Basqiuat and Voodoo

Basqiuat and Voodoo are two very separate entities. However, in the art of Jean Michel Basqiuat we see them merge into a form of creation which in the very essence is positivity. Voodoo is an religious practice that finds it's ancestry in West Africa. However, in the African forced diaspora of the 1700's, Voodoo came over as a religious custom and thrived in places like East Cuba and Haiti, of which the latter we see the origin of Basqiuat. The Voodoo spirit can be summed down to the worship of inanimate objects that ward of evil spirits. Does art not function in the same way?

The works of Jean-Michel Basqiuat need to be viewed in it's entirety to be fully understood. I have had the pleasure from seeing the wonderful exhibition of paintings at the Brooklyn Museum retrospective in 2005. In this exhibition one can view first hand the artist' unique craft. His marks seems to be almost meticulously perfect, yet so free form that it seems almost accidental. His ability to mix thick and thin paint, texture and wash, scale and color, with masterful virtuosity is prominent. For all his brilliance as a painter, he continues to receive criticism from art world aficionados, but what they cannot really detect or acknowledge is the impact that he has and will continue to have on a legion of artists for years to come.

Like Voodoo paraphernalia for those who practice this occult religion, Basqiuat's work takes on a talismanic quality for inspiring artists. WE recognize his genius, yet are incapable of reproducing it. In the 1996 film "Basqiuat" directed by Julian Schnabel, there is a great scene where Gary Sinise tells the artist "your audience hasn't even been born yet." I for one was only 5 year's old when Basqiuat died of a heroin overdose, so technically I was not born yet as an artist realizing that this passion would consume many years of my life.

His influence as an art world rebel, and creator of a genre of art that has yet to be accurately described (neo-expressionist does not cut it) will continue to influence generations of artists that work on this planet. He is one of those painters who will continue to take on a cult following and people will worship his works of art and images like those in Voodoo worship their religious iconography. He is representative of a Haitian-Creole Voodoo aesthetic that artists like myself will continue to salivate over and admire for many years to come.

Jean-Michel Basquiat in his studio, 1985. Photograph © Lizzie Himmel