A sky blue canvas ripped open by an enormous skull. Teeth bared through visceral slashes of oil and spray-paint. In 2017, this untitled artwork was auctioned off for over 110 million dollars. But it’s not the work of some old master. These strokes of genius belong to 21 year old black Brooklynite Jean-Michel Basquiat – one of America’s most charismatic painters, and currently, its highest sold.
一張天藍色的畫布 被一個巨大的骷髏撕開。 牙齒透過油墨 和噴漆的揮灑裸露出來。 2017 年, 這幅沒有名稱的作品在拍賣會上 以一億一千萬美元售出。 但它並非出自某位年長大師之手。 這些神來之筆來自一位 二十一歲的布魯克林黑人青年 尚米榭巴斯奇亞—— 他是美國最有魅力的畫家之一, 也創下目前美國 最高價賣出的畫作。
Born in 1960 to a Haitian father and a Puerto Rican mother, Basquiat spent his childhood making art and mischief in Boerum Hill. While he never attended art school, he learned by wandering through New York galleries, and listening to the music his father played at home.
生於 1960 年,父親是海地人, 母親是波多黎哥人, 巴斯奇亞的童年都在波恩蘭姆小丘 創作藝術及惡作劇。 雖然他從沒上過藝術學校, 他學習的方式是在紐約畫廊徘徊, 以及在家中聽他父親播放的音樂。 他的靈感來自未預期的地方,
He drew inspiration from unexpected places, scribbling his own versions of cartoons, comic books and biblical scenes on scrap paper from his father’s office. But it was a medical encyclopedia that arguably exerted the most powerful influence on Basquiat. When young Jean-Michael was hit by a car, his mother brought a copy of "Grey’s Anatomy" to his hospital bed. It ignited a lifelong fascination with anatomy that manifested in the skulls, sinew and guts of his later work – which frequently explores both the power and vulnerability of marginalized bodies.
胡亂創作出自己版本的卡通、 漫畫書,以及聖經場景, 畫在從他父親辦公室拿的廢紙上。 但,其實可以說是 一本醫學百科全書 對巴斯奇亞的影響最為重大。 當年輕的尚米榭被一台車撞到時, 他的母親買了本《格雷氏解剖學》 讓他在醫院病床上看。 這本書點燃了他一生 對於解剖學的迷戀, 這種迷戀以骷髏、肌腱、內臟等 形態出現在他後來的作品中—— 那些作品常常是在探討 邊緣化身體的力量和脆弱。 十七歲時,他和他的朋友艾爾 迪亞茲一起初次進軍藝術世界。
By 17, he launched his first foray into the art world with his friend Al Diaz. They spray painted cryptic statements and symbols all over Lower Manhattan, signed with the mysterious moniker SAMO. These humorous, profound, and rebellious declarations were strategically scattered throughout Soho’s art scene. And after revealing himself as the artist, Basquiat leveraged SAMO’s success to enter the scene himself; selling postcards, playing clubs with his avant-garde band, and boldly seeking out his heroes. By 21, he’d turned to painting full time.
他們在曼哈頓下城各處用噴漆 畫出各種難看懂的聲明, 署名用神秘的暱稱「SAMO」。 這些幽默、深刻、反叛的宣言 策略性地散佈在 蘇荷區的藝術圈當中。 在以藝術家的身分出道之後, 巴斯奇亞善用了 SAMO 的成功, 自己進入了這個領域; 銷售明信片,和他的 前衛樂團在俱樂部表演, 並大膽地找到他的主人翁們。 二十一歲時,他開始全職畫畫。 他的流程有點像是 計算好的即興創作流程。
His process was a sort of calculated improvisation. Like Beat writers who composed their work by shredding and reassembling scraps of writing, Basquiat used similar cut-up techniques to remix his materials. When he couldn't afford canvases, he fashioned them out of discarded wood he found on the street. He used oil stick, crayons, spray paint and pencil and pulled quotes from the menus, comic books and textbooks he kept open on the studio floor.
