Jasper Johns & Jean-Michel Basquiat Exhibitions

I visited two artists’ outstanding exhibitions that are different from each other: Jasper Johns and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Jasper Johns: ‘Something Resembling Truth’ is exhibiting in Royal Academy of Arts (RA) and Basquiat: ‘Boom for Real’ in Barbican Art Gallery. Following of this text you will not find any personal comparison between artists but only their way of expressionism of their artworks. No artist must not be compared to each other because every artwork carries psychologically base that depends on artist’s background, culture and life style. However before I mention the artworks I would like to indicate the space/layout of exhibitions. The layout of exhibition plays an important role for artist and their artworks that lead the visitors. The importance of the space of exhibition is not ignorable for my work.

Jasper Johns is a contemporary artist but the way RA presented his artworks are not contemporary. Royal Academy of Arts displayed Jasper Johns paintings, sculptures and prints between “classic” white walls with two or three wooden benches under bright, eye-straining white light. RA exhibited his artworks in a very simple, dull and old school ways, which affected my point of view against the exhibition while I was walking around in the exhibition. Jasper Johns’ artworks divided into rooms and placed on one floor. There was only one personal object on display: his sketchbook pages. I felt like there was a physical limit to sensation and perception between artist and viewers.

On the other hand I found more an effort, a care and part of the artist: Basquiat in Barbican Art Gallery. Barbican allocated two floors for Basquiat’s art; they used many lightening effects and had a special gift shop inside the exhibition. Barbican allowed their visitors to: hear his recorded voice, hip-hop single, watch his interview, film, his energetic seconds long video (mute) and see his own handwritings on letters, 1980 magazines, photographs etc. As a visitor I had a closer look to Basquiat’s character, life style that led me to understand his artworks and feel his point of view. I also distinguished that both of these galleries had different types of visitors (costumers). The RA had elderly and wealthy ‘looking’ people, where young and energetic people visited the Barbican Art Gallery. In my opinion according to these facts as a result the Barbican Art Gallery risks, creates much contemporary art exhibitions regardless to their types of costumers.

Jasper Johns is an American artist who loved to investigate visual art and notion of ‘truth’ with his work. He challenged his viewers to look more closely at ‘things the mind already knows’: in other words, he has hidden many metaphors to let viewers think out the box, have a new perspective. I may surmise this by written quote of his, “One hopes for something resembling truth, some sense of life, even of grace, to flicker, at least, in the work.” (On the wall at RA) His manipulation of metamorphosis is a part of his characteristic side as an artist for a progress. Throughout of his life many movements, ideas and artists have impressed Johns, such as: Abstract Expressionism, Pop, Minimal, Conceptual Art, Dada, Marcel Duchamp, Japanese culture, activities. These impressions led him to create ironic actions with unrelated objects, sculptures, and paints. The abstract colours, objects and tools used as physical and psychological processes involved in making of his artwork collections. He used tin can, kitchen knife, plate, ruler, torch, mirror, broom, newspapers, fragments, human figures, strings etc. For an example the string symbolized a bridge, separation in his artwork. “In the course of Johns’ work, there is no progress but there is evolution, change, redefinition, dissolution, ultimately a fading away and decathecting of the original memory as it is transferred and grafted, translated and faded out, until it is drained of any emotional significance or personal feeling.” (https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/article/magazine-jasper-johns%20) Therefore in my estimation Jasper Johns was a bit selfish and restricted artist when it came to his art, where Basquiat was the opposite. Basquiat mainly lived for art and created art for society because he was a candid and ordinary person from public.

Jean-Michel Basquiat, African-American artist, a warrior who sadly had short adult life. Nevertheless his art and mindset are still living today when Jasper Johns art became ordinary. “If art moves us-touches our spirit-it is not easily forgotten.” (http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/news-features/magazine/from-the-archives-altars-of-sacrifice-re-membering-basquiat/) The violence, political issues of the late 1970s and beginning of 1980s around the world revealed rebellions in many fields. Those rebellions gave a voice, chance to a freedom of art. To caption the interest of society in Soho and lower East Side, surreal works, informal graffiti: street art under name of SAMO © appeared. Basquiat was the part of SAMO © who had a special signature, style. He crammed various styles of art into his short life to be iconic. It was an inescapable white Western artistic era but the content of Basquiat’s work was a barrier against brutal reality. He was influenced and inspired by white male artists but his notion of artwork was not the same as theirs. Basquiat artworks meant insubordination, freedom, underground, street culture: a summary of political issues. Many underground clubs, films, hip-hop song etc. that he was involved was offering vital spaces to connect and inspire the society and artists.

He mainly had abstract movements and used mixed media to express his feelings, thoughts and work. He used his identity, self-portraits, TV and other media platforms as a source of materials, which helped him to be more creative and abstract. I love the fact that how Basquiat artworks are in our faces and still carry a meaning for humanity today (instead of trying us to find hidden messages). Basquiat fought against the imperialism, discrimination for his art, career, culture, ideology and humanity. As Basquiat quoted: “I never went to art school…I just looked… That’s where I think I learned about art by looking at it.” (On the wall at Barbican Art Gallery) The school concept is a creation of this system. Of course art schools are good mediators to learn various techniques of art, to expand our perspectives and skills however is evangelized art still countable as free as natural artistry?