ANDRE MIRIPOLSKY at the Oscars | ENCORE!

Welcome back to your listening to Radio Elton John. I'm George Matlark. We have a very special guest and a very special announcement to make today. Andrei Mirapolski is going to be joining us in just a moment. You may remember we spoke to him last summer and indeed he was our special guest in August of twenty twenty five.

Well he's back because by popular demand he's been doing a lot of things and we're gonna be finding out just how many he's able to tell us about today. There's a lot of processing gonna be going on today. Andre, welcome, welcome. It's great to have you on Radio Elton John again. How are you doing? How's your s how's your year begun? Well actually I was gonna say uh uh you're pointing to somebody the bitch is back. Good to be back. That's a bad one.

As and then alongside that of course Reg Strikes Back, which of course is the name of an album in nineteen eighty eight of Elton's. Well, we're so delighted to have you on Reg.world and uh we I know you've got some really important news you wanna share with the fans and there's so much of it. Elton John and David Furnish and the Elton John AIDS Foundation are very much involved.

in your latest news. Yes. Well it you know, it began well when I did your show uh w last August. Last year I w I was uh c commissioned uh by by a uh m by a a very big fan of rock and roll music and especially Elton John and that that um Central Park concert and the uh piano outfit which I I originally did. And that was a story. The p the piano outfit was w was one out of out of seven costumes that I designed for the Elm John World Tour, nineteen nineteen eighty World Tour.

But I believe he got that costume the night before the that concert in Central Park and the rest is history out of that you know, I look at that one moment in Central Park with with the original band, the set, everything about that show. And that that costume to me really epitomized Elton John in the moment. And I and I think in the past, the f the present and the future, I believe that piano key outfit is is gonna be living.

So th the the the the woman that commissioned me to do that, who who who loved that costume I I painted this painting. She wanted a portrait of Elton in Central Park in the in the costume. I've done a lot of portraits. But I've never done a portrait without actually the person's face because the portrait of Elton in Central Park I used the back of the costume, which was this electric lightning keyboard, which was to express

the power of music. And that whole costume I felt was like like a war a a music a musician's warrior costume. Yeah. And uh anyway So I I did I did this costume in my business uh partner, this painting of of of this eight foot by ten foot painting of the of of of Elden in Central Park. And trying without the face to trying to create the ambiance, trying to create some kind of the feeling, the sense

of this huge rock and roll concert with you know half a million people and I mean how do you do that in a in a like a a painting? So I I I came up with uh the the the best In a flash kind of I I came up with uh the best idea I could, which was I I I create a very heavy texture on the surface of the canvas to create movement, music, the exuberance, the ex the excitement.

And and I I think it did work and I and I do believe that this painting is one of the is one of my favorite pieces now. And I do feel that it's the painting itself is equal to the costume. So that in a way, in my mind, lightning has struck twice. in the same place. Yeah. Having to do Elton John and Central Park.

We did we made prints. out out of the out of the uh the painting and we put that on the internet through through uh various uh Elton John uh fan clubs and podcasts. And through that I the pleasure and fortune of meeting Ray Williams. And uh he loved that painting. He he had the idea to uh it was he had the idea to bring it to the Elton John AIDS Foundation and to uh see if could if we could contribute it.

to the uh upcoming art auction incorporated with the with Elton's Academy Award viewing party. that I think this year is like the thirty fifth year, thirty fourth or thirty fifth year, I think. I am so happy that it does happen to be my story and it is a real story, is about this forty six year arc. 'Cause now it's gonna be forty six years. The first place I finished this painting last year in March.

And this year in March, one year later, it's about to be it's gonna be getting its first world exposure. And I really honestly could not think how this worked out. I can't think of a better platform for this painting to be shown at the first time. You know, it's just perfect. So I love this story. No matter what, it this is happening. Yeah. And and and David, David Tranish and and and uh Elton, they're thrilled to have this painting. in the show and I

I could be happier w with even though it is forty six years. I it it's like you know, like an instant. Time is a strange animal, you know. Well well I can certainly vouch for the evocative painting and the the prints because as you know that's how we met. I mean Ray is uh was obviously exact I mean Ray Ray was charmed by seeing it online in your in your shop. I was charmed equally and that's why I got in touch.

And the rest as they say is history. You came on our show and you talked about the the the painting and we talked about the concert and so much serendipity about this whole thing, which I really I'm looking forward to uh when I meet out and to give him this backstrike'cause he I he'll I think he w he'll enjoy the'cause so much of his career, I mean, you know, obviously a juggernaut and everything, but but He's had so much serendipity in his life about being at the right place at the right time.

