Boom For Real
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Barbican
£16
Jean-Michel Basquiat was supposedly one of the most significant artists of the 20th century. Known for the character 'SAMO' and close relationship with Andy Warhol, Basquiat rose to fame and the top of the post-punk scene in lower Manhattan with an effortless speed.
Born in Brooklyn in 1960, Basquait exhibited his first body of work in the influential group exhibition New York/New Wave at the tender age of 21. He was known for fluidity - experimenting with graffiti, poetry, performance and music. By 1984, Basquiat was internationally acclaimed, quite remarkable given his age, the racial prejudice of the time and the fact he was entirely self-taught.
The Barbican has compiled most of Basquiat's work together in one space, and the exhibition is proving to be extremely popular. We went on a Wednesday around midday and there were only a couple of spaces left (the exhibition works on time slots as it gets so busy). A standard ticket was £16, which is dearer than many major exhibitions at the Tate and even with my National Art Pass I still had to cough up £12.
The exhibition had many different areas and elements to it - there were photographs of his early graffiti work, identified through the copyright 'SAMO' next to it. To be honest, these looked to me like meaningless scribbles, with no skill or any artistic presence. The words themselves didn't even contain any political message or statement about the world - it just seemed to be pretentious waffle aimed at causing a stir, but with no actual body or purpose to do so.
His Poetry, in the last room of the exhibition was of a similar type to his graffitied messages: ostentatious waffle. It was almost as if he had closed his eyes, flicked through a dictionary for any random word, opened his eyes and written it down to make a sentence. Although, God knows that this would probably also be considered art these days. See image below of one of the poems included in the show.
Basquiat's work with Warhol is actually quite laughable when positioned side by side. One image which stood out in particular was the collaboration of Basquiat with Warhol on the Arm and Hammer poster. There stands Warhol's perfectly hand-painted twin logos, one which has been destroyed by what looks like the works of an 8 year old. Yes, Basquiat was trying to make a point about the restrictions on Jazz music and black censorship, which is an interesting message, but he could have put a bit more effort into the actual painting.
Another image which stood out to me due to the description attached to it was Basquiat's portrait of Picasso as a 15 year old boy. The description read something like "by stating the young age of the artist pictured, whilst also dressing him in his trademark striped top of later years, Basquiat is making a point to engulf the whole of Picasso's career in one photograph". Seriously? I don't think this crossed his mind when painting it. We'd be lost on the fact it was even Picasso if he hadn't scribbled his name numerous times over the portrait. It felt as if someone was trying to find meaning in a simple doodle, and it pushed it a bit too far for me, if I'm honest.
Basquiat is a name that many known but I'm guessing few understand. It's the kind of thing where once someone high class and respected in the Art world said he was great, everyone kind of just jumped on the bandwagon. I mean, if Warhol likes someone, he must be good, right? No. His work did absolutely nothing for me and I left disappointed and unfulfilled. People either don't get this stuff or are pretending to get it. Then again, maybe I left my art goggles at home.
OVERALL RATING: **
https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2017/event/basquiat-boom-for-real
