Jennifer Short essay

    Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat are two inspirational and important artists in the world of art and media. Both artists have struggled through their childhood and their life but have successfully grown into wonderful artists that as of today people remember them. The artist Andy Warhol came from an immigrant family but as a child he suffered from a disease known as Sydenham chorea which is a neurological disorder that made Warhol do involuntary movements. As the years went by Warhol’s disease caused a discoloration on his skin that led him to believe he had an imperfect face which he decided to hide with the use of wigs, clothing and cosmetics and plastic surgery on his nose. As equally when Warhol was becoming an artist he also became an entrepreneur. He stated “Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.” (The Warhol Museum) Warhol was a workaholic but what pushed him to accomplish this idea of money is art? Warhol's was determined to be rich with his ideas and art. The idea of being an immigrant and the issue he had to face with his family was not the idealistic future Warhol planned for himself. Even in his paintings like Marilyn Monroe or the Campbell soup. He always targeted those celebrities and famous branding because it was his inspiration to become rich like them. Warhol’s artwork was very unique and strange to the audience’s eyes because of different demonstrations he drew of the celebrities. He even drew one of himself. But why? It can be the mere background is the way he sees himself. Warhol disguised himself with wigs, color and even went through plastic surgery to hide his imperfection. I believe he made several different copies that each one of his pictures exemplifies differently. Warhol is a man with many life to death accidents which really helped him understand the significance of time, color, perspective and how every object and human has it.  colors because he wants to show how the real art/ beauty is the way the audience views it.   “If you want to know all about Andy Warhol, just look at the surface of my paintings and films and me, and there I am. There’s nothing behind it.”(the Warhol Museum) Andy Warhol accepted who he was and what made him an artist. The painting and drawing he did exemplify the unique and different personality he had and always had in the community. Andy Warhol was an artist who accepted his problems and continued on with his fame on top of the fact he was gay and different from the rest. The art is him and he is the art and there is no objection to changing Warhol’s mind because his artwork and paintings are the reason why he is Andy Warhol. 

Jean-Michel Basquiat was another artist that brought his reality into art form. “Each image looks directly out to the reader. The back-ground is plain and undistracting, there is no trick lighting. They are a true study of the straightforward and uncomplicated. Yet there is a sense of menace and anxiety as if this very ordinariness was in jeopardy.” (Berger 130) Basquait’s artwork exemplified a true and plain art. He showed his emotions and feelings into his artwork. Basquiat had a difficult time as a African American and left his home when he was only 17 to survive on his own in New York City. He wanted to be free and not constrained in the comfortable zone. Why is that? Jean-Michel Basquiat was not someone who wanted to be stuck at home but wanted to be like the street artist.  He went out on the street to gain the ideas to become like the other street artists like Keith Haring and Kenny Scharf, and also teamed up with  Al Diaz to join in spray painting buildings. Basquait in his paintings he wanted to show and identify himself as a black man who has come to demonstrates his work. He focused more on that aspect than his work. In his painting you can see the message and the persistency he had to demonstrate his roots and culture. Unfortunately, Basquiat received lots of critique toward his artwork that there were mere scribbles on a piece of paper. His artwork wasn;t children work but it was a form of Neo-expressionism dealing with harsh brushwork and vivid colors to express the artist rough, raw and depressing moments for Basquiat. In Finkelstein it states, “Consciousness, memory, sentiment and human will were thus the robust ingredients that always brought together the fate of society with that of singular individuals.” (Finkelstein, 138) This demonstrates how the true ingredients Basquait put into his art: real and strong emotions that everyone may encounter or feel. Compared to Warhol, Basquiat couldn’t handle the fame nor the critique toward his artwork that he started overdosing with drugs that led to an early death. Both artists suffer through their childhood but it shaped their present and their future. 

Works Cited 

“Andy Warhol's Life.” The Andy Warhol Museum, www.warhol.org/andy-warhols-life/. 

Finkelstein, Joanne. The Art of Self Invention: Image and Identity in Popular Visual Culture. I. B.     