He's a genius and everything. But but it's still tiny is everything. No, I totally agree with you. Right. And and and and and and w when I got to go ahead to d do this cost the costume thing and the the whole that whole part of the picture happened within about twenty four hour period. I mean everything about this thing was was like blessed.

Mm. And and and so I think all these years later with getting back involved with the AIDS Foundation, which we're really, really happy to do well we we were really happy to get involved with the AIDS Foundation. and and contribute there with this painting and to continue a relationship with the AIDS Foundation, with my artwork and with that print, um, etcetera. So this this all is a I mean, it's a beautiful picture. It it is a combination. It's the combination of art and music.

and ph well photography too uh which which we're which we're very much involved with now but through actually partnering with with Ray the uh Fear No Art Initiative w which is through his his audio talents and my visual talents creating let's say events to to to celebrate the art the various art forms, fine art, uh music, uh photography, and of course philanthropic uh contributions. And to help artists that are that uh have been hurt by by different natural causes.

Yeah, national cars like like floods and Yeah. Natural disasters. Yeah. Thank you very much. Natural disasters. But look, th this is impressive and I did warn the listeners that there's a rather a lot to process and to take on board here today, ladies and gentlemen, because there's a lot of things that Uh Andrey Mirapolski, the art the celebrated artist, is doing

which brings him into the orbit of Elton John and David Furnish and the Elton John Ace Foundation. So let let's go back let's just dial back very quickly there, Andre. You mentioned earlier the that you're very pleased to be working with the Elton John Ace Foundation. W what i the the print is of g is gonna be available on your website and uh can you tell us about the proceeds and and and and how are you helping the Elton John Aids Foundation? Let's start with that.

Well I be all I believe all the all the proceeds are are going to the Aights Foundation. Uh the movie from the painting. Very generous and and very laudable of you to obviously make the proceeds available to the Elton John Ace Foundation. And it's something that we at Radio Elton John feel very strongly about as well and and you you know my views on this already that We we need to keep uh the the topic of HIV on the public agenda. because there are so many other things that are now sort of

taken the media's interest away from this topic and people sort of think it's it's no longer a a problem. But of course it's still very much a problem in parts of the world and and it's a it's something that we we need to keep fighting, uh don wouldn't you say? Yeah, well especially since the government has pulled out all the money for it. So now s now any any money going to help the you know to help the help A

is is gotta be coming from the civilian sector. Yeah. Completely. From the from the private sector. Yeah. I know that Holton is really he's really focused on this now to really you know step up the uh raising the money aim for the foundation. Absolutely. Absolutely. So it's wonderful that you're doing this this very generous essay offer. And folks, if if you haven't seen it already, we we published a picture of it I think on our w on our website last year when when Andre was our guest in August.

It is a really amazing picture. It's it the colors are electric. They're eclectic. There are any E words you want to put in there? There really are. I I'm amazed. I'm still amazed myself when I see it on a somebody sitting in front of it on a T V screen or whatever. Yeah. Because I was worried that when I made a print out of it that this texture that I'm talking about would flatten out. Yeah. And wouldn't you know, it wouldn't be as impactful as it is in real life.

But it does really still come across in the print. I mean, I'm amazed by the technology, you know, that's available.

to do all of this though. But yeah, it's a f it's a fatinous piece I think. Well we've got the print here and I can only agree with you. I've verified it with my own eyes and it is incredible the detail, the the how grainy and and and uh you know it is and you've got all of that there.

But to me it really looks three D, a print on on on this T V screen. It really looks three D. I can't believe I still can't believe it. Yeah. All those people, when they actually see the real thing, the eight by ten piece

That's it's it's really You've got to see it large, folks. I I I do agree with you. You've really got to experience this one large. And uh it is an amazing thing. When I saw it, the first words that came to my mind were Imagine all the people, uh from the famous song by John Lennon, which of course he performed at Central Park.

But you've give you've come up with your own name w and should you absolutely show it. And okay, now that you that that's that's a trigger for me. You just triggered me on something. So him do it covering the John Lennon song.

I think his covering of that song in that I I I don't know in general, but in that concert his covering of that song is one of the I think the best c covers I've ever heard of of that song. Mm-hmm. And I didn't see I did not see the you know, they made a T V special of that of that show.

