Jean Micheal Basquiat

‘Boom For Real’ is Jean Michel Basquiat’s first major London exhibition- a hugely ambitious show which invites viewers to re-evaluate an artist who died of a drug overdose at the age of 27 in 1988.

Basquiat is known as a painter, but this exhibition shows that he was much more than that – he was a writer, a musician,  a film-maker, a DJ,  a performance artist amongst many other things. He has been dismissively – remembered as a so-called ‘graffiti artist’, but the exhibition shows him as much more than that. He was a complex and brilliant painter, but also a figure with profound insights about figures in many different fields who have struggled against racism in America to express themselves and achieve fame and fortune.

It has been a hugely popular exhibition and has already gone a long way to bring a new generation to Basquiat’s work – and to an understanding of the society and culture in which it was created. What is unusual is that this show is so multi-media – packed with audio, film, music and photography. Which feels right because Basquiat didn’t just sit and paint in a little studio like the Impressionists – he was living a packed and chaotic life, dancing, making rap songs, movies. And of course taking a lot of drugs. You get a sense of what life was like in New York in the ‘80s, but also how Basquiat revelled in everything, mixing so-called ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture and putting it all into a blender. Out of the blender came his wild and vibrant and crazy art.

His ‘Self Portrait 1984’ is a case in point. At first glance it looks childlike. Look again and it feels very anguished. It feels to me like a very powerful  portrait of a man in pain. He’s not laughing.

Essentially he’s ripping back his own identity to show you the autonomy that’s within every human – and opening up his own  identity as a black man. In the video interview with Gus Casely Hayford that accompanies the online introduction to the exhibition, Nairne talks about the works having a sense of ‘Trauma’ – and that behind his representations of himself and other African Americans is a consciousness of the terrible legacy of slavery that brought black people to America.

The juxtaposition between the darkness of the skin tone and the vibrant white, red and blue  could be Basquiat’s way of suggesting this new way of black people becoming more involved in this western art and culture; which before Basquiat was mainly dominated by white people. Everything in this painting seems to be ripped apart, dishevelled, In some ways this could be his cry out for help. This is not an idealised picture of himself, but truly his way of communicating his feelings of pain, difference and suffering in his life.

Louise Bourgouis and Annette Messenger

This week I have been researching a range of different puppets- from ventriloquist dolls, stuffed dolls, marionettes and many more- all of these puppets conforming to this very creepy, and unsettling appearance. However, upon my research I discovered the fascinating work of both Louise Bourgeous and Annette Messenger. Both who have also created these extremely abnormal, yet mesmerising stuffed puppets in their work. 

Here are some of the puppets made by Louise Bourgeois.

'Seven in a Bed' - 2001. 

This composition is titled 'Seven in a Bed' made in 2001- depicting around seven puppets all bundled together in a bed, kissing and cuddling each other. As strange as it may first appear to the viewer, there is something remarkably beautiful about this image- possibly its the vibrant salmon colour of their skin, or how this composition is essentially a celebration of love. I noticed that the heads in this composition are all sewn together, and some of these puppets appear to have two heads. I found that this connection of all the heads together,  could be potentially be suggesting a time lapse of a couple who have moved around in bed together for a long period of time. 

The Reticent Child- 2004. 

This was possibly one of my favourites out of Bourgouis's puppet series- depicting a woman giving birth. The reason I love this image is the peaceful expression on her face- Bourgeois has turned something that is actually extremely painful and distressing- but turned it into this peaceful act of nature- which is how it's essentially supposed to be perceived. But there is also a great oddness to this image, and I find it quite humorous how the baby head just sticks out. 

Annette Messager 

Annette Messager born in 1943 is a visual artist from France. Messager is predominantly known for her installation work, which often incorporates photographs, prints and various materials. Message has also exhibited her work in many major museums, and won many prestigious awards- including  Praemium Imperiale International Arts Award and the Golden Lion Award. 

As one of the themes for my project is 'childhood', I knew that there wasn't anyone that fitted better than Annette Messager. Often described as 'The Puppet Master', Massager creates these amazing enchanting visual installations- using puppets. However, there is also something rather demonic about her puppet installations- the way the droop down, and are cut in such a fragmented way- potentially giving us snippets or 'fragments' of our childhood to us. 

I love the way that these installations hang from the ceiling in such a way- which empahsises this child-like experience for us, as everything is heigh up in the air.

Visiting the Rijksmuseum

Over the christmas holidays I visited the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. 

The museum holds over 8,000 art works from the years 1200-2000, among which are pieces by Rembrandt, Frans Hals and Johannes Vermeer. Over the term of this course, I have been exploring different mediums such as sculpture, painting and drawing- all of which are explored at this gallery in many different, fascinating ways. Not only was visiting this gallery a great experience, it was

 also very significant in discovering new source material for my personal work; discovering the brilliant work of many different artists- ranging from sculpture to paintings, and many other different mediums; the fascinating sculptures that I saw at this exhibition made me consider using sculpture in my work more often. 

