An artist duo in the Hamptons has immortalized Justin Timberlake’s moment of shame, turning the pop singer’s recent mugshot into an Andy Warhol-style portrait.
“It’s flying off the shelves,” Robert Lohman told me.
A painter and interior designer who normally specializes in ethereal paintings of clouds and skies, he collaborated with a friend, photographer Mary Godfrey, to put out an edition of inkjet prints on canvas featuring Timberlake’s booking photograph.
Local police pulled over the allegedly intoxicated musician and actor in Sag Harbor early the morning of June 18. The arresting office said Timberlake failed sobriety tests and declined to take a breathalyzer test.
“When I first saw this image of Timberlake, I said, ‘this is iconic.’ I felt a calling to develop it,” Lohman said. “Andy Warhol’s genius was in knowing which images would capture and evoke a moment in time, and Justin’s mugshot seemed to me to do exactly that. I thought it was deserving of the Warhol treatment, and I believe Andy would approve.”
Justin Timberlake’s mugshot from his DWI arrest. Photo courtesy of Sag Harbor Police.
The portrait, titled Tuesday Night Out Featuring Justin Timberlake, is for sale at Sag Harbor’s Romany Kramoris Gallery for just $520. The dealer’s shop is located just across the street from the American Hotel, where Timberlake is said to have had a single martini before his DWI charge.
“People have been lining up all day long taking pictures through the window,” Romany Kramoris said.
Godfrey Lohman, as the two artists have dubbed their collaboration, are releasing the artwork in four different variations, each in an edition of 60. The two have worked together for many years on Lohman’s photography projects, this is their first jointly authored artwork.
When they approached Kramoris Gallery about offering the piece, Kramoris was immediately interested. They dropped off the test prints, and the dealer promptly put one on display in the window.
Godrey Lohman, Tuesday Night Out. Photo courtesy of Romany Kramoris Gallery, Sag Harbor.
“I was driving home when Romany called to say one had already sold,” Lohman said. “Now we’re working hard to fill orders as they come in!”
“We’ve been getting calls from all around the world—Germany, Australia, and Canada, as well as all over the United States,” Kramoris added. “It’s a moment in history, a moment in time. People relate to Justin Timberlake and enjoy him, and in a sense they feel sorry that this happened—as do I. He’ll have to suffer the consequences, but there’s a lot of support behind him.”
Despite the overwhelming demand for the work, the dealer and the artists have promised not to raise the price, save for the last few editions as they begin to sell out.
“If it continues to be popular,” Lohman added, “we’ll explore other colorways—just like Andy Warhol did.”