Toronto Artist Makes 1000 'Veddy Nice' Paintings Of Borat

TORONTO (TNA) – One Toronto artist may be spending too much time looking at Sacha Baron Cohen.

Oli Goldsmith has spent the last few months on a mission: Attempting to do 1000 separate portraits of Cohen’s Kazhaksthani character Borat.

The paintings, which Goldsmith sells for $100 apiece, range from Andy Warhol-style portraits and mixed media to more traditional paintings.

One of the 1000 pictures of Borat

Amazingly, Goldsmith never saw the hit film "Borat" until after he started the project. However, he was a fan of the character based on his appearances on "Da Ali G Show."

More importantly for Goldsmith: He says the "Borat" series isn’t about Borat as much as it is a commentary on pop culture in general.

"I’ve always had an interest in art surrounded by mass media pop culture," Goldsmith said. "I focused on this series as a way to show how artists can use the internet, and social networking sites in particular, as an alternative to galleries."

Goldsmith says Web 2.0 and social networking sites like Flickr allow an artist to get instant feedback for their work without going through the hassles of organizing an actual art show in a brick-and-mortar setting.

"I get bored of people talking about the internet’s shortcomings as an art platform," Goldsmith said. "I can reach more people through this than a gallery.

But while Borat is only a small part of Goldsmith’s big picture, he sees his work as a commentary on how celebrities are manufactured.

He also admits the series is a tribute to Borat’s creator.

"There’s something about Cohen I respect," Goldsmith said. "I like the audacity of his Borat character and [how it’s a commentary] on being a manufactured celebrity."

Plus, Goldsmith admires how Cohen will take a loose idea and improvise on it, creating an "awkwardness" he considers both "charming and repulsive."

Goldsmith is quick to add, however, that he hopes art lovers don’t find that particular combination in his own "Borat" pieces.

Goldsmith admits he is very prolific and has been cranking out "Borat" portraits at an amazing clip. In fact, he finished the final portrait in the series in early July and is now selling them to fans.

No word on Cohen’s reaction to the series, but Goldsmith says that he’s received a few e-mails from a man claiming to be a character from the film named "Johnny the monkey," who is requesting some portraits of the character on Borat’s shoulders.

He suspects those messages may be from Cohen himself and is proud that his works have been widely reported in the Kazakhstan press.

He also has heard talk about putting the entire series in a real gallery, perhaps in Kazakhstan, and while he finds the prospect amusing, Goldsmith believes the paintings will all be sold separately in a matter of weeks.

Still, Goldsmith promises that Borat buffs will still enjoy his work thanks to the online gallery, and a proposed self-published book that will feature all 1000 paintings, even if some pages feature as many as nine of them.

For information, check out www.999borats.com or www.oligoldsmith.com.