Here are some of my most favourited pieces from the exhibition. 

This was a small sculpture that I saw, depicting seven men and women gathered around a table. There is a strong element of unsettlement, which is portrayed through their dazed, and rather miserable facial expressions; this unsettling atmosphere is furthermore reemphasised through their dreary, dark clothing.  

This was one of my most favourited sculptures from the exhibition, a sculpture of a young man, looking down in a sort of daze. What caught my attention most about this sculpture was the deep crack that cuts through his whole face. I wasn't sure whether the artist made this crack deliberately or just whether this sculpture has dishevelled over time. There's something very unsettling about this piece, especially whist I was taking the photograph, it seems as if this character is going to suddenly turn to look at me. I find doll faces very fascinating, but extremely unsettling, creepy- and sinister in some ways.

This Weeks Progression.

Here are some of the compositions that I have made this week. As I have been researching different types of puppets- particularly ventriloquist dolls, I feel that my work is beginning to hold a more strong resemblance to these dolls, which I am very pleased with. I feel that my work is also beginning to retain this kind of foetus appearance in some of them, which I didn't initially notice until now- however, I think that this appearance is very effective as it's quite unsettling and abnormal- which is how I would like my work to be perceived. 

For this image I did something rather differently, and painted two black lines just underneath the eyes, creating a rather interesting appearance- as it creates the illusion of this face crying. I also like how the water around the eyes have created this blurry effect, which subtly merges into the lighter foreground of the head. 

Ventriloquist Dolls and Doll Heads

I have recently become very fascinated in the appearance of puppets- particularly looking at ventriloquist dolls- they hold such a realistic yet sinister appearance which I find so captivating to look at. The make up on some of these dolls is also very fascinating- with long eye lashes which reach down to their noses, bright red cheeks, and these long creepy smiles which stretch to the width of their face. From looking at the faces on these dolls, I would defiantly like to cooperate this sinister, realistic imagery into my own work.

But despite the appearances of these dolls, I am also very interested in the structure of some of their bodies- and how they conform in such an interesting way. Some of these puppets have such tiny, little physiques- which completely juxtaposes with their gigantic heads, creating a very creepy and unsettling appearance for some of these puppets

Frieze Art Fair

Last year I visited the Frieze Art Fair however, it was not only until now that I found these two images from the exhibition on my laptop. I am not entirely sure of who the artist is, but I think these images are so fascinating and hold quite a strong resemblance to the work that I have been researching these past few weeks. 

From looking at these compositions, it's clear to see that the artist has used two very contrasting photographs in creating these images- half of which seems to be a small boys head- and the other a naked women, with her legs sprawled open in each composition. As unusual as it seems, potentially the artist could be suggesting this connection between sons and mothers, or men and women. However, whatever the potential meaning of these images may be- the artist is defiantly provoking a great sense of uncertainty for the viewer- but these images are also extremely abnormal and surreal in their layout. 

Like many of the other artists works who've I have researched, these compositions also hold this very unusual, abnormal perception of humans- contrasting large heads with much smaller bodies- and I find this experimentation with human features very fascinating. Most importantly for me, I feel that art is a lot more interesting, the more abnormal and surreal it is. In terms of the progression of my work, I would like to keep playing around and experimenting with these contrasting body features, just like this artist has done so. 

Paula Rego and Responding to her Work.

Paula Rego, born in 1935 is a Portuguese visual artist who is particularly known for her prints and paintings based on story books- but is also one of the most renowned artists of the 20th century. I have been interested in Rego's work for many years now- not only am I captivated by the way she explored themes of feminism, but also how personal she makes her works. Reggie's style has evolved from abstract towards representational, and she has favoured pastels over oils for much of her career.

As one of the words that I chose for this project was 'Childhood' I instantly remembered Paula Rego's 'Snow White' series; in which she uses the character of Snow White to create these extremely unnerving fictional and autobiogriphical twists. This series shows how fairytale and horror converge to portray famine experience. Ripping apart the light-hearted, fond memory we have of the fictional character- Snow White now appears as corrupt, ugly and hideous.

'Snow White and her Step Mother' 1995

Snow White is usually depicted as beautiful and elegant- however, Rego takes this from us and turns it into something rather chilling and very unusual. Snow White in this painting is depicted as this very stumpy, masculine character. The 'step mother' here looks extremely aggravated as she scorns at Snow White. This could possibly Rego's own reflection of her step mother. 

