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In her 1993 interview with MichaelJackson, Oprah Winfrey asked thealabaster-faced Afro-Americansuperstar if he bleached his skin. No,he said. “And why is that so important?I’m a great fan of art. I love Michelangelo.If I had a chance to talk to him, I wouldwant to know what inspired him tobecome who he is, not about who hewent out with last night or why hedecided to sit out in the sun for so long.”It’s the quote National Portrait Gallerydirector Nicholas Cullinan cites as hereflects on Michael Jackson: On the Wall,the exhibition he is launching on June28, and a sentiment he echoes: “This isnot about trying to dissect someone’s lifeand character. It’s about him as an artist.”Beyond the rhinestone glove and thegates of Neverland, Jackson was animmaculate conception: a black boy whomorphed into a raceless and genderlessalien creature, and had theworld falling at his feet inspite of it. “His work andlife seem very relevantnow,” says Cullinan. “Allthe discussions we’rehaving about the politicsof identity you can reallytrace back to him.”``````To mark what would have been his 60th birthday, alandmark new exhibition pays homage to the art andlife of Michael Jackson. By Anders Christian Madsen``````Marking what would have beenJackson’s 60th birthday on August 29,the exhibition comprises some 100 worksof art depicting his many facets and faces,seen through the eyes of everyone fromAndy Warhol to Grayson Perry.Among them is the last portraitJackson commissioned of himself,Kehinde Wiley’s depiction of him asPhilip II of Spain on horseback, afterRubens. Jackson often had himselfpainted as kings and archangels – easilybrushed off as megalomania. “This issomeone who grew up in a poor area ofGary, Indiana, in a two-bedroom housewith eight siblings, who managed totranscend that,” Cullinan argues.In Johannes Kahrs’s Untitled ( Jesus Aged43), Cullinan identifies a parallel betweenJackson – accused of having a Messiahcomplex – and old-master portrayalsof Christ. “For every stage of Jesus’s lifethere are images, whichshow Him preaching orbeing a visionary, thesuffering Christ, thetortured body, the dead-embraced Christ.”During Jackson’smisconduct trial in 2004(he was acquitted), Maggi``````Hambling created a painting from a photoof him outside the courthouse appearing“vulnerable and alone”, juxtaposed with“the triumph” of his tiptoeing Florsheimloafers. The work was rejected by theRoyal Academy after claims that otherartists refused to be near it. “I’d like tothink civilised people would see it as apainting of compassion,” says Hambling.Since his death, Jackson has largelybeen celebrated through pictures from the1980s, pre trials and tribulations. “Anyonewho is different is pilloried,” Hamblingreflects. “Why shouldn’t Michael Jacksonchange the colour of his skin and dressas he did? This exotic soul, who waspersecuted and misunderstood, andclearly a genius... It’s a great idea to havethis show and reinstate Jackson where hebelongs: as an icon and a hero and anextraordinary human being.” QMichael Jackson: On the Wall is at theNational Portrait Gallery, WC2, fromJune 28 to October 21``````The NationalPortrait Gallery’sMichael Jacksonexhibition includesthis 1984 work byAndy Warhol (farleft); Kehinde Wiley’sEquestrian Portraitof King Philip II(Michael Jackson),from 2010 (left);and (below,from top) DavidLaChapelle’s 1998photograph AnIlluminating Path;1980s Interviewand Time magazinecovers by Warhol.Bottom left: MichaelJackson (2004) byMaggi HamblingMan in the mirrorARTS & CULTURETHE ANDY WARHOL FOUNDATION FOR THE VISUAL ARTS; KEHINDE WILEY/OLBRICHT COLLECTION, BERLIN/STEPHEN FRIEDMAN GALLERY, LONDON/SEAN KELLY GALLERY, NEW YORK; DAVID LACHAPELLE; MATTHEW ROLSTON; MAGGI HAMBLING``````71