saysumns

Not A Businessman, or a Business, Mannn: The Commercialization of Basquiat

04-06-24

Oh great! Another brand has collaborated with [insert dead artist here]! :/ From iPhone cases, socks, pens, keychains...To being Used in collaboration with Gap, Amazon,Urban Outfitters, Uniqlo, WACKO MARIA, Valentino, and Coach. Jean Michel Basquiat’s work has become minimized and merchandised in ways that I have never seen for any other artist. Like....this is absolutely abhorrent (big words ik) [more]

Understanding the Artist: Passions, Purpose, and Peace

01-15-24

Kanye West said “Anyone that’s creative understands that there’s no amount of money that can be given to them to make them not want to, or have to create” Lately I’ve been thinking about why it never crossed my mind to pursue a career to be an engineer, doctor, or some lawyer shit. The paths to those careers seem more pointed with direct steps: 1.Go to school/university. 2. Do a couple internships, do good work, meet the right people. 3. Get an entry level position earning a steady pay of 50-70k a year. 4. Climb the career chain and possibly earn 100k+ [more]

“Copy, Paste, Copy, Copy, Paste Everything That I Do They Trying Do The Same Thing”: Mea Culpa Beanies, Basquiat, and the Youth

12-14-22

You can’t scroll TikTok for long without coming across a video of someone pulling out an iPad going to Procreate and sketching a “new” beanie. These designs are far (and I mean far) from new. They are just renditions of the popular Mea Culpa beanie. They use the same color schemes, font, and the basic concept of the beanie. I really question why this is. I think this generation is addicted and intrigued by the fame and money that some careers and items garner. They may not have a passion for what they are doing, but they like the results that it will bring.[more]

Nostalgia Kills, Sampling/Recreation, and The Excellence of Renaissance by Bey

08-17-22

Currently there are multiple songs coming out that aim to replicate the feelings of popular 2000s or 90s songs. They do this by sampling these songs and putting their own “twist” on it. I wouldn’t say this is such a horrible idea if multiple artist fail at doing it correctly. While their idea may be to recreate a song as iconic as the song they sampled, the result is a song that falls flat of creating true artistry and ends up as another catchy tiktok song. It seems that each new song that samples old songs do it in a way that is corny, uninteresting, and lacks individuality.[more]

Social Media, Art

07-10-22

I was looking at my arena channels that I made and admiring the art that I added to my channels and I realized that whole I think I’m advancing myself as an artist by looking and studying different mediums and art pieces (which I may be) I’m doing a disservice to my self by not learning about the pieces, how it came to be and what it means to the artist. How can I advance myself if I’m not willing to deeply study those inspiring me?[more]