     Tauris, 2007.

“Jean-Michel Basquiat.” Artnet, www.artnet.com/artists/jean-michel-basquiat/. 

Genessy's Essay

Andy Warhol was born on August 6, 1928, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He was the fourth child and had two older brothers. During his childhood, Andy had numerous health disorders, such as sydenham's chorea and scarlet fever. Since he was frequently diagnosed for ailments, Andy started developing a sense of fear towards hospitals and doctors. Andy was a loner and didlso known as being a loner, he didn’t have many friends. Absence of school was to blame for this. Andy was in bed for a big part of his childhood. His parents and brothers were his entertainment and played a huge part in friendship. While struggling with his illnesses, he still managed to graduate from ‘Schenley High School’ in 1945. Later he moved to the ‘Carnegie Institute of Technology’ to pursue a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. Andy introduced a new concept named ‘Pop Art.’ His work received a lot of appreciation from the public. However, he was also criticized by many for exploiting art. 

One of the biggest influencers of Warhol’s life was his mother Julia who was very artistic. “Original paintings are silent and still in a sense that information never is.”(Berger, 1972) As a child he also had posters of celebrities, this also played a huge role in the development of his artwork today. As we all may know “ Images were first made to conjure up the appearance of something that was absent. (Berger, 1972) He was obsessed with movie stars and fantasized about how they were in America. This led to his own presence in his work because he later created this room called “The factory” where he would paint celebrities hanging out with him in it. Joanne Finkein stated “art was his most important interest and by art he meant not just canvases and sculptured objects but also visions and ideals of how the world should be.” This is unique because it somewhat describes how Warhol is with his imagination of America. Media and fame played a role in his life in a way in which it was all he wanted. Warhol used art materials and techniques by first taking a photograph from either a newspaper or magazine, then creating a silkscreen, printing it, and coloring over it. His work of Elvis and Marilin was done this way as well because he had never met them in person. Andy Warhol did indeed invent himself through his work. He was also known to wear a blonde platinum wig in some of his self portraits. Warhol’s legacy continues to live in the world of art even today. Many of his creative works have been displayed in various exhibitions across America. His works continue to serve as a great source of inspiration for many American and others around the world.

Jean-Michael Basquiat on the other hand was born in Brooklyn, New York, on December 22, 1960. With a Haitian-American father and a Puerto Rican mother, Basquiat's diverse cultural heritage was one of his many sources of inspiration. Basquiat began drawing at an early age on sheets of paper. Similarly to Warhol, his mother also encouraged him to pursue his artistic talents. Basquiat first attracted attention for his graffiti in New York City in the late 1970s, under the name "SAMO." Working with a close friend, he tagged subway trains and Manhattan buildings with cryptic aphorisms. In 1977 Basquiat quit high school a year before he was supposed to graduate. Later he began selling sweatshirts and postcards featuring his artwork on the streets. His canvas artwork explores the themes of mortality, race, self-identity, and religion. A common theme in nearly all of Basquiat's works are the ideas of finding oneself. As a young black man living in New York in the 1980s, he used his art to criticise the histories racism against African Americans. Media and fame played a huge role in Basquiat's life after his work was featured in a group show in 1980 causing his art to be worth $50,000.  Finkelstein explains how daily life may seem ad hoc but it is heavily structured by the presence of others, real and imagined.” This exemplifies the fact that the people around us leave an impact on our lives. Basquiat too presented himself in his work, he had a self portrait called “Self Portrait” in 1984. As far as art materials and techniques, besides painting on paper or stretched canvas, Basquiat often painted on materials he found in the streets, such as windows, doors, or scraps of foam rubber, which he joined together with wooden bars and hinges. He covered the surfaces with paint and pieces of torn and crumpled paper.

