inspired by Basquiat

During the "Studying Under the Masters" art camp, I wanted to highlight some of the artists currently on display at the Vancouver Art Gallery's Mash-Up exhibit. VAG has been working on the exhibit for over 3 years and it is a spectacular collection of modern art from 1912 to current day. My hope is that by presenting some of the artists to the kids, they will be enticed to see the show and have a personal connection to some of the works after creating pieces inspired by them.

We all know kids respond well to Warhol and Haring, both artist have works in the show, but I was trying hard to introduce artist that were a little less known to the kids and I felt Jean-Michel Basquiat would not only resonate having been working at the same time as the other two artist, but might be an artist the kids had not known before. (he also has a work on display at Mash-Up)

Basquiat self portrait, "Untitled, 1982)

The above work is predicted to bring in over forty million dollars at a May auction by Christie's!  Forty million dollars, wow.

I am probably drawn to this period of modern art because I was in my late teens/early twenties when it was being created. This work and the counter culture that inspired it was intriguing and inspiring to me as a young artist trying to find my way in the world.

While presenting works created by Basquiat to the kids, I also explained other art movements that were new and unusual at the time- Hip Hop/Rap and graffiti. It is hard for the kids to grasp that these were things many people in mainstream  society did not understand nor embrace,  as they are now a part of everyday life for them, but to me it was important to highlight what else was happening in society when presenting the work of Haring or Basquiat so they can fully understand why the artists were driven to create the work they did.

Creating an age appropriate soundtrack of early Hip Hop for the kids to listen to while they looked at Basquiat's work, to understand the inspiration for the rhythm of his work, was more challenging than I expected but I did it and some of the kids had a hard time staying in their seats while Run DMC and DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince filled the studio.

9 year old

I pointed out some of the messages Basquiat put into his work and asked the kids to point out some of the images they saw within the pieces that they were drawn too. Then they began their own artworks inspired by Basquiat's art.

They started by covering a very large piece of watercolor paper with pastel in colors of their choice. They then went over the entire paper with white paint while listening to the playlist of Hip Hop I had put together from Basquiat's era. I asked them to let the paintbrush "dance" to the music.

Then we put the artworks aside to dry and worked on a different project.

11 year old

The next morning, using black paint the kids created image shapes and pattern while once again listening to the music. I asked them to think about a message they would want to share with the viewer and for those children who didn't want to do a message, to figure out their own images inspired by the images they remembered from Basquiat's work.

10 year old

Again we put the paintings aside to dry once they were happy with the black acrylic paint they had added to their paintings.

7 year old

8 year old

Finally I brought out oil pastels and asked the kids to go back into their black images and add details inspired by the works created by Basquiat. They could also add words or anything else they wanted too.

8 year old

It was interesting to watch how each child interacted with this style of painting. Some wanted to find order within the work while others embraced chaos and went for it.

7 year old

I simply love the works created by the kids but then I'm a huge fan of Basquiat's art, although from the looks of the Christie's auction coming up, I will never have the opportunity to own one. 

10 year old

I'm not sure all the parents will gravitate to this particular project when going through all the artwork their child created during the week, but in the words of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, "parents just don't understand".

Jean-Michel Basquiat inspired mixed media

"I like kid's work more than work by real artist any day." Jean-Michel Basquiat

He had me at hello.

Jean-Michel Basquiat is not everyone's cup of tea but I can tell you that kids are in general quite a fan, just like he was of them. I'm sure it's the energy and the story one can find in the artwork that appeals to them. Not to mention the vibrant use of color and the childlike quality of the work.

Needless to say, this is an artist I will be using again in the future. The project was successful for each and every child and they all enjoyed creating their artwork.

Even the one child who might of preferred chocolate milk over a cup of Basquiat tea.

I figured the villain or nemesis of each child's imaginary world was the perfect subject matter for a style filled with imagery and story. I created a mixed media project that the children built upon over a three day period in the "Fanciful Frolics" camp at North Vancouver Community Arts Council. The students spent anywhere from a half hour to an hour each day working on their art.

The children started with nothing more than black acrylic paint. I asked them to think about the shape of their image only and put it on paper. I asked them to hold their paintbrush up near the "tippytop" and to paint with wide strokes not worrying about "perfect" form.

6 year old- sea bug

Some of the things the kids had noticed when viewing Basquiat's work was the handprints.  So I told them to feel free to add their handprints in the black paint.  

Oh how they LOVED painting their hands.

And their fingertips.

Lots and lots of fingertip work was done when they were only working with the black.

7 year old- woodland witch

At the beginning of the next day I brought out red, yellow,blue and white acrylic paint.  We again took a few minutes to look at Basquiat's work and discussed how he used color in his pieces. Then the kids went back to their artwork and began adding color.

Once again, I asked them to hold their paintbrushes up at the "tippytop" in order to create loose, broad paint strokes. 

I should mention that they were working on very large paper too!

7 year old- a dapper looking octopus villain 

(this artist would of rather chocolate milk)

And finally on the last day I brought out oil pastels and charcoal for them to add any final details.

8 year old, bat fairy

7 year old- outer space villain

I could not be more thrilled with the results of this project. I think each child did an amazing job of capturing the spirt of Basquiat's work while being true to their own vision at the same time. And over time, how precious will these works become that capture their handprints when they were young?

6 year old- fairy villain

6 year old- underwater villain  (I LOVE his spelling!)

6 year old- evil flying fish, a goldfish nemesis

I have no doubt that Basquiat would love each and every one of these pieces as much as I do too. I was quite fascinated to observe the different details of his work that the kids were inspired to place in their own pieces.  "Hand Some Over" in the hands up above? Brilliant! 

6 year old- Underwater world villain

8 year old- another evil octopus 

(interestingly these girls never sat near each other all week)

Every time I look at these pieces, I find something new that I had not seen before. I'm so proud of what all of the children created.