And I I think the whole concert was like two hours or something and then the the the film the T V special was about an hour. That's right. They they pretty much cut out most of the first act, which we had was another costume. that he wasn't so crazy or not. But but at any rate, when I saw that in December after he did the show in in September and then I saw the the the T V special in

in December and I was like really emotional'cause I had no idea the the placement of what that costume was going to be in that show and I didn't even know about the show and it actually even happened. But but when I saw that I was very emotional. And w and when he started singing that this was only I saw it so I saw about a y about a month or something after he after John Lennon was killed. Yeah.

So saw him singing this thing in in my outfit and I mean I started really crying and it was like really very emotional. No. It was a a very emotional event indeed for so many fans, uh after sadly we lost John Lennon. But you've you've given the the the painting a different title. Can you just tell the the listeners what is the the painting called? Well it's it's more specific. Uh it's uh Elton Takes Manhattan, nineteen eighty. Yep.'Cause there are references In the painting.

There there are the world I have the world trade towers in the distance. Yep and the way he's kind of looking but not just facing it'cause it's just a side kind of a side view. But it's it's th there's a kind of a wistfulness. about it as well. And the two the the the two objects that I wanted to that I wanted to put in the play paint painting to place the timing of the painting w w was the Trade Center and also

If I do say so myself, I I I this is great. I I did pay homage to uh Bob Mackey who designed the Donald Duck outfit which you know he had such a problem getting into the f into the web feet of in and out. for for the uh encore. Yeah. Yeah. But I but I but I put him on I put the Donald Duck image on stage with Elton and he's giving a thumbs up and that his face, the Duck's face, mm was my

That wa that was my character's face. That was the face that was in the painting. So there is a face in the painting so that that people can relate to as a portrait portrait. There is a face. So in a way, he's being represented by Donald Duck again, but also by by the electric by the electric uh keyboard which yeah and and it's a great angle because it's it it's it's a little bit like

a bird's eye view. It's almost like we are on stage with Elton, seeing this huge crowd because you manage to get a quite a lot of the crowd into the the painting as well. You get the sea of people there and you can imagine all of that. Imagine all those people, right.

But you triggered me again there. So when'cause when when I was when I was actually that the night that I was up because it again I'm just I'll try to make this real fast, but when I got this phone call a at like at four o'clock in the afternoon one day, asking me if I'd like to do my do my artwork on on these ta on these fabrics, on these on this shape shapes. Well I said yes.

But but then all all night long when I was I was doing and and the messenger was gonna come the next morning to pick up these these these sketches and and take them to Elden to pick them out if he you know if he liked them of course. And so while I was up doing these, I was thinking, you know, how do I apply artwork onto fabric that that that shows up in at least a fifty thousand seat venue?

Well, so happened that uh two weeks before I got that phone call, this I was walking my dog in another area in Los Angeles where I was living then, and he introduced himself and said he was a fan of mine and that that he owned an embroidery company and that he thought my stuff would look really good in embroidery. And who doesn't like embroidery? I thought, Yeah, sure, but I didn't have anything at the moment. But cut to two weeks later

I was doing all that and the and I remembered that the this guy because what I what I w what I just thought about the embroidery was with the embroidery thread at least it's solid. It's opaque. It's on top of the fabric. Right. So it would have a better

sense of of reading in a camera or to a large, large audience then then if you painted it would go in the f I thought, you know, it would go into the fabric and it could get lost. So anyway, So coming up with that idea which was a little bit more than a little bit of a which was really kinda what the embroidery really kinda made it because it turned out that that embroidery

thread is like a satin thread. All the there are metallic there's actual metallic embroidery thread, but generally all of all of the uh embroidery thread is is satin. So it doesn't absorb light. Right. It's it's like wearing one of those outfits was like w like a light a light reflector into the camera. So you could take a shot of those those things.

from anywhere and and it would but take the best picture. And at the end of the day, it's always about the picture. You know, that's the last. The shows come up and the shows go down. But the pictures go off forever. Yeah. You know. And I and while I wa and especially when I was doing when I was doing the when I I came over the idea to do a piano outfit.

And obviously the doing the piano I offer is kind of a cliche, a rock and roll thing, I mean the piano man, you know, all that, but I don't I don't believe that that he had a out of all his costumes, that he had a piano rendition for himself. up up until that time. And when that finally happened, it happened on a stage in front of five hundred thousand people in Central Park on a beautiful day and with little bands.

and the set matched this the costume perfectly. Everything was a very high tech kind of look. So anyway when I when I was actually doing doing that costume I I was thinking of myself. being on stage like that and out with'cause I in my twenties and seventies I w I did a lot of Shakespeare. I did I I really did a lot of Shakespeare as an actor. And uh that's where used to costumes, big costumes, costumes that made uh you know that m had a real identity to it.