 Andy Warhol:

Jean-Michael Basquiat:

References

1. Finkelstein, J., (2007) The Art of Self Invention

2. Berger, J., (1972) Ways of Seeing

Lesly's Essay

The lives and work of Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, both having different lives from one anothers. They both became close friends, but inspired one another in their art. Basquiat had dropped out of school at the age of 17, and lived on the streets and became recognized for his graffiti and scrawled texts on the sides of buildings. In 1982, he was introduced to Andy Warhol, who wrote in his diary that he remembers Basquiat  “He’s the kid who used the name ‘Samo’ when he used to sit on the sidewalk in Greenwich Village and paint T-shirts, and I’d give him $10.” When Basquiat lived on the streets at a young age, many became intrigued about his graffiti in New York and the tag name SAMO. He was also known for his famous use of a crown in his art which is his way of celebrating black people as majestic royalty or deeming them as saints. Years of struggling with his art, Basquiat’s art was finally featured in an art group show. His art work and style was praised for his use of words, symbols, stick figures, and animals. 

However, Andy Warhol suffered as a child with an illness. The disorder kept him home a lot but it spurred his interest in art and photographs. Warhol’s parents bought him his first camera when he was eight years old. His interest in beauty and skin care made its way into his work, with early paintings depicting a nose job, wigs, and pain relief for corns. Warhol was known for his blotted-line ink drawings. This working method combined drawing with basic printmaking and allowed Warhol to repeat an image and to create multiple illustrations along a similar theme. He could also make color or compositional changes quickly in response to client requests. In 1960, Warhol turned his attention to the pop art movement. Everyday life inspired pop artists, and their source material became mass-produced products and commercial artifacts of daily life; commercial products entered into the highly valued fine art space. Among Warhol’s first photographic silkscreen works are his paintings of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor, and his Campbell’s Soup Cans.

Although, together Warhol and Basquiat had great artistic creative minds they worked together in numerous projects, some succeeding some not as well. Many questioned their friendship but, they genuinely saw the great in one another. They would become one of the most important relationships in the history of contemporary art. Warhol, known famously as the father of Pop art, and his partner Basquiat having both different upbringings but having the same struggles with their art. The respect and admiration Basquiat and Warhol had for one another inspired two separate scenes of art. In their friendship, each found in the other what they lacked and struggled with, and inspired and helped the other.

   

Works Cited

Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. BBC and Penguin, 

Another. (2019, May 22). Andy Warhol and Jean Michel Basquiat's Friendship, In Pictures. Retrieved November 04, 2020, from https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/11730/andy-warhol-on-jean-michel-basquiat-taschen-new-york-1980s-book

Finkelstein, Joanne. The Art of Self Invention: Image and Identity in Popular Visual Culture. Tauris, 2007.

Shepherd, H. (2017, September 16). Warhol and Basquiat: The Art World's Most Notorious Bromance. Retrieved November 04, 2020, from https://www.sleek-mag.com/article/warhol-basquiat-bromance/