就像「垮掉的一代」的作家, 把作品碎掉後再重組碎片來創作, 巴斯奇亞用類似的切碎技巧 來重新混合他的素材。 當他無法買不起畫布時, 他用街上找到的 廢棄木頭來製做畫布。 他用油畫棒、蠟筆、 噴漆,和鉛筆, 並從他攤開放在工作室 地板上的說明書、漫畫書, 和教科書中擷取引言。 這些來源素材都被他 攤開放在工作室地板上,
He kept these sources open on his studio floor, often working on multiple projects at once. Pulling in splintered anatomy, reimagined historical scenes, and skulls transplanted from classical still-lives, Basquiat repurposed both present day experiences and art history into an inventive visual language. He worked as if inserting himself into the legacy of artists he borrowed from, producing collages that were just as much in conversation with art history as they were with each other. For instance, "Toussaint L’Overture versus Savonarola" and "Undiscovered Genius of the Mississippi Delta" offer two distinct visions of Basquiat’s historical and contemporary concerns. But they echo each other in the details, such as the reappearing head that also resurfaces in "PPCD." All these pieces form a network that offers physical evidence of Basquiat’s restless and prolific mind.
他通常會同時做好幾個計畫。 他會納入碎裂的解剖學、 重新想像的歷史場景, 以及從經典靜物畫中 移植來的骷髏, 巴斯奇亞重新規劃了 現代經驗以及藝術歷史, 讓它們成為有創意的視覺語言。 他工作的方式,彷彿將他自己嵌入 被他所引用之藝術家的遺產中, 產生出來的拼貼, 既有和藝術歷史的對話, 也有和彼此的對話。 比如《Toussaint L’Overture versus Savonarola》 及《密西西比三角洲 未被發掘的特質》 是巴斯奇亞對歷史及現在的 關注議題的兩種不同遠景。 但這兩種遠景在細節上有所共鳴, 比如不斷重覆出現的頭 也在《PPCD》中再次露面。 所有這些作品,形成了 一個網絡,以實體證據證明 巴斯奇亞那充滿創意的 大腦完全停不下來。 這些混亂的畫布很快 就贏得了讚賞和注意。
These chaotic canvases won rapid acclaim and attention. But despite his increasingly mainstream audience, Basquiat insisted on depicting challenging themes of identity and oppression. Marginalized figures take center stage, such as prisoners, cooks and janitors. His obsession with bodies, history, and representation can be found in works evoking the Atlantic slave trade and African history, as well as pieces focusing on contemporary race relations.
但,儘管他有 越來越多的主流觀眾, 巴斯奇亞仍然堅持要描繪 很有挑戰性的主題, 包括身分以及壓迫。 被邊緣化的人物佔據了中央舞台, 比如囚犯、廚師,及工友。 他對於身體、歷史, 以及表現的迷戀, 會出現在讓人想起大西洋奴隸貿易 以及非洲歷史的作品中, 以及著重現代種族關係的作品中。 在不到十年的時間, 巴斯奇亞就完成了數千件畫作——
In less than a decade, Basquiat made thousands of paintings and drawings- along with sculpture, fragments of poetry and music. His output accelerated alongside his meteoric rise to fame, but his life and work were cut tragically short when he died from a drug overdose at the age of 27. After his death, Basquiat’s work only increased in value- but the energy and flair of his pieces have impacted much more than their financial worth. Today, his influence swirls around us in music, poetry, fashion and film- and his art retains the power to shock, inspire, and get under our skin.
還有雕塑、片段的詩作和音樂。 他的產出越來越快, 名氣也越來越高, 但他的人生和作品非常短暫, 他在二十七歲時 就因為用藥過量而死。 死後,巴斯奇亞的作品價值 只有不斷增加—— 但他的作品的能量以及天賦 有著比財務價值更大許多的影響。 現今,他的影響仍然 圍繞在我們身邊, 在音樂中、詩作中、 時尚中,以及電影中—— 他的藝術仍然保有衝擊、 鼓舞、深入人心的能力。