So in a way I I was looking at at El John as a kind of a Shakespearean character and and this costume was was of this ill. So I saw myself, I swear to God, I saw myself standing on a stage. Well, I'm doing this at night, all night, uh standing on a stage and looking out over a sea of people, not 50,000 seats. but a sea of people.

And unbelievably when I saw the f the show the tape in December and I saw those shots because those they had the shots from behind him on the stage and it's literally him walking around in that outfit. with a sea of people, as far as you can see, you know, to the horizon. Like amazing.

So that was uh you know, that was my own psychic thing or whatever. But that's why I I obviously I I've read a lot into this and that's why this this this this bridge this forty five year, forty six year bridge of bringing this painting in and what what what the idea came into me, you know, I thought it was really, really, you know, an important thing to get right. And to get it really right

was a real challenge. And and and and and fortunately for me, that same Pixie dust or whatever that was that was going along, the serendipity, the fate, or whatever it was that was going along with the construction of those other costumes, those seven costumes. was still here all these years later and Elton and I are still here. Everybody, you know, is still here. He's

I think he's just doing fantastic. I mean, that it's in a fabulous place in his life and it's just wonderful to be able to celebrate that at this at this time. So I I look at it as a celebration. I look at getting involved with the uh w you know, with the Elton John Aids Foundation as a celebratory, you know, situation. And and always I I've always been

I've always been really uh teen on on involv uh on involving the arts, combining them, especially art especially art and music. Because I I have had uh Elton was my Yeah, I actually I I I I I did a several album covers in seventy nine. And I w and I I made or seventy eight, seventy nine. And at that time I made a short list of people that I'd like to work with. And I had three I had I had a male solo, which was Elton Jarren. Mm-hmm. My female solo was Bet Midler.

And my band was the Rolling Stones. And then like what uh like like a year later, this Elton Elton thing came in and and then another year after that Vet Middler came in and did a he did a huge, huge thing with Bet Middler. A huge thing. And and then the Rolling Stones a little like with the Rolling Stones, but it it did come in and that was through uh Tony King who's very involved who's been a big friend of the Apples and everybody in the English uh music world from

You know, from the sixty. So you've ticked the boxes, you've done all three, Elton B Bet Midler and the Rolling Stones. How incredible. How absolutely incredible. A little a little a a little special thing with the Rolling Stones. Not a not a huge thing. But a little thing. But it was enough for me. Oh well it is that I that I pressed that button to do you did. You did. You got the trio. Fantastic.

Now, of course the the costume itself, the piano key po costume, uh is not part of the package here. We're not selling it. No one is selling it. I I believe it's Elton has actually retained it, is that correct? That is what I understand through the inside. I that's what I understand. I sold it. I I thought he sold it in the eighties when he had that big, big when he fli you know kinda slipped out or whatever. Yeah. And and the big

Yeah, Selberbees in nineteen eighty eight. Yeah. Right. Ray was talking to them actually about whether th they they would want to auction it at this thing with a painting as well. So I'm not sure about that yet. W if that would be auction. But in this situation after all this time, but you know, I I would think that that could be very valuable now, after all these years and You know, and and a lot of this, you know, is due, I think, the exposure is all I can say is thank God for YouTube.

For YouTube. Because now with YouTube it seems it's anything anything big it's ever been on television. On YouTube now it's forever. Yeah. Absolutely. It's immortalized. So folks, you can get a a print of this wonderful painting that uh that Andre was commissioned by a fan to produce. Uh it's called Elton Takes Manhattan, nineteen eighty. And it's not a good thing.

all proceeds to the Elton John Ace Foundation as you've been hearing on the programme. So that's just to give you all a quick summary of where we got to. You also heard there that the the the painting will have its first sort of debut, public debut. at uh the Oscar night uh party that Elton puts on uh the after the Academy Awards are are read out this year. So that's another exciting flash point.

Tell us about some of the other things you're working with Elton though on, because I know that there there are going to be some pop up shops you're gonna have around the world and am I right? And and then you've got the Fear No Art Initiative with with Ray Williams. Exactly. So so that that's uh that that's under the the the Pure No Art Initiative uh banner.