Short Essay

      ANDY WARHOL AND JEAN- MICHEL BASQUIAT

                                                            An Artistic Friendship

    Andy Warhol and Jean Michael Basquiat were both very talented artists. Their work signifies many different aspects of their lives. Warhol and Basquiat were an unlikely pair. They were two aesthetic pioneers from different generations, two iconic creative minds of an era, but also two good friends. Andy’s work represents who he is and where he comes from, as so does Michel’s work. Both artists were born in an era that was not understanding of their work. Andy Warhol was one of America's arts, film directors, and producers of visual arts. His work explored the relationships between artistic expression and culture. Both artists were extraordinary at their work. Both born into two completely different lives became great icons in the art industry. Warhol was born on august 6th 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to immigrants’ parents from Miko, Austria-Hungary. Being the youngest out of his siblings, Warhol was a bit on the dramatic side when it came to himself. Andy became very attached to his mother, which enable him to live on his own. It was when he was homesick and taught at home when he discovered his passion for art and his crazy obsession with celebrities. Jean- Michel Basquiat was an American Graffiti Artist born December 22nd, 1960 to Puerto Rican and Haitian parents. Basquiat was a precocious child who learned how to read and write by the age of four and was a gifted artist. From a young age, Basquiat showed signs of his talented skills. As he delved deeper into his creative side, his mother strongly encouraged him to pursue his artistic talents. At the age of seven, Basquiat suffered an accident that left him with internal injuries. There are no doubts that Basquiat had a rough childhood, from being in and out of a mental hospital to be on his own at the age of fifteen. “A people or a class which is cut off from its own past is far less free to choose and to act as a people or class than one that has been able to situate itself in history.” ( Ways of Seeing, Berger). This quote reflects  Basquiat because growing up he did not have the best life. His life was hard, but it did not stop him from pursuing his dreams. Andy Warhol designed Pop art and Modern art in his work that inspired his drawings, paintings, films, music, and videos. As a commercial illustrator in the 1950s, Warhol worked in the fashion and advertising industries as well, designing layouts and making stylized drawings by hand. On the other hand, Basquiat’s designs expressed many themes that showed his culture and background. As a result of his shift in focus, his canvas artwork explores the themes of mortality, race, self-identity, and religion. Basquiat’s art styles were Neo-expressionism, Primitivism, and Contemporary art. A common theme in all of Basquiat’s works is the ideas finding one’s self and defining individual values while breaking social conventions. By the several different versions of self-portraits that Basquiat has of himself and the use of people of color in his artwork, it is clear to see that he was on a search for self-discovery and understanding his race.
     Warhol and Basquiat came from large families and grew up in a generation that made it hard for them to be themselves. As the friendship between the two artists developed, both socially and creatively, the pair began creating collaborative work. They became great close friends, that occasionally would hand their projects to other artists and go on manicures dates (Crummy2019) Warhol took interest in upcoming artists such as Jasper Johns which inspired him to expand his own artistic skills. Warhol created a series of images of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor and proceeded to create installations into galleries. Both Warhol’s and Basquiat’s art are synonymous with each other because both artists express their life experiences and passions into pieces of art. Basquiat used acrylic paint, oil paint sticks, and spray paint on canvas, linen, metal, and paper. His skills for graffiti painting were getting better that allowed him to open to different ways of creating art. While Basquiat expressed himself with paint, Warhol used acrylic paint, watercolors, on a silk screening. Warhol altered the images himself to create his paintings. Both artists work clearly expresses different themes and have a different meaning that relates to their personal lives and the life of others. In the book Ways of Seeing, Berger stated “We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves”. This quote relates to both artists because their work reflects their lives and the lives of others. After years of creating artwork and mesmerizing many people’s lives with his work, Warhol passed away in such a tragic way, leaving behind his work to remember him by. Warhol was shot which brought to a cardiac arrest in the hospital. Basquiat’s died very young at the hands of drugs. As much as he had so much fame, his drug addiction got the best of him. Two great artists gave the world a glimpse of their mind, body, and soul through their artwork, that to this day are mentioned to be the bests. 

 Reference: 

Berger, John. Ways of Seeing: Penguin, 2008. 

 Finkelstein, Joanne. The Art of Self Invention: Image and Identity in Popular Visual Culture. Tauris, 2007. 

 Crummy, colin” Lessons from Mr. Andy Warhol And Mr. Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Friendship’’ (June 2019)

 Benjamin, Mark (RAIN) An Analysis of Basquiat x Warhol (September 2020)

Fransheska's Short Essay

Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat were both significant figures in the world of art and media during their time. Even to this day they still hold an impact on the public and inspire individuals in several forms. What is it about these two individuals that carry such intense movements? Both artists connected with the public on an emotional level. Famous people who derive from nothing are usually looked up to the most and in this case, these are two artists who worked hard to reach their level of fame. Basquiat was an African-American artist who despite coming from a middle-class family decided to leave that ‘comfort’ and survive on his own in the city of New York. From living on making postcards and t-shirts Basquiat rose to fame in the span of just a few years. His work often derived from identifying himself as a Black-Hispanic man and represented all black people. His race in his lifetime was a constant feature that many attacked. During his years of fame, the public often took his race and personality as something to talk about rather than his work itself. While these comments bothered him, he continued to represent his identity as a black man within his work and often showcased other of his friends within his work. Ana Mendieta, a Cuban artist, showcased her race within her work as well,  “It is a way of reclaiming my roots and becoming one with nature. Although the culture in which I live is part of me, my roots and cultural identity are a result of my Cuban heritage”(Overlooked No More: Ana Mendieta, a Cuban Artist Who Pushed Boundaries). Through his work, it is evident that Basquiat did not leave his heritage behind and in fact, let race be a common theme within his work. His work was an open door to his personal life and yet also a mirror that allowed others to look at themselves.

