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Jean-Michel Basquiat on How to Be an Artist

artsy.net

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Re: Jean-Michel Basquiat on How to Be an Artist

#21

Post by mtalantikite »

phnofive wrote: post #2

I feel like I’m looking at a magic eye ( I also haven’t yet been able to ‘’see’’ one of those ) when I see art like that linked here. Is there a trick to appreciating it beyond what I can see?

As some others have noted, having context for the art will deepen your understanding of it, which might make you appreciate it more or maybe even appreciate it less. Either way it'll help lead you into the work.

For an artist like Jean-Michel Basquiat it's especially important to understand it in the context of what it meant for a young black man to create art in an art world that was (and is still) predominately white. Keeping that in mind, take a look at the "Untitled (Rinso)" work that is shown in the article. Rinso was a brand of soap that introduced a blue powder in the 1950s and had advertisements that would say things like "Whiter Washing" with smiling blonde women. You have his infamous crown icon, with "No Suh No Suh" under it. All of these elements can help lead you to see the commentary he's making.

There was a documentary a number of years ago about him called "The Radiant Child", which might be a good place to start.

Re: Jean-Michel Basquiat on How to Be an Artist

#22

Post by ska »

TigeriusKirk wrote: post #12
keiferski wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Basquiat in particular requires knowledge of 1970s-80s New York, the birth of hip-hop culture and graffiti, the art world, and a whole lot of other things. In short, Basquiat is appreciated because he was a visceral, anti-establishment, extremely young guy whose work was raw and real, in comparison to the somewhat corporatized minimal aesthetic [1] that was popular at the time. He was also a really good storyteller (…

I came of age in the 1980s. While I didn't live in NYC, there was a lot of crossover between the New York crowd and the artsy people in my city so I got a lot of exposure to it. The strange thing is that while I was aware of Basquiat and numerous other NYC artists of the era, I didn't think much of them. They didn't seem special to me because they were just what was going on at the time. I have a specific memory of w…

> I came of age in the 1980s.

I think what you are referring to is at least in part a much more general and normal part of growing up, and somewhat specific to that time in your life.

As you say it is "just what was going on". You don't easily question the natural (seeming) background of your life. An art work or book or song could be radical in the context of what came before, but you have at best a fuzzy idea of what "before" meant.

Of course we all miss out on interesting things going on, all the time, but not for the same reasons (or scope) as when we are "coming of age".

Re: Jean-Michel Basquiat on How to Be an Artist

#23

Post by mturmon »

keiferski wrote: post #10
phnofive wrote: post #2

I feel like I’m looking at a magic eye ( I also haven’t yet been able to ‘’see’’ one of those ) when I see art like that linked here. Is there a trick to appreciating it beyond what I can see?

Basquiat in particular requires knowledge of 1970s-80s New York, the birth of hip-hop culture and graffiti, the art world, and a whole lot of other things. In short, Basquiat is appreciated because he was a visceral, anti-establishment, extremely young guy whose work was raw and real, in comparison to the somewhat corporatized minimal aesthetic [1] that was popular at the time. He was also a really good storyteller (…

Since we're on the subject, here's a link to a beautifully-written 1999 piece on the transitory nature of the 80s East Village scene, from which Basquiat emerged:

https://www.artforum.com/print/199908/crime-and-misdemeanors...

The author, Gary Indiana, was the art critic at the Village Voice for several of those years. His fiction can be off-putting, but he was there for it all and his wised-up nostalgia is perfect for the subject. Here's a similar piece of his, from 2004, that's a little more forgiving:

https://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/features/10557/

Re: Jean-Michel Basquiat on How to Be an Artist

#26

Post by nicbou »

phnofive wrote: post #2

I feel like I’m looking at a magic eye ( I also haven’t yet been able to ‘’see’’ one of those ) when I see art like that linked here. Is there a trick to appreciating it beyond what I can see?

I'm not an artist, but I have grown to appreciate art more and more. I think you learn to appreciate art the same way you learn to appreciate any other product.

The first step is to accept that some things just aren't your cup of tea, even if all the true fans love it. I don't like Holy Motors, Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance, and IPAs. Popularity is a signal, not an obligation.

