ART-PRESENTATION: Jean-Michel Basquiat
Already famous at the age of 20 for his groundbreaking drawings and paintings, Jean-Michel Basquiat took the New York art world by storm in the early 1980s. He gained international recognition by creating powerful and expressive works that confronted issues of racism, politics, and social hypocrisy. Although his career was cut short by his untimely death at age 27, his works remain hugely influential.
By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Archive
Though Basquiat was only active for a brief period, he produced a body of work, with a formal and conceptual appeal that continues to fascinate audiences today. He combined images and texts in a unique style mixing hieroglyphics and comics, high and low culture, to present a revealing vision of the world tinged with pain. Basquiat’s creations are manifestos that denounce inequality, racism, prejudice, and discrimination and defend the values of freedom, dignity, and respect. His art is steeped in music and poetry, harmoniously combining elements of everyday life with classic works of art, literature and music, anatomical drawings, and references to the world of sports, history (especially Afro-American history), life and death. The exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is divided into eight different sections, his earliest creations are displayed under two themes: “Street as Studio” and “Heroes and Saints”. The urban landscape inspired the subject matter, approach, and materials used in these pieces. Born in Brooklyn, at age 17 Basquiat made his debut on the New York art scene with conceptual graffiti. Political, poetic, and funny, these provocative messages were created by Basquiat and his friend Al Diaz, who worked together under the pseudonym SAMO©. Basquiat did not consider himself a graffiti artist, he merely used spray paint as a crowbar to pry open the doors of the art world. He soon began to work with materials he found on the street: discarded foam, windows, and doors. In his distinctive style, Basquiat transcribed the city into these innovative early works, bringing the poetry of the street into the gallery. The themes: “Reclaiming Histories” and “Mirroring”. The pieces in the first section seem to address events unfolding today in the United States, Basquiat’s works insist that black lives matter. The othe section reveals how Basquiat identified deeply with the Individuals depicted in his paintings. His portraits explore issues of Identity (specifically, black male identity) and can also be seen as mirror images of the artist himself. Under the title “Dualities and Double Identities”, we see how Basquiat paired individuals and objects in ambiguous relationships to create tension and challenge perceptions. The other theme featured is something that characterized the artist’s entire career: “Playing the Trickster: Cartoons and Provocations”. Growing up, Basquiat excelled at art and wanted to be a cartoonist. In these pieces dripping with irony, Basquiat places recognizable symbols in dialogue with serious social issues. The exhibition, continues with an impressive selection of works produced by Basquiat in collaboration with Andy Warhol, Francesco Clemente, Keith Haring, and Kenny Scharf. “Basquiat and Warhol: The Odd Couple of the Art World”. Another pivotal theme in Basquiat’s career is, “Sampling and Scratching: Music, Words, and Collage”. The title of this exhibition alludes to Charlie Parker and Martin Luther King. Basquiat found inspiration in everything around him. Music was a huge influence. Sampling from a vast array of sources, Basquiat employed a poetic freestyle approach that embodied the spirit of hip hop, whose rise paralleled his own. Producing densely collaged images as well as works featuring a single, provocative phrase, Basquiat pieced together symbols and texts to realize an artistic vision as multifarious as his sources.
Info: Now’s the Time, Curating: Dieter Buchhart & Álvaro Rodríguez Fominaya, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Abandoibarra Etorb., 2, Bilbao, Duration: 3/7-1/11/15, Days & Hours: Tue-Sun: 10:00-20:00, www.guggenheim-bilbao.es