Aside from race Basquiat’s artwork captured the attention of many people due to its form. His work fell out of what was considered the ‘norm’ in those days. Critiques sometimes compared his work to that of a child’s art and yet his work was much more than just ‘scribbles’ on a paper. His work was a form of Neo-expressionism, with its harsh brushwork and vivid colors but most importantly the raw meaning behind each piece. The contrast to minimalism art was high and Basquiat overall wanted his work to be different. Within all aspects, outside of painting included, he did not like to meet the standards of what others expected of him and instead preferred to move freely without any source of control over him. “Guided by notions that art matters, that artists' voices are important in shaping society and that public spaces are places or creative and free expression”(When Artists Create Flags - Artworks of Creative Time’s Pledges of Allegiance Project). While this quote refers to the works of flags it connects greatly to the way Basquiat made his work. While his work was a voice to black people he was also a source of change within the world of art. He often commented that he didn’t want his art to be directed to the typical high-class group that viewed art, his work was for everyone to see and enjoy. The way he displayed his work was always to ensure that everyone was capable of looking at his art and connecting with the piece on a personal level. 

Andy Warhol on the other hand grew up in a lower-class family who all supported him with his interest in the art field. Despite living in poverty his father, who died while Warhol was young, left a will that was meant for Warhol’s education. His health as a child caused several hardships that he had to face years later. He was characterized as scrawny, weird and Warhol himself even considered himself to not be good looking. On top of his insecurities, he was a gay man a, controversial topic during his time, and yet he still depicted his sexuality within his work. In general Andy Warhol was a bizarre individual and also a genius in understanding what worked well. He is looked up to not only by the work he has done but by the way he had risen into fame. He was a hard-working person whose main goal was to become famous and wealthy. Similar to Basquiat Warhol was determined to reach the top and essentially be number one. His obsession with fame brought him to be considered a workaholic. He often enjoyed working day and night and at one point he had his mother live with him who only made his working schedule more accessible as he had no worries about home duties any longer. Growing within a poor family seemed to be the main factor in creating recurring themes within his work. While he had an interest in fame it would only make sense that his attention would also be on the likes of celebrities. As so he depicts several celebrities within his work, some of which he considered good friends. Money was a prominent theme as well such as his coca-cola pieces and Campbell soup. These pieces however did bring some controversy as many thought it was something that was made as a form of commercializing and also copying rather than ‘art’ itself. Several individuals during that time and even now considered his work to be theft and essentially something that goes against copyright. He involved time and death within his work. Due to nearly dying twice he liked to showcase the thoughts of death within his work, often with the message of an inevitable end that would happen to everyone. Another relevant feature of his work was the idea of beauty. A technique of his was to add imperfections within his work whether it be through color or form in general. He combined that technique with repetition within his work such as the Marilyn Monroe pieces and also usage of color blocking to enhance these imperfections.  “Modern social relations emphasize the importance of appearances. In every social encounter, we are directed to think about how to make a good impression and how to influence the opinion of others. We pay attention to the other, and they turn and pay attention to us”(The Art of Self Invention by Joanne Finkelstein). Warhol often saw beauty in others but struggled to see the same within himself. He hid those insecurities within wigs and the clothing he wore. Through his anxiety and feelings towards the way he looked, he showcased these features within his work, an action that essentially connected his work to his viewers who were capable of connecting this to their own insecurities. He acknowledged the ‘imperfect’ features of people within the imperfect world they all lived in. The topics of looks were most evident through his work with celebrities as he showcased the way celebrities were used as marketing tools through their looks rather than actual people.  

