Not a Fan of Basquiat

Hello All,

Besides being a fashion designer, fashion illustrator, fashion columnist, and blogger, I am also an artist.  I create drawings throughout my day, and I look at works such as Cubism, Art Nouveau, Op Art, and many others. 

I like to see Graffiti Art, but I would not say that I am a fan of it.  When I was living in Atlanta, I liked to see graffiti on the brick walls, bridges, and trains.  There was an area, Little Five Points, that was very popular because of the vintage apparel stores, art stores, popular retail chains, and of course the art.  Throughout certain areas in Little Five Points, you see graffiti art on many bridges and cement walls.  It is very mesmerizing.

Although I am not familiar with the graffiti artists, there is one artist that is very famous is Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988).

Basquiat's works are very popular; the majority of his works sell for millions of dollars.  Even though Basquiat was an artist, I do not see why his work was so popular.

Cabeza (1982)

Untitled (Head) (Year Unknown)

Philistines (1982)

Bird On Money (1981)

 

I apologize if I offend any Basquiat fans, but I am entitled to speak my opinion.  He was not that creative. My young cousins could have drawn this.  All of these drawings look like the works of a young person who was bored and started drawing unrecognizable images on walls and buildings.  I remember when I was an undergrad studying art, and I saw Basquiat's work for the first time.  I was not impressed.  What made it worse for me was that my professors spoke of his works with such passion, and I was sitting at my desk with this blank expression like, "you really call this art?" I feel if Basquiat was not acquainted with Andy Warhol, he would not have been famous.

Over the years, I thought my opinion of Basquiat's work would change, but it never did.  While in graduate school studying fashion, I had taken this class where Basquiat's work was discussed.  A friend of mine had researched his works and she was in awe of them.  I had this look of disbelief on my face as she talked about how amazing his works were, and how they were so different compared to other artist of that time.  As the saying goes, everyone is entitled to like what they like.

Basquiat's rise to fame is almost like the story of the Kardashians!  He was famous for having no talent!  A child can create better artwork than this.  Again, I am sorry if I offended anyone, but I am entitled to my opinion.

Until Next Time!