The Wednesday Lecture Wednesday 10th March 2021
Basquiat ‘Rage to Riches’ Documentary Willow Fisher
This artist is acknowledged as being one of the most pivotal artistic individuals of the 20th century, working within the neo-expressionist movement that emerged and dispersed throughout NY. The artwork of Jean-Michel has become a prominent form of identification when it comes to looking into abstract artwork, although I have seen his artworks visually I don't know much about the artist as a person so I was interested to see him explored in depth from varying perspectives. From the likes of family, friends, fellow artists and curators that were involved with his life and success of an artist. The documentary aims to convey the narrative of the artist, introducing him from his background growing up in New York City, to the transitions made from his encounters and experiences from the art industry.
The revolutionary black artist took the city of New York by storm producing these chaotic vibrant paintings encapsulating the atmosphere around him and experienced by him. I would say that densely orchestrated abstract paintings convey an aura of Jean. What I didn't know prior to this documentary is the struggles he went through towards the beginning of his artistic career and all he went through to establish himself within the art world. During the time Jean was present society as well as the art world was overpowered with criticism, bias judgement and racism so automatically this singles Jean out of this mainstream artistic narrative of the city. However he persevered, pushing on to create and produce new and exciting pieces of art. His sisters describe their older brother as an incredibly creative individual that was always drawing and painting, and that as an artist he was able to express himself through his fanatical paintings. They were immense in their size and density, profoundly indicating influence from abstract artists before him. A friend in the documentary talked about how him and Jean-Michel used to visit the Metropolitan Museum and view artworks of the likes of Caravaggio, Pollock and Pablo Picasso.
I wouldn't say that I am overly appealed to the artwork produced by Jean-Michel as they are a bit too opaque in their composition and subject matter for me. I have enjoyed through this semester learning about different artistic movements over the decades, through this learning about abstract and expressionist artists. However I find the more dense and conceptual pieces of abstract hard to understand, so although I found the context of the artist and his work interesting I can't see myself introducing this to my own personal practice as it is not relevant.
