Representing Philadelphia and the legendary Roots Crew, Questloveʼs Grammy winning resume as one of hip hopʼs most acclaimed producers and drummers was transformed into an iconic new bottle design. Working with New Yorkʼs mercurial designer, typographer and artist Aerosyn-Lex, the duo celebrate the most iconic record labels in music history.
“There's so much heritage, history and tradition there to pull from and being vinyl heads, we wanted to have that iconic label feel... and the afro pick instead of the Hennessy axe was a great idea.”
Steve Aoki VS Laundry
Los Angeles club music muse Steve Aoki, the globetrotting Dim Mak Records label head, DJ, producer and promoter is responsible for reinventing LAʼs dance party scene. Paired with the ground breaking graphic artist and animator Laundry, aka PJ Richardson, a fellow LA peer, the duo have created within a whirlwind of hyper color and West Coast inspiration.
“There is a purity to Hennessy and to match that we created a unified design that simply complimented the brand of excellence with our own unique brand of excellence led by shape and form.”
