My Take on Post Modern Era Art

 My Take on Post Modern Era Art

God, Law by Jean-Michel Basquiat (1981)

God, Law was created in 1981 by Jean-Michel Basquiat, in New York. He was an artist based in New York, and part of a graffiti group called SAMO, where they tagged many parts of New York, specifically Lower East Side of Manhattan. "The painter and graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat was famed for his works that critiqued inequalities in society as well as colonialism." This piece is symbolic, showing a scale with God and Law on each side. The dollar sign below the scale shows a world where law and religion are influenced by material wealth. He created this artwork with just pencil on paper, and is in street art style, to resemble graffiti. All of the markings on the background of the paper give it the sense of street art and graffiti. The paper being kind of a yellow tan color also gives it more of a street art style rather than it being on white paper. I personally like this piece, even if it is not as detailed as other artworks. This piece is currently in the Brooklyn Museum as part of the exhibition, "Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks." 

Cadillac Moon by Jean-Michel Basquiat (1981)

Cadillac Moon was created in 1981 by Jean-Michel Basquiat, it was his first sold painting. It was sold to singer, Debbie Harry for $200. The title of the painting itself is a sense of Americana because Cadillac is a brand often associated with success in American culture. This piece shows the resemblance between reality and aspiration. Again, his work is street style showing more of a graffiti style of artwork. There are cars, and the moon, and television being shown. I like this style of art that Basquiat does, because it is not your normal art style you see everyday, it is different. I think his creativity and his way of showing it says a lot. I would love to have a piece like this, by Basquiat in my own home because it is cool. Cool is a rather bland word to use, but I feel like it is the right word to describe this piece. It is just not your everyday art you see, and I love that about his style. This piece used to be on display in multiple museums, including the Fondation Beyeler in Basel, Switzerland, and the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris in 2010. The painting was also part of an exhibit at the Broad in New York City. 

Christ's Last Day by Julian Schnabel (2008)

Christ's Last Day was created by Julian Schnabel in 2008 in Beverly Hills, California. It was shown at the Gagosian Gallery from February 21 to March 22, 2008. "Schnabel's mythic, often controversial career is rooted in his ability to morph and change using a vast alchemy of sources and materials composed and distributed across surface and support in defiance of the very notions of moderation, rationality, and order. His baroque attitude is embodied in audaciously scaled paintings that, over the course of time, have combined oil painting and collage techniques; classical pictorial elements inspired by historical art and neo-expressionist features; abstraction and figuration. Tackling appropriately big themes such as sexuality, obsession, suffering, redemption, death, and belief, he has employed a diversity of found materials including broken plates, diverse textiles such as Kabuki theater backdrops, tarpaulins, and velvet; a plethora of images, names, and fragments of language; as well as thickly applied paint, viscous resin, and digital reproduction." I think that this piece of art is rather interesting, with the blue in the background spread around and the words themselves being on the work like they are. There are more pieces like this done by Schnabel too. This piece is located at Robilant + Voena, London. It was also previously on loan to the NSU Art Museum in Fort Lauderdale. 

Christ's Last Day(II) by Julian Schnabel (2000)

Christ's Last Day (II) is another piece done by Julian Schnabel. It was created in 2000 and is another piece like his first, Christ's Last Day that is above. "The artwork features vigorous and emotive brushstrokes which dominate a pale lilac background. Through its abstract composition, the letters ‘L A S T’ and a partial ‘D A Y’ can be discerned amidst the dynamic interplay of dark, sweeping lines and occasional patches of brown and white. The visual intensity and rawness of the strokes evoke a sense of urgency and drama, characteristic of Schnabel’s Neo-Expressionist style. The fragmented and obscured textual elements, combined with the bold, impassioned application of paint, create a compelling visual narrative that invites contemplation and emotional engagement." I really like this piece as it has to do with religion, but I know that it is not for everyone. I personally would love to own a copy of this piece done by Schnabel. 

Margarethe by Anselm Kiefer (1981)

Margarethe was created by Anselm Kiefer in 1981. It is a symbolic piece using mixed media on a canvas. "The artwork features a textured surface with dominant shades of gray and ochre, which adds to its tactile quality. The composition seems to depict an abstracted landscape, with elongated, organic forms rising upwards. The overall palette and impasto technique convey a sense of solemnity and depth, evoking a contemplative and somber mood. The presence of earthy tones intertwined with the mixed media materials used by Kiefer underscores the symbolic resonance and layered meanings inherent in the piece. The name “Margarethe” is inscribed among the tendrils of material, adding a layer of narrative intrigue to the artwork." I personally think the colors give the artwork more of a sad kind of mood, with them being such bland colors. I don't think I would want to own a copy of this piece because it is just not the style of art I really like. I think his work is really good, just not my style that I would prefer to have in my own home. This piece is now housed in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) in San Francisco, California, USA.

Athanor by Anselm Kiefer (1983)

Athanor was created by Anselm Kiefer in 1983 in Europe. "A series of paintings which Kiefer executed between 1980 and 1983 depict looming stone edifices, referring to famous examples of National Socialist architecture, particularly buildings designed by Albert Speer and Wilhelm Kreis. The grand plaza in To the Unknown Painter (1983) specifically refers to the outdoor courtyard of Hitler's Chancellery in Berlin, designed by Speer in 1938 in honor of the Unknown Soldier.^[24] In 1984–85, he made a series of works on paper incorporating manipulated black-and-white photographs of desolate landscapes with utility poles and power lines. Such works, like Heavy Cloud (1985), were an indirect response to the controversy in West Germany in the early 1980s about NATO's stationing of tactical nuclear missiles on German soil and the placement of nuclear fuel processing facilities" This piece is showing a building, I couldn't find a lot of information on it though. I think the way he showed

the work makes it almost look like it could be stained glass or something along the lines of that. Again, I don't

think I would personally want to own a copy of this piece just because it is not my style. 

References Cited

https://www.jean-michel-basquiat.org/god-law/ 

https://teens.artsconnection.org/basquiat-and-untitled-godlaw/ 

https://www.myartbroker.com/artist-jean-michel-basquiat/articles/jean-michel-basquiat-top-10-works 

https://gagosian.com/exhibitions/2008/julian-schnabel-christs-last-day/ 

https://www.wikiart.org/en/julian-schnabel/christ-s-last-day-ii-2000 

https://www.artchive.com/artwork/christ-s-last-day-ii-julian-schnabel-2000/ 

https://www.artchive.com/artwork/margarethe-anselm-kiefer-1981/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anselm_Kiefer