The second and most important step is to learn how the sausage is made. It gives you a much greater appreciation for the final product. My recent interest in gardening completely changed my forest walks. It quite literally made me see the forest for the trees. Likewise, I learned to appreciate film by paying more attention to the camera work, the sound design, and the many other things that make great movies great. YouTube has many great video essays that will show you a lot more than meets the eye [0].

The third step is to understand the context behind a work of art. My favourite example is Guernica by Picasso [1]. Look at it, then listen to this [2] from 1:12:54 to 1:16:00, then look at it again. You will get a far different impression of that painting. If you grew up in the 90s, the sound of a computer modem probably elicits some sort of emotional response to you. It would seem weird if you robbed the phenomenon from its context. That's also true for art.

That, or date an art student for a few years.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-woNlmVcdjc

[1] https://www.museoreinasofia.es/en/collection/artwork/guernic...

[2] https://soundcloud.com/james-hewston/blitz-logical-insanity

Re: Jean-Michel Basquiat on How to Be an Artist

#27

Post by [deleted] »

keiferski wrote: post #10
phnofive wrote: post #2

I feel like I’m looking at a magic eye ( I also haven’t yet been able to ‘’see’’ one of those ) when I see art like that linked here. Is there a trick to appreciating it beyond what I can see?

Basquiat in particular requires knowledge of 1970s-80s New York, the birth of hip-hop culture and graffiti, the art world, and a whole lot of other things. In short, Basquiat is appreciated because he was a visceral, anti-establishment, extremely young guy whose work was raw and real, in comparison to the somewhat corporatized minimal aesthetic [1] that was popular at the time. He was also a really good storyteller (…

[deleted]

Re: Jean-Michel Basquiat on How to Be an Artist

#28

Post by tigertigertiger »

I know I will be down voted to hell for this but maybe somebody can tell me where I'm wrong in my thinking. First of all I know nothing about art so that already disqualifies everything I will rant now.

For me artists are nothing more like the embodiment of the survivor ship bias. I can appreciate something that takes skill to create, be it a craft, a poetry, or even a photorealistic drawing. I can appreciate something that raises emotions in me (I'm aware that rasing emotions is a highly subject criteria as well). I can appreciate something that is new and unique.

None of these things is true for 99.9% of art, this artist included. I think these artworks are not different from atleast thousands of other graffiti doodles from other people. Somehow people start to praise this guy (seemingly random?) instead of anyone else. That's just survivor ship bias.

I know people say it all the time but it's true "I could have made this". My point is that probably most of art critic's couldn't tell the difference between a random doodle of some random art student and most famous abstract art.

It's also not about having an unique idea, banana on the wall is not something special, people do crazy things all the time. There are probably thousand of wanna be artists that tape things on walls and make some random things in hope of getting famous and could tell you some deep thinking why it criticises our modern society.

So for me art is just a random circle jerk of people telling each other that this special guy is good and the rest isn't and if you don't agree or see it you are just someone that has no idea about art. And my take on really high expensive art is that it's just a form of tax evasion or similar goals.

Re: Jean-Michel Basquiat on How to Be an Artist

#29

Post by pintxo »

keiferski wrote: post #11

I printed this HN comment out about 3 years ago and still have it on my wall as motivation. It's from an article about a lifelong artist that never quite "made it" and I think it is a good answer to the question. Compare him to Picasso. Picasso never said "I had to pay the rent." He never considered earning money with anything other than painting. When he had no money he lived in friends' apartments. He faced and acc…

Creating a market for you product is an art in and of itself.

Re: Jean-Michel Basquiat on How to Be an Artist

#30

Post by jfengel »

keiferski wrote: post #11

I printed this HN comment out about 3 years ago and still have it on my wall as motivation. It's from an article about a lifelong artist that never quite "made it" and I think it is a good answer to the question. Compare him to Picasso. Picasso never said "I had to pay the rent." He never considered earning money with anything other than painting. When he had no money he lived in friends' apartments. He faced and acc…

By "this guy", I take it you're referring just to the guy from the original piece. Basquiat very much created a myth about his life -- partly in collaboration with Andy Warhol, one of the greatest self-mythmakers in the art world.

I don't mean to diminish Basquiat's art or his story. I'm just affirming (by way of clarifying) what you said: the artist's life is a part of their art, and part of what you pay for.

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