Both Basquiat and Warhol were hard-working individuals who left a mark within the art world through their work. They both went out of art’s comfort zone to create pieces that would essentially be remembered not only through their looks but their powerful meaning. As they both rose to fame through their work their ways of handling fame was different. Both artists had an intense passion to become famous and known. However, Warhol did have an easier time to acknowledge his fame and worth throughout his years. His personality seemed to be the main factor of not letting fame and the media break him down. His interviews were typically short and of ‘no’ and ‘yes’ responses. While he was famous and spent time with famous groups he was far more secluded with his private life. Basquiat on the other hand, despite his drive to be number one, allowed the media to get the best of him. It is acknowledged by many that perhaps his rise to fame was far too quick for him to get used to. From suddenly being no one to being recognized by many was depicted to be a stressful time for Basquiat. His new wealth was also something different to him and he usually never knew what to do with the money. His naiveness into this new world caused several individuals to come in and out of his life with the purpose of using him and as a sensitive man, this hurt Basquiat deeply. Facing racism and negative critiques was also an aspect leading to his fall. The stress he underwent through with this new fame and sudden deadlines to complete work made him undergo the usage of drugs which in the end was the source that killed him. While living these two artists were an emblem of their time and often considered to be ahead of their time. Their backgrounds and drive for success, as well as hard-working personalities, were factors to their success as artists. Their work proved to be a changing point within the world of art.

Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. BBC and Penguin, 1972.

Finkelstein, Joanne. The Art of Self Invention: Image and Identity in Popular Visual Culture. I. B. Tauris, 2007.

“My Perfect, Imperfect Body.” The Andy Warhol Museum, www.warhol.org/my-perfect-imperfect-body/.

Short Essay #1~Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat (Luzangela Martinez)

Luzangela Martinez

Professor Doris Cacoilo

ART 242 Self: Image

4 November 2020

Short Essay #1: Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat

Personality is not permanent. In our lifetime, there will be many personal experiences that can significantly shape our aspirations, social behavior, and personality. Often, these encounters take place because of our gender, race, culture, economic status, and appearance. Indeed, our personality is a collection of personal experiences. In the same way, an artist’s past will greatly influence their work style. For example, artists like Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat had impactful experiences from their childhood to their adult years. As a result, both their artworks reflected prevalent themes of fame and mortality.

Andy Warhol, a leading artist of the 1960s Pop Art Movement, experienced a fatal sickness during his childhood which stirred his obsession with celebrities and fame. At the age of eight, Warhol developed a disorder that resulted in involuntary movements of the body called Sydenham Chorea. As a result, it left him bedridden for several months. During this time, he would obsessively skim through comics and celebrity magazines to escape boredom. If he were to go out, it was to see movies that had his favorite actresses or actors. Ultimately, his childhood fascination of comics, and celebrity tabloid magazines and movies resulted in his attraction for celebrities, mass consumerism, and money. During the 1960s, there were various Hollywood icons that were adored and idolized by many. However, none can compare to Marilyn Monroe, who had a mythical status as a Hollywood icon. It was for this reason that Warhol decided to recreate a series of images of Marilyn Monroe (see Figure 1). In his Marilyn Monroe series, Warhol utilized bright and vivid colors that enabled his work to stand out. Also, he used a diptych style, a technique commonly used for portraying saints in Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches. By placing Marilyn’s portrait in this style, he connects the idolization both saints and Marilyn Monroe received from people. Lastly, his idea of repeating the image of Marilyn Monroe symbolized the mass production that was seen in the early 1960s due to the post-war economic boom. Joanne Finkelstein, the author of The Art of Self Invention once stated that, “In every social encounter, we are directed to think about how to make a good impression and how to influence the opinion of others. We pay attention to the other, and they turn and pay attention to us” (Finkelstein). Ultimately, this is true for Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe series because he portrays her as a perfect saint-like figure with rarely any flaws to sell her looks, which highlights the themes of celebrity and fame.

