The top 50 most influential artists according to Sky Arts included singers, writers, filmmakers, comedians, and fashion designers.
Due to his ability to transcend music, movies, and fashion, David Bowie has been awarded Britain’s most influential artist of the past 50 years.
The Starman musician topped Sky Arts’ list of the 50 most influential artists, ahead of Oscar-winning 12 Years A Slave director Sir Steve McQueen and It’s A Sin author Russell T. Davies, who brought back Doctor Who in 2005.
Included were musicians such as the Spice Girls, Sir Elton John, Stormzy, and Boy George, as well as actors Michaela Coel and Steve Coegan.
The roster also included street artist Banksy, director Sir Ridley Scott, and fashion designers Alexander McQueen and Dame Vivienne Westwood.
Ricky Gervais and Victoria Wood join artist Tracey Emin and Skin, the lead singer of rock band Skunk Anansie, who was Glastonbury’s first black British headlining act in 1999.
The list recognizes prominent artists in the visual arts, literary arts, performing arts, music, film, and television areas.
Sky Arts challenged the judging panel, chaired by broadcaster and DJ Lauren Laverne, to compile the list, and Bowie was crowned for his ability to transcend multiple genres.
Respected and renowned
Laverne said: “Working with such a distinguished panel of judges, I anticipated that their dialogues would be entertaining, and indeed they were.
“The judges took great care with their scoring to ensure that the Top 50, Top 20, and Top 10 lists represented the most influential artists, and the final list is comprised of artists who are so deserving of their positions.
It was a pleasure to participate in the judging process, which culminated with David Bowie’s victory at the top spot.
Bowie, one of the most famous and esteemed performers of the 20th century, passed away on January 10, 2016, two days after his 69th birthday from liver cancer.
More than 8,500 painstakingly placed guitar plectrums were used to create a one-of-a-kind portrait of the singer-songwriter, with each plectrum’s cutout shape representing the artistic disciplines Bowie impacted.
The two-meter-tall sculpture was designed by artist Joe Black, who stated: “This portrait was created to commemorate the fact that David Bowie was declared the most influential artist of the past 50 years.
“His visual portrayal had a profound effect on all creative forms worldwide.
“The plan was to employ thousands of plectrums with unique designs, with each design reflecting one of Bowie’s five artistic influences: music, film, fashion, and literature.
Bowie was a maverick and a global icon who ushered in a new era of Bowie in popular culture.
Director of Sky Arts Philip Edgar-Jones commented: “As our number one artist, we wanted to pay tribute to David Bowie in a manner that felt commensurate with the magnitude of his influence.
“Joe Black’s artwork honors how Bowie’s impact crosses genres with guitar picks with cut-out designs of music, art, stage, and screen.”
