Keith Haring (1958 – 1990) was an artist and social activist, says Wikipedia, whose work responded to the New York City street culture of the 1980s.
Haring achieved his first public attention with chalk drawings in the subways of NYC. These were his first recognized pieces of pop art. The exhibitions were filmed by the photographer Tseng Kwong Chi.
"The Radiant Baby" became his symbol. His bold lines, vivid colors, and active figures carry strong messages of life and unity.
Like Basquiat, in 1981 - 82 his recognition and the value of his art soared. He flew across the globe, painting murals and street scenes in Europe, South America and Asia.
His "Crack is Wack" mural, created in 1986, has become a landmark in New York's FDR Drive.[2] He got to know Andy Warhol, who was the theme of several of Haring's pieces including "Andy Mouse." His friendship with Warhol would prove to be a decisive element in his eventual success.
He became friends with pop stars such as Madonna and Grace Jones and created designs for their tours and videos.
He opened a retail store in SoHo called Pop Shop, selling merchandise bearing his iconic images including t-shirts, toys, posters and other objects with reproductions of his art. Haring also created advertising images for Absolut vodka and Swatch watches.[5]
When asked about the "commercialism" of his work, Mr. Haring said: "I could earn more money if I just painted a few things and jacked up the price. My shop is an extension of what I was doing in the subway stations, breaking down the barriers between high and low art."[5]
By the arrival of Pop Shop, his work began reflecting more socio-political themes, such as anti-Apartheid, AIDS awareness, and the crack cocaine epidemic.
Keith Haring was openly gay and was a strong advocate of safe sex;[1] however, in 1988, Haring was diagnosed with AIDS. He established the Keith Haring Foundation in 1989, its mandate being to provide funding and imagery to AIDS organizations.
Haring died in 1990 of AIDS-related complications.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Dichotomies: a favorite theme of Basquiat
"Throughout his career Basquiat focused on “suggestive dichotomies,” such as wealth versus poverty, integration versus segregation, and inner versus outer experience. Basquiat’s art utilized a synergy of appropriation, poetry, drawing and painting, which married text and image, abstraction and figuration, and historical information mixed with contemporary critique."
A dichotomy is any splitting of a whole into exactly two non-overlapping parts, meaning it is a procedure in which a whole is divided into two parts.
A dichotomy is any splitting of a whole into exactly two non-overlapping parts, meaning it is a procedure in which a whole is divided into two parts.
Jean-Michel Basquiat: Radiant Child, Genius Child
Genius Child
by Langston Hughes
This is a song for the genius child.
Sing it softly, for the song is wild.
Sing it softly as ever you can -
Lest the song get out of hand.
Nobody loves a genius child.
Can you love an eagle,
Tame or wild?
Can you love an eagle,
Wild or tame?
Can you love a monster
Of frightening name?
Nobody loves a genius child.
Kill him - and let his soul run wild.
The term "Radiant child" refers to a crawling infant figure - surrounded by bright lines - created by super graffiti artist Keith Haring, a friend and artistic equal to Basquiat.
by Langston Hughes
This is a song for the genius child.
Sing it softly, for the song is wild.
Sing it softly as ever you can -
Lest the song get out of hand.
Nobody loves a genius child.
Can you love an eagle,
Tame or wild?
Can you love an eagle,
Wild or tame?
Can you love a monster
Of frightening name?
Nobody loves a genius child.
Kill him - and let his soul run wild.
The term "Radiant child" refers to a crawling infant figure - surrounded by bright lines - created by super graffiti artist Keith Haring, a friend and artistic equal to Basquiat.
Monday, September 3, 2012
One of the world's most famous reference books: Gray's Anatomy
The English anatomist Henry Gray studied endocrine glands and spleen and in 1853 was appointed Lecturer on Anatomy at St George's Hospital Medical School in London, says Wikipedia.
In 1855, he approached his colleague Henry Vandyke Carter with his idea to produce an inexpensive and accessible anatomy textbook for medical students.
Dissecting unclaimed bodies from workhouse and hospital mortuaries through the Anatomy Act of 1832, the two worked for 18 months on what would form the basis of the book.
Their work was published in 1858 in England.
Gray died in 1861, at the age of 34, having contracted smallpox[1] while treating his nephew (who survived).
The work on his much-praised book was continued by others.
In 1855, he approached his colleague Henry Vandyke Carter with his idea to produce an inexpensive and accessible anatomy textbook for medical students.
Dissecting unclaimed bodies from workhouse and hospital mortuaries through the Anatomy Act of 1832, the two worked for 18 months on what would form the basis of the book.
Their work was published in 1858 in England.
Gray died in 1861, at the age of 34, having contracted smallpox[1] while treating his nephew (who survived).
The work on his much-praised book was continued by others.