'Snow White Swallows the Poisoned Apple' 1995

This painting depicts merely the opposite of an elegant, beautiful Snow White- but a middle aged women, pictured moments after eating the poison apple. As she lays sprawled across the bed tugging at her clothing and holding her neck- this painting suggests the violence and pain that she feels. 

'Snow White Playing with her Father's Trophies' 1995 

In this image, Snow White is depicted wearing a long white dress- which symbolises her virginity and innocence- sitting with her legs wide open in an unladylike way- she holds the head of a young buck between her knees suggesting her new sexual awakening- but also her insinuating improper affection towards her father. Sitting behind Snow White, sits her envious step mother scorning her. 

Responding to Paula Rego's work 

In response to Paula Rego's work, I wanted to experiment with painting some of my favourite childhood characters- Tinker Bell and Snow White. However, whilst painting these characters, I did not want to portray them in such a way for them to look beautiful or idealised, but actually rather sinister and unsettling- as I find this would be much more interesting to look at. 

Tinker Bell 

Prior to creating this composition, I had been looking at puppets- painting weird, abnormal bodies with very disproportionate heads.  Tinker Bell is always portrayed as a very light hearted, joyful character however, in creating this painting I wanted to portray her as the complete opposite- but of something actually rather frightful. 

Snow White 

It's interesting how the effect of the watercolour has merged all of these features together- from her hair into her head, but also her clothing-creating a very interesting and unusual effect. There is a great sense of disproportion in this image, as her head is perceived as much larger than her tiny physique- re emphasising this unusual abnormality. However, what makes this composition most successful for me, is how Snow White is usually perceived as this very happy, light hearted character- but in this image she looks merely quite the opposite, appearing very dull and sad. 

Visiting Paula Rego's exhibition 

Last summer I visited Barcelona, in which I was lucky enough to visit the fascinating exhibition 'Family Sayings' featuring an extensive collection of Rego's work. Family Sayings is an exhibition that explores six decades of Paula Rego's work- from her drawings from the 1950's, to a number of much recent projects- but also the very renowned 'abortion series'. Rego explores a range of different mediums- from painting, etchings, prints and even sculpture. This exhibition explores in detail how women organise spaces of historical disobedience against the cultural imaginaries imposed by the patriarchy. 

Here are some of the works that I saw at the exhibition. 

I find the appearance of this painting very compelling- as it holds a very strong resemblance to the different puppets that I have been researching recently- with it's distinctively large head and much smaller body. 

This is one of the paintings from Rego's abortion series. 

Looking at Puppets

This was a puppet display that I saw at the exhibition- defiantly the most terrifying piece of the exhibition as I almost felt as if these puppets were going to suddenly come alive or look at me. From analysing the facial expressions of these characters- there is such a strong element of fear and distress shown. The mother in this display is depicted clinging onto her child, the maid holds what appear to be a dying person- surrounding them are more terrifying puppets- either looking extremely distressed or frightening. 

Ralph Eugene Meatyard

In the development of my artist research, I have recently become very fascinated in the work of photographer, Ralph Eugene Meatyard. His photographed portraits of people with these scary appearances provoke such an extreme sense of discomfort for the viewer. Meatyard experimented with new means of expression, from dream-like portraits- often set in abandoned places- to multiple exposures, motion blue, and other photographic methods; creating a great sense of abstraction. Meat yard's work was published in important art magazines, shown and collected by major museums- but also his peers regarded his work among the most original, yet disturbing imagery ever created with a camera.

These portraits in Meatyard's work are portrayed as extremely unsettling, and rather disturbing- shown through their crooked teeth, drooping eyes, and gaunt wide smiles- creating an almost cartoon-like appearance for some of these images. There's also something about them which is quite childlike; particularly when he actually uses children to model these gigantic, disproportionate heads. When I look at these images, all I can think of is it's almost as if we've caught these strange people in their everyday lives- simply just having a conversation or sitting down.

I find this photograph the most unsettling out of all his other works. It is quite clearly a child depicted in this image, holding onto a doll in the darkness. However, Ralph has entirely changed the perception of this image by attaching an old mans head onto the body of this child, creating a very unsettling appearance. This abnormality is further emphasised through the exaggeration in size of this head- which is much larger than the childs body. However, this photograph could essentially suggest that this old man is reminiscing on his past, put in the shoes of his former self as a child. His facial expression also portrays sadness- as he looks down at this doll with an empty look on his face.



From analysing some of the works of Ralph Eugene Meatyard, it is clear that he has a very distinctive and unusual style for his photographs- but also some of his works hold a strong resemblance to puppets, with their large heads, and tiny physiques. It terms of the progression of my work, I think that I would like to paint very large heads onto much smaller bodies, as I think this will create a very interesting, yet disturbing effect for my work. I also thought about who I could create my own images- like Meatyard's, where I take photographs of people with distorted, large heads.