And a lot of those things are are are in play and are worked and are being worked out w worked out right now. And that's why I I I I feel in a way you know, karmically or whatever, that that having having this painting shown for the w this world debut at the at at the cher at his art auction at the at the viewing party is like the first kind of event of of the uh of the Fear No Art Initiative program.

And it is putting together music and art. So so it's valid and it it's just it's one of those things where I have the painting. He's got the auction going and that came together you know, that that came together pretty naturally. And So that will officially I I feel that officially will that it's like a pop up really. That's a a one pick pop up. But it could ho hopefully it will help a lot of a lot of people and And I I I it's already helping me, you know, re

reconnect with with Elson and and the crowd. Yeah. Uh definitely. And I know that the I've seen the list and it's quite a long list. You've got a lot of venues you want to cover around the world when you when you uh set up these pop ups, right? I know London is gonna be in there. I think I I think you're starting in Abu Dhabi, right? Uh would that be the first one? Well yes.

And and and that's interesting too because uh uh actually besides yourself and and Ray, we also as part of our team now we we have uh mister uh underwood, a Mark Underwood, who I do you know who he is? His name sounds very familiar. Well he he prides himself in being uh Elton's greatest fan. Yeah. That he's he's been to I I don't I don't know h a hundred and forty

concerts or something. I've I've met people who've been to three hundred so but we'll we'll leave the we'll leave the statistics to once. Memorabilia. He's got this huge amount of memorabilia and everything. And and he's he's been living in in uh he's a banker involvement pole trading, etcetera. And uh he's living in Abu Dhabi. No not Abu Dhabi, uh Dubai. Dubai. Dubai is it? Okay. It's Dubai. So thirty minutes away by by motorway. It's thirty minutes away, so whichever. Okay.

And actually I've re you know, my research, Dubai or the Emirates, they're really into art big time. And importing artists from all uh they import everybody. I mean there's a huge English expat population there. Yeah. Big. That's right. I mean Mo in fact m most of the population there is expat. Only about ten percent or twelve percent are natives. It's like Luxembourg. Yeah.

Yeah. And I and I've seen they have murals, they have murals all over the place. You know all that it's fantastic, you know, the flash northern architecture. And they have murals all over the place and they're all imported artists. So that's gonna be our our stop and and and our initial sponsorship is for for doing all this is coming from from Dubai. And I really I'm looking forward to going there.

And and and um I'm actually I um I have a show that I've been working on for for Dubai and also enlisting other artists that will be part of the the pop up shows as well as as we go along. So it's all really in play and and now and and and having this exposure that we're that we will be getting through this event, it's really kind of the kick off of of doing this. Whatever happens. Whatever happens. It's the kick it's a kickoff.

And the the fear note are initiative which you and Ray Williams are bringing to the world, uh if I r uh correctly understand it, this th th there will be fundraising on the back of this for Uh people in those natural disaster situations, right, that you mentioned and and and people who have fallen on hard times. Yes. Especially people of the arts. In the arts. But but surely it will be but especially people of the arts.

And um and we're we're we're breaking that down too in discussions with Ray and and and all'cause of obviously Ray has a fantastic background and and and the biophy. Yeah, wonderful person. I'm really enjoying knowing him. Indeed, and a distinguished guest on one of our shows a few years ago as well, so we we all remember Ray from that very well and it was a great time had when he was on our show.

So Andre, I think that r kinda wraps it all up. Anything else you want to share with the fans before you go? Really? That went so fast. It went so fast. It went so fast. Oh my goodness. Yeah. Well, I d uh one w well, uh my my my my last words then would be to everyone, fear no art. Fear no art, indeed. And you know, we've looked in the back catalogue of Elton John to try and find a song, a nice song to finish the show with.

And we look for something artistic, something to do with painting. And there are certain songs like When I Get to Paris and and even Just Like Belgium and other songs which allude to museums, to art, to paintings. But they never really get into it. There's one though that stands out from nineteen seventy three and it's a bit tongue in cheek, but we're gonna play out now with sweet painted lady, Andre Miraposky.

Great success we uh to come. We're ro really rooting for you. We hope it goes so well for you. This this year and beyond. And I and I know Elton's gonna be thrilled to bits but with with the painting because we all are and and and just well done for for all you've done and continue to do. So all the very best. This episode was presented by George Matlock, Executive Producer George Matlock, for Radio Elton John, All Rights Reserved.