The Significance Of Basquiats Brand - Essay Example

Introduction that includes a brief overview of Basquiat's life along with a strongly opinionated thesis ment Jean-Michele Basquiat is a controversial and intriguing figure who is often identified as the martyr, or James Dean, of the 1980's art world. His brand of Neo-expressionist art work which spawned from his homeless days as a graffiti artist shared a close relationship with Andy Warhol's ideology of 'brandism'. Combined the two of them along with an entourage of other eccentrics would drive the western world into a new era of commercialization in art and essentially into the state of powerful capitalistic graphic design as it is known today. Which perspective offered the greatest understanding of basquiat: the visual or the written word' Use examples from the film and the biography to bolster your argument. It is undeniable that Hoban's novel more creates a more intimate connection with the artist, whereas the film is designed more as window into Basquiat's life. While the novel is key to point out the significance of Basquiat's brand "Broken Heart," the film just shows him plastering it all over anything that inspires him wherever he goes. While the book describes the unique character of many of the odd balls and eccentrics that surround Basquiat, the film relates this to the audience by actually having contemporary actors who they perceive as eccentric and odd in their own right. Actors like Dennis Hopper, Benisio Del Toro, David Bowie, Gary Oldman and Christopher Walken, all have their respective reputations with being connected to drug culture. -How did the music and the sound effects of the film impact your experience in ways that the book could not' how did the acting affect your perception of Basquiat' Jeffrey Wright's depiction of Basquiat is a perfect example of a life of addiction lived in the new wave art movement of the 1980's. Wright adds certain mannerism to his body language and inflictions in his dialogue that the book can't translate over to the reader. Basquiat is a mysterious and intriguing character and many fans of his work wouldn't mind retracing his life. There is also the aspect of 80's culture in America, which is a blend of art and pop culture that is not often clearly defined through films produced in that era. The decade poses just as much mystery as the life of Basquiat. Hoban's book expresses very well how deeply imbedded Basquiat was into the drug culture. It also keeps a close grasp of the characters that surround Basquiat, allowing for a better case of name recognition. Throughout the film many characters like Gina Cardinale, Bruno Bischofberger, Albert Milo and pretty much anyone else in the movie other than Andy Warhol all get lost and can only be recognized through their personalities, or talent of the particular actor playing them. -What light did Hoban shed on other artists and art dealers of the 80s and how well did she describe the "glitzy" art world of that era' Cite example from the book illustrate your points. Did the film give more or less insight into the decade' Compare and contrast the reading and the film. Be certain to explain which Explain why or why not. Hoban's novel does do a good job of expressing the extent of greed and decadence that was being cast upon the artists of the 80's. Ironically enough, the ideology of Andy Warhol and the rest of his entourage of fellow eccentrics called for a revolution of capitalism and marketing in art. Essentially the works of artists like Basquiat and Warhol can be deemed as the start of graphic design as it is known today. The closely knit relationship between art and capitalism that exploded into a cultural movement in the 80's is immediately depicted in Hobman's novel with Basquaits death in the opening of the book when the author says, "His father invited only a few of the artist's friends to the closed-casket funeral at Frank Campbell's; they were outnumbered by the phalanx of art dealers'The eulogy was delivered by Citibank art consultant Jeffrey Deitch, lending the moment an unintentionally ironic tone (Hoban, p3)." This is a very powerful line in the book because it shows how Basquiat was truly a child of the art scene, his closest friend and mentor was one of the most innovative graphic designers of the past few decades, and all of those around him near the end of his life were art dealers or artists involved in the art scene. The film on the other hand, does a good job of portraying the communal aspect of both drug culture and the artist lifestyle and how they blend. For example, throughout the film the city of New York is depicted both as dark and beautiful. The entire city in the most subtly ironic sense was Basquiats canvas and it is depicted as such throughout the film. He meanders about from location to location meeting new people, some junkies, some artists, some rich and some poor, and often you can't tell the difference between any of them. This is a defining line that, unlike the film, Hoban's novel is very keen to clarify. The film does a good job of displaying the 80's glitz and glamour era. This is especially done through the relationship shared between Basquiat and Andy Warhol. The open-house parties, drug culture, rampant promiscuouity, and homosexuality all engage the audience's interest more effortlessly than Hoban's novel for the simple fact that text fails in many places where imagery can succeed. For example, Jean Michele Basquiat's life is a major part of 80's art scene and therefore generally historically relevant. The authentic nature of this relevance, however, cannot be fully expressed through text. All of Basquiats interactions with eccentric characters like Andy Warhol and Bruno Bischofberger don't translate in text as well as they do when played by contemporary celebrities known for being eccentrics themselves. The familiarity these actors bring to the screen as well as their reputations for being mysterious closely relate to the same exact perception -What contributions did Basquiat make to the art world' Would you recommend Hoban's biography of basquiat' Explain why you would or would not. What audience would you recommend the book to in terms of student education' Lastly, do you feel that Los Angeles Unified School District and other school systems are giving adequate attention to the visual and performance arts' Explain why if you think adequate attention is given or why not if you feel the arts are not adequately served. In sum, Basquiat's influence in the art world stemmed from the community of artists Andy Warhol surrounded himself with. While all of these artists had their different styles for the most part they all shared a similar ideology, of which Warhol was the biggest proponent. Andy Warhol, who made a career of painting franchise objects, like picture of Campbell's soup cans and Coca cola bottles, stated that the American economic structure had allowed these objects to become iconic throughout the world. He argued that a Coca cola drunk by the president was no different from one drunk by a homeless man. This places the coca cola at a level of familiarity that is uncontestable by most celebrities. Warhol's artistry developed into almost a dictation of pop-iconography, he was noted and universally understood as the most celebrated American artist of his generation. His career spanned over a thirty year period starting in 1950, until he past away in the late 80's. Throughout this time Warhol made films, sculptures, published books, and even made art out of Wallpaper, which had a dramatic effect on how art was perceived by western society. He incorporated Basquiat into this same form and the mentoring relationship Warhol provided for Basquiat is a very significant part of relaying the message to the audience of what the 80's art movement was all about. I think the book and the film both do a great job of relaying this in their own ways. Likewise, Basquiat's story is in its own right a piece of art and he serves as one of the more inspirational figures in art education for young people. The influence of this can be seen subtly in Los Angeles throughout all of the art programs that currently exist in the public schools. The arts are more heavily promoted in Los Angeles than in other regions of the United States and this can largely be credited to this 80's art movement and all of those who it inspired. For example, recently in 2007, the Los Angeles Times published an article on a $24 million endowment campaign by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to place visual art instruction in county public schools. In the article LACMA director Michael Govan notes that ""Nationwide, I don't think there's another museum program on'this scale" for bringing such teaching into public classrooms (Boehm, p1)." On top of this, Los Angeles maintains the largest number of art Museums, art colleges, and art programs for youth per capita across the United States. If this is the legacy Andy Warhol and Basquiat left behind, what a legacy it is! Work Cited Boehm, Mike. "Schools get a major art loan." Los Angeles Times, November 07, 2007. The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-century Poetry in English. Ed. Ian Hamilton. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994. Copyright ' 1994 by Oxford University Press. Read More