BASQUAIT (Naïve Art)

Naive art is a good thing to look at when thinking about using a child’s perspective in artwork, but all all naive art does have a lot of things I am looking for what I really want to do is incorporate my children’s ideas and images of the human form into my paintings and artwork.

Basquait often uses human forms that look childlike in structure, also his use of vivid and contrasting colours, and use of words randomly added around the figures definitely remained the oven makes me think of the drawings by children do, but in a way that is very pleasing to the eye and meaningful, Basquait often tackles some very heavy issues through these childlike images.

Jean-Michel Basquait was an American graffiti artist who first achieved fame in his part in a collaboration called SAMO pronounced, Same-oh, it was developed between Basquait and Al Diaz with help from a few friends. It was a tag written on graffiti art as a copyright symbol, to stop others imitating their work, the graffiti was used around the streets of New York City from 1977 to early 1980 until its abrupt end which was ended by the appearance of the words SAMO is dead painted around the streets of downtown in early 1980.

Just before the movement ended Basquait took on the tag himself creating some non-graffiti work on paper and canvas using the tag to promote his work.

And by this time he was exhibiting his knee or expressionist paintings in galleries and museums internationally, the Whitney Museum of American Art even held a retrospective of his art in 1992.

He worked a lot on comparisons such as wealth versus poverty, integration versus segregation and the inner versus outer experience.

He often incorporates words into his paintings, before his career began he produced punk inspired postcards the sale on the street and became known for the both political and poetical graffiti under the name of SAMO, he would often draw on random objects and surfaces including other people’s property. He uses various forms of media and this is an integral element of his art.

His paintings are typically covered with taxing cause of all kinds, words, numerals, map symbols, diagrams, pictograms and logos. Although he paints many different things with different meanings behind them, a certain childlike element is carried throughout.

He often uses bright neon colours and contrasting colours and elements, are certainly eye-catching, I would like to incorporate some of his style and my work especially using the vivid colours and may be using words to enhance the meaning behind the artwork.