In addition, Warhol’s past experiences with death assisted in developing his deep attraction for mortality. When Warhol was a teenager, his beloved father, Andrej Warhola, died of tuberculosis peritonitis. It was also believed that his poor recovery after having a gallbladder surgery played a significant role. As accustomed by most Greek Catholics, Andrej’s body laid in the family living room for three days. As a result, this became a very traumatic experience for Warhol as he refused to leave his room. Not only did this impact Warhol as a teenager, but it also greatly influenced his artwork as well. As writer and artist, Dahlia Elsayed, once said, “for artists in general, a lot of things start with the personal” (“Painting With Words, Writing With Color.”).  Ultimately, this explains the reasoning behind Warhol’s choice of creating the Marilyn Monroe series two weeks after her death. It also explains his decision in painting Red Jackie and Blue Jackie after the assassination of her husband and the United States’ 35^th president, John F. Kennedy (see Figure 2).  As John Berger once said, “If you buy a painting you buy also the look of the thing it represents” (Berger 83). Ultimately, this is true for the paintings shown in Figure 2 that represent the theme of death and disaster. Warhol had another life-changing experience when he was shot by Valerie Solanas, a radical feminist author. After spending months at the hospital, Warhol was obligated to wear a surgical corset to hold his organs in place. Unlike other past experiences, his work became more focused on death by including several skulls and guns in his paintings. 

In a similar way, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s artwork also highlights the theme of death. This predominant theme observed in many of his pieces was influenced by past childhood experiences. For example, at the age of eight, Basquiat was hit by a car causing him to spend a month in the hospital. Similar to Warhol’s experience, Basquiat escaped boredom by reading and skimming through a copy of the 19^th century anatomical textbook Grey’s Anatomy. As a “way of marking the experience,” Basquiat would incorporate words he learned from the textbook into his work (“Painting With Words, Writing With Color.”). For example, in the In Italian work, Basquiat added words like “corpus,” “sangre,” and “blood” (see Figure 3). In other artworks, he would include words like “ear,” “eye,” “skull,” “jaw,” “diagram of the heart pumping blood,” and “scapula.” Ultimately, due to this life-altering experience, it was evident that “[t]he written word always [came] first when [he was] doing a painting” (“Painting With Words, Writing With Color.”).  It can also be seen that Basquiat’s paintings were “a way of reclaiming [his] roots…..Although the culture in which [he] live [was] part of [him], [his] roots and cultural identity are a result of” his Haitian and Puerto Rican descent ("Overlooked No More: Ana Mendieta, a Cuban Artist Who Pushed Boundaries"). As he created more works as such, Basquiat became even more popular and recognized by many artists like Andy Warhol. Eventually, both artists developed a unique friendship both socially and creatively, producing joint paintings. However, after the death of Warhol, Basquiat became a heavy drug addict and lost himself in it. It was this experience with drugs that brought him to create one of his last pieces: Riding with Death. As shown in Figure 4, it appears that Basquiat painted a black man riding a four-legged skeleton. Once again, his use of bones in this painting highlights his fascination with the Grey’s Anatomy textbook. Lastly, his scribbling style demonstrates that he may have been under the influence of a hard drug.

Furthermore, Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat had life-changing experiences from their childhood to their adult years. Not only did these experiences influence their personalities, but it also impacted their artistic sides. Both artists utilized different techniques to convey the same themes of death. It was also observed that Warhol’s childhood obsession of celebrities and fame also influenced his work.

 

                                        Figure 1: Marilyn Monroe Series created by Andy Warhol

Figure 2: The figure to the left is (a) Red Jackie, and to the right is (b) Blue Jackie. Both pieces were created by Andry Warhol.

Figure 3: In Italian created by Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Figure 4: Riding with Death created by Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Works Cited

Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. 1972.

