Ana Mendieta, Andy Warhol and Jean Michel Basquiat were among the most notable artists of the 21st century. Their works have impacted the contemporary art world and paved the way for many present-day artists such as Mickalene Thomas, Kehinde Wiley, Banksy, etc. Mendieta, Warhol and Basquiat used different techniques and took a different approach to illustrate their oeuvres. Though these artists came from different places, they commonly illustrated their background, identity, culture or social class.
ANA MENDIETA
Mendieta Adorned the female silhouette and constructed her own by using mud, sand, grass and twigs blood. Ana used her naked body and nature to really make a connection between human and earth. She really put an emphasis on her past and history in the silueta series. As a young Cuban who emigrated to the USA on her own in the sixties, Ana was clearly influenced by her Cuban identity, the feminism movement and the injustice towards women in Cuba and America. So Mendieta escaped from the Cuban regime but faced more challenges when she arrived to the US. She expressed her frustration about sexism in her most prevalent themes such as the glass on body print, the rape scene and the facial hair transplant.
Silueta de arena. 1978
rape scene, 1973
Glass on body imprints, 1972
Facial hair transplants, 1972
As Finkelstein puts it in her book the art of self-invention page 26, "such is our infatuation with the importance of the self that it means we accept the need to groom and style it". The metamorphosis self-portrait of Ana that is shown above does corroborate with Finkelstein statement. Ana is addressing the issues of sexism, masculinity, gender and sexuality by transforming her face all to raise awareness about IDENTITY. So it is clear that transformation is another characteristic of her themes. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that Ana's work caught the public's eye because her masterpieces (rape scene) were about social problems that are still relevant in our day to day lives. For example, women are still marginalized, and because of that most of them are reluctant to denounce sexual harassment at the workplace because doing so could tarnish their career. Finkelstein confirms this point by asserting on page 18 that "the love impulse begins in hostility, the battle of sexes is without end".
JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT
Unlike Ana, Basquiat came from a total different world. As a Haitian and Puerto Rican descent who grew up in lower Manhattan during the seventies, Hip Hop played an important role in the making of his art. Basquiat used Graffitis which were part of the Hip Hop culture to enhance his paintings and he excelled in it. As a young black man who grew up poor, Basquiat drew attention to the social stratification in America. During the seventies, white people belong to the high and middle class, and black people lived in the inner city and high crime areas. So the contrast was blatant and it really influenced Basquiat's art. Most importantly the use of text, drawing and image was a poignant shift that made him standout in the art world.
Samo, 1979
Flexible, 1982
History of the black people, 1983
Self-portrait, 1982
So Basquiat addressed sociopolitical issues such as race, power, money. They meant a lot for him and it seems like he had an epiphany because they are also present in our society. The Samo painting is quite ambiguous but sends a message to the the viewers. It begs the question what is same old? and why is it dead? In my opinion, it was the end of his struggle. Finkelstein suggests on page 31 that "how we think of identity arises in large part from observations of the body and its deportment". The griot painting in figure 2 and the self-portrait in figure 4 are a perfect depiction of Finkelstein statement. Basquiat took us back to his roots and by using these anthracite characters. Furthermore, he used white paintings to accentuate their mouths and eyes which begs the questions, what do they see? and what are they saying?
ANDY WARHOL
Warhol's paintings are slightly different than Basquiat's but the themes are a bit similar. Warhol's work was about the glam, celebrity, and most importantly advertising. He used media, painting, silkscreening, film, photography and sculpture. Warhol was influenced by pop art and was infatuated with Hollywood stars. Basquiat loved hip hop. Therefore, they collaborated but it didn't last long.
Marilyn Monroe, 1964
Campbell soup, 1962 
Che Guevara, 1968
So, Warhol loved to paint celebrities but he was also leaning toward modernism. In my opinion, his work will never be obsolete because or outdated. Finkelstein mentioned on page 11 that " art is evidence of the freedom of the intellect". I believe the bright color palette do represent freedom because it was sort of liberating for Warhol. As a young boy, he did not have the chance or courage to express his sexuality and identity. Therefore, he decided to do so as an adult by creating flamboyant images.
In conclusion; Mendieta, Warhol and Basquiat were highly talented artist who were influenced by their upbringings and culture to tell their own story but to also voice their opinions about their society through art. Most importantly, the majority of their pieces were untitled which is a way of allowing the viewers to see, interpret and try to get inside the artist's head which is the beauty of ART.
Works Cited
accessed 4/10/19 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Michel_Basquiat
accessed 4/10/19 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Warhol#Paintings
accessed 4/10/19 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ana_Mendieta
accessed 4/10/19 https://www.theartstory.org/artist-basquiat-jean-michel-artworks.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment