In this lesson, we were given our set images to record a sound piece for.
My artwork is called 'Fallen Angel' by Jean Michael Basquit.
Jean-Michel
Basquiat (1960 – 1988) produced deceptively unsophisticated-looking works that
belied a complex and unique talent. Born in Brooklyn of Haitian and Puerto
Rican descent, Basquiat first gained notoriety with graffiti artwork. He
catapulted to fame with paintings that incorporated a fusion of words, symbols,
stick figures, animals, and historical and cultural references. Befriended by
Andy Warhol, Basquiat collaborated with the renowned Pop Artist on 100
artworks. Despite a career tragically cut short by a heroin overdose, Basquiat
introduced the unique African-American and Latino experience to the elite art
world.
Firstly, what strikes me
is the symbolic nature of the colours, in particular the battle between the
black, white and red. I think that these sombre colours are a reference to the
hidden side of the artist, his mixed-race identity, his youth spent in the
Bronx, his drug addiction...It also makes me think of Basquiat himself, who
became famous within a few years. The artist identifies himself with this
angel. If it has not yet fallen, it is clearly on its way down. The angel is
drawn in a very rudimentary way, and shows a skeletal body that is so unlike
the angels from catholic iconography that I used to see when my parents took me
to visit cathedrals. Jean-Michel Basquiat dismisses all the byzantine arguments
about the sex of angels by clearly displaying the virility of his fallen
angel....A moral symbolism is also evident in the painting. An invitation to be
modest. In the financial markets, there are often breathtaking ascents.
Basquiat encourages us to be prudent, by reminding us that the fall can be
painful.
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