Finkelstein, Joanne. The Art of Self Invention: Image and Identity in Popular Visual Culture. I. B. Tauris, 2007.

Gorce, Tammy La. “Painting With Words, Writing With Color.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Jan. 2014, www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/nyregion/a-review-of-dahlia-elsayed-hither-and-yon-at-new-jersey-state-museum.html.

“Overlooked No More: Ana Mendieta, a Cuban Artist Who Pushed Boundaries.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Sept. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/09/19/obituaries/ana-mendieta-overlooked.html.

Pruitt, Sarah. “Andy Warhol Was Shot By Valerie Solanas. It Killed Him 19 Years Later.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 31 May 2018, www.history.com/news/andy-warhol-shot-valerie-solanas-the-factory.

 

 

Marina's SHORT ESSAY I

         Jean Michel Basquiat and Andy Walhol

Jean Michel Basquiat and Andy Walhol are different but yet they are still similar at the same time. They didn’t come from the same background but they are sharing some similarities. Every one of them uses different methods and themes that been expressed in their art work. They both struggled to fit in, which made them work harder for their goals. Their life’s experience and heritage inspired them to use the art as their voice and they followed their career path with true passion and achieved fame.

Andy Warhol had very hard life, he was sick and suffered from Sydenham chorea, a syndrome of involuntary movements and his family was poor. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Andy was very interested in art since young age with the support of his mother so he even perused an education in art. Then he got famous in New York. His unique style of such as a variety of colors and also recreated the same image, contained famous people of the time or objects with many arts like painting, drawing and films. His work helped the American society, as consumers because of the advertisements. As well as the tragic events of the time of famous people such as Marilyn Monroe. His work was inspired by mostly religion and homosexuality and most of his work was consisted of nude men, “to be naked is to be oneself. To be nude is to be seen naked by others and yet not recognized for oneself. A naked body has to be seen as an object in order to become a nude" and “when the tradition of painting became more secular, other themes also offered the opportunity of painting nudes”, John Berger stated. He had a friendship with Jean Michel Basquiat since Warhol had interest for Basquiat’s work, which leaded them to influence in each other’s work. Also, Warhol was attracted by artists and fame, as well as Basquiat who talked about money and that was reflected in his work because he came from a poor family as well. Warhol died when he was 58 years old because of a surgical complication. But until today, he is an example of overcoming obstacles and hard work.

Jean Michel Basquiat had troubled childhood; he is mixed of Haitian Puerto 
Rican and lived in Brooklyn, New York. He came from a family that used to love art and used to take him into art, visited The Brooklyn Museum, The Museum of Modern Art, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art and his mother enrolled him to become a member in the museums. He dropped out school, which made his father to kick him out of the house and he became homeless at age 17 and sell t-shirts, “Keeping males and females from telling the truth about what happens to them in families is one-way Patriarchal culture is maintained”, Bell Hooks stated. He was painting on the walls of the building, which caused him to make friends and got a job that he didn’t liked because it wasn’t related to art. Then he started to do some paintings and sell them and became famous, “we come home to ourselves”, Bell Hooks stated. Then he met Andy Warhol and they became very close friends. He moved from New York to California to produce his work. And his friendship with Warhol made him more popular. Later after that he got back into drugs, which killed his career and killed him as well at very young age when he was 28. He worked hard for his success but once he got, he didn’t find anything else to gain.

 

Work Cited

• "Andy Warhol's Life." The Warhol, www.warhol.org/andy-warhols-life/. Basquiat Street  ArtMasterpieces - Street Art Legends Series. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.widewalls.ch/street-art-legends-best-of-basquiat-art/

• Berger, John. Ways of Seeing:Penguin, 2008.

• Finkelstein, Joanne. The Art of Self Invention: Image and Identity in Popular Visual Culture. Tauris, 2007.
• Hooks, B. (2007). Black looks: Race and representation. Boston, MA: South End Press.

• Hooks, B. (2005). The will to change: Men, masculinity, and love. New York: Washington Square Press.