It's a weird thing tbt. Because a lot of white art enthusiasts are tired of white art. So they are now pushing for indigenous, Asian and black art.
We always gonna be seen as a commodity, or mascot or some genius. No way around it. In my experience I haven't met any racism flat out, but I have met white folks who wanna compare me to other artists with everything I do tho. But most have been chill and overly love my work.
We had to take a lot of our expression via art due to just that. In art school undergrad you are taught the European art way, we couldn't use anything abstract in college. In fact abstraction wasn't even taught as much as realism. Geaux figure.
The Harlem Renaissance was really was an explosion of black creativity. Basquiat came in with the abstract expressionism tail end, and then combined primitive, art brüt and cubism. Some Dadaism too.
Most of Basquiat art was Graffiti based and use of crayon, oil stick, acrylics.
I wouldn't say tired of white art but exhausted their toolbox and that's driven their push for Indigenous, Asian and Black art. That is why any form of art outside their own will be seen as a commodity in my opinion, to
integrate other art styles into their own. Picasso.
After the Harlem Renaissance there was the Black Arts Movement, after that... nothing, and that's my question 'cause Basquiat was the biggest Black artist in the States
after the BAM era, and the BAM era look like it died with Black Power.
Point I'm trying to make is, there has not been a Black-focused art movement like the last two and Basquiat seem like the white-appointed face of Black art that other popular Black artists
should take notes from.
I like Basquiat, but my work wasn't remotely close to his style 'cause I was interested in the tradition of collage, cartoons and realism. Abstract expressionism was always a
texture of art than a true style to run with.
People like Romare Bearden come to mind as the father of Basquiat's style.
Beauford Delaney, Ernie Barnes... others I don't remember off the top... that's to say Black artists have approaches to color and line that aren't European but get downplayed in expressing Black culture when Black art is supposed to appeal to Euro tastes or trained by Euro sensibilities.
And I think that has stunted the separate growth of Black art as a discipline or style of its own.