Basquiat and NYC quiz / 9.4
1. Basquiat lived about __ years.
2. As a graffiti artist, Basquiat / SAMO focused on __ rather than stylishly painted logos.
3. As a developing artist, Basquiat lived in Manhattan on the __ __ __, a neighborhood where impoverished creative types flourished in the late 70's and 80's.
4. Oldest historic residential area of Manhattan.
5. Residences of the moguls in Manhattan.
6. Section of Manhattan where you'll find Carnegie Hall and the Plaza Hotel.
7. University adjacent to Greenwich Village
8. Process of upgrading old and run-down buidings and neighborhoods.
9. Most southerly borough of NYC.
10. Famous Manhattan neighborhood adjacent to the Bronx.
11. Peninsula on the Gulf of Mexico / Caribbean.
2. As a graffiti artist, Basquiat / SAMO focused on __ rather than stylishly painted logos.
3. As a developing artist, Basquiat lived in Manhattan on the __ __ __, a neighborhood where impoverished creative types flourished in the late 70's and 80's.
4. Oldest historic residential area of Manhattan.
5. Residences of the moguls in Manhattan.
6. Section of Manhattan where you'll find Carnegie Hall and the Plaza Hotel.
7. University adjacent to Greenwich Village
8. Process of upgrading old and run-down buidings and neighborhoods.
9. Most southerly borough of NYC.
10. Famous Manhattan neighborhood adjacent to the Bronx.
11. Peninsula on the Gulf of Mexico / Caribbean.
Basquiat - an interpretation of the 1981 4'X6' acrylic "Irony Of Negro Policeman"
Irony of Negro Policeman (1981), is intended to illustrate how African-Americans have been controlled by a predominantly Caucasian society. Basquiat sought to portray how complicit African-Americans have become with the “institutionalized forms of whiteness and corrupt white regimes of power” years after the Jim Crow era had ended, says Wikipdeai.[33]
Basquiat found the concept of a “Negro policeman” utterly ironic. It would seem that this policeman should sympathize with his black friends, family and ancestors, yet instead he was there to enforce the rules designed by "white society."
The Negro policeman had “black skin but wore a white mask”. In the painting, Basquiat depicted the policeman as large in order to suggest an “excessive and totalizing power”, but made the policeman's body fragmented and broken.[34]
The hat that frames the head of the Negro policeman resembles a cage, and represents how constrained the independent perceptions of African-Americans were at the time, and how constrained the policeman’s own perceptions were within white society.
Basquiat drew upon his Haitian heritage by painting a hat that resembles the top hat associated with the Haitian trickster lwa, leader of the Gede family of lwas and guardian of death and the dead in vodou.[34]
Basquiat found the concept of a “Negro policeman” utterly ironic. It would seem that this policeman should sympathize with his black friends, family and ancestors, yet instead he was there to enforce the rules designed by "white society."
The Negro policeman had “black skin but wore a white mask”. In the painting, Basquiat depicted the policeman as large in order to suggest an “excessive and totalizing power”, but made the policeman's body fragmented and broken.[34]
The hat that frames the head of the Negro policeman resembles a cage, and represents how constrained the independent perceptions of African-Americans were at the time, and how constrained the policeman’s own perceptions were within white society.
Basquiat drew upon his Haitian heritage by painting a hat that resembles the top hat associated with the Haitian trickster lwa, leader of the Gede family of lwas and guardian of death and the dead in vodou.[34]
Sculpture in fine arts: finish the body casts by bringing clothing to fit the figure
Your group will get its final points in large sculpture after you bring head-to-toe clothing for your plastic sculpture.
Sculpture dress code -
- hoodie or wig and glasses
- sweatshirt or other low-priority long-sleeved shirt.
- jeans or other long slacks. Opaque hose?
- socks and shoes.
o·paque
1. not transparent or translucent.
2.not transmitting radiation, sound, heat.
3. not shining or bright; dark; dull.
4. hard to understand; not clear or lucid.
5. dull or unintelligent.
Final step -
- place body cast on campus in such a way as to pique the attention and curiosity of onlookers. It will be what we call an Art Installation.
pique
1.to affect with sharp irritation and resentment, especially by some wound to pride.
2. to wound (the pride, vanity, etc.).
3. to excite (interest, curiosity, etc.).
4. to arouse an emotion or provoke to action.
Sculpture dress code -
- hoodie or wig and glasses
- sweatshirt or other low-priority long-sleeved shirt.
- jeans or other long slacks. Opaque hose?
- socks and shoes.
o·paque
1. not transparent or translucent.
2.not transmitting radiation, sound, heat.
3. not shining or bright; dark; dull.
4. hard to understand; not clear or lucid.
5. dull or unintelligent.
Final step -
- place body cast on campus in such a way as to pique the attention and curiosity of onlookers. It will be what we call an Art Installation.
pique
1.to affect with sharp irritation and resentment, especially by some wound to pride.
2. to wound (the pride, vanity, etc.).
3. to excite (interest, curiosity, etc.).
4. to arouse an emotion or provoke to action.
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