My favorite art is from the 1980s, more specifically from New York City in the 80s. My favorite artist is Jean-Michel Basquiat. While I knew that he had worked extensively with Andy Warhol, I didn’t quite realize the true extent of the influence the 1960s had on his work.
One piece that caught my eye in was Eurasia Siberian Symphony by Joseph Beuys. The piece consisted of two major components, the canvas, and a stuffed rabbit on sticks in front of it. While the rabbit is very much a part of the art, the canvas was much more interesting to me. The painting itself was very simple; black with white words and crude drawings. Had the rabbit not been there, I would have thought it was in the wrong exhibit; that someone had misplaced a Basquiat. The piece would’ve been right at home with some of Basquiat’s simpler, more graffiti like pieces. To see something so similar to one of my favorite artists made me think about the connection that art has with what came before it. Basquiat himself talks about how his work is a response to Picasso’s. Art is frequently viewed from the perspective of its time, looking at what political or social commentary it may contain, but it was new to me to look at art that I’ve seen before from the perspective of the art-world itself. Going back to look at many pieces from the 80s, the influences of the 60s become very clear, and it was particularly interesting to see a piece that appears to have influenced one of my favorite artists.
A link to a Basquiat that I feel shows similarities to Beuys’ work:
http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=6011562
Eurasia Siberian Symphony
Jerome Krase
March 14, 2017 — 11:58 am
My favorite artworks of those placed in the broad category of “Impressionism,” and your placing of Basquiat artistically in the period of his 1960 birth makes me think that perhaps I am an Impressionist as well. Good interpretation! In a sense an idea is timeless.