Blog 3

1. Julian Schnabel's portrayal of Jean-Michel Basquiat in "Basquiat" can be seen more as a fictionalized account of the troubled artist's life than a true to life biopic. Through an obvious use of symbolism, quick cuts and jagged editing, Schnabel attempts to infuse the film with an abstract take on the psychological state of the young artist. As discussed in class, Basquiat apparently had an infatuation with Hawaii, which Jeffrey Wright, who plays Basquiat in the film, brings up in conversation with both Gina, Basquiat's girlfriend, and Benny, his druggie friend. The film visualizes Basquiat's dream of escaping to Hawaii through the implementation of abstract images of surfers and waves which are projected above the Manhattan skyline. As Basquiat becomes more and more problematic and increasingly involved with drugs, the waves and the images of the sea become more ominous, culminating in a shot of the surfer wiping out and then drowning. There are also other sequences included in the film with snippets of other films cut into the mix with no sound, just imbued with a vibrant blue color. These recurring images of a surfer riding the waves along the New York skyline are confusing. Where are these images coming from? Is Basquiat imagining them? Are we, as viewers, supposed to understand what they mean in the grand scheme of things? Other images, such as the opening scene where Basquiat is depicted as a young child wearing a golden crown, looking at Picasso's Guernica, while his mother cries works to connect the future Basquiat with art fame and recognition, while also putting him in a savior-like role as his mother's tears subside when she "sees" her son with the crown. Additionally, the old footage of the bird eating the frog could perhaps be seen as a reference to the all consuming world of 80s New York, the elite art world powered by drugs, deceit, and fake friendship. This footage is intertwined in scenes where Basquiat's emotional, physical, and psychological states are degrading to the point of no return. He has changed from this motivated and inspired artist, looking at the world with child-like wonder, to a self-obsessed, egotistical "artist," prone to violent outbursts as his entire identity becomes contaminated by the world in which he resides. It is hard to tell whether Schnabel wanted the images to portray a specific and concrete message about who Basquiat was, however, whether or not they were meant as symbolic references to Basquiat's inner turmoil, they give insight, albeit abstract and confusing, into the mind state of the artist. It is unclear whether it is Basquiat who is imagining these images; when the first image of the surfer appears riding waves above Manhattan's high-rise building, there does seem to be a connection between Basquiat and the image as his face expresses recognition as he looks up into the sky and then smiles. I believe that the surfer imagery is meant to reflect Basquiat's quest to become an artist, with the surfer still standing up on the board, confidently riding the waves, and his eventual decline with the surfer falling off and drowning. These clips are potentially useful in understanding the inner workings of a troubled artist's mind, however, they do pose a somewhat confusing question about their meaning.

2. Jamison's article makes a very valid connection between creativity and mental illness which in turn relates to both Basquiat and Pollock. According to Jamison and the studies conducted in the article, there is a clear relationship between genius, melancholia, and madness. It is unclear as to whether Basquiat suffered from a state of mental illness, however, Pollock clearly had some personal demons feuding in his mind. A link is made between "increased artistic productivity" and manic-depressive illness, citing that artistic activity may cause the individual to undergo "volitional excitement which accompanies the disease," and under these circumstances, the artist is no longer constrained by "all kinds of inhibitions." Pollock exemplifies this manic behavior with the "one part [of the poet or artist] that is healthy" which allows him him the "power to conceive, to plan, to work, and to bring his work to a conclusion." When Pollock was not engaging in his alcoholic bouts, he was able to sustain healthy relationships and produce copious pieces of art, while the times when he was drunk or under the influence, he acted out violently and without regard for other people in his life and his surroundings. The idea that artistic genius and "madness" are historically linked by society as one of the "characteristic notions of our culture" relates to Basquiat. The article explains how certain lifestyles "provide cover for deviant and bizarre behavior, and the arts, especially, have long given latitude to extremes in behavior and mood." For Basquiat, his surroundings in the highly driven and drug induced era of the '80s proved to be an enormous catalyst in his journey toward madness and eventual death, albeit fueled by immense amounts of drugs. Jamison makes the connection that within "artistic circles madness, melancholy, and suicide are somehow normal is prevalent, making it difficult at times to ferret out truth from expectations." Basquiat's "artistic madness" was clearly a product of his culture and society and the circles he ran in. He underwent episodes of extremely "high energy, irritability, enthusiasm, and increased productivity levels (periods often also accompanied by costly lapses in financial, social, and sexual judgment)." When he became famous he became completely absorbed in the life of the artist, producing tons of paintings, neglecting his previously "healthy" relationships, and engaging in acts of infidelity. The film Basquiat further communicates this connection between artistic genius and manic behavior through Basquiat's "hallucinations." Basquiat looks to the sky and sees surfers riding huge waves above New York, a vision which can be most closely connected with the idea of the artist gone mad and lose all sense of reason. Like Basquiat, the artist who does lose his reason, become "deluded, hallucinate, or act in particularly strange and bizarre ways- are irrational for limited periods of time (this is seen when he paints on Gina's dress and then acts out, when he freaks out at Benny in the cab ride, and his intensely internalized racism plagued by paranoia), and are otherwise well able to think clearly and act rationally." In Pollock, the artist's madness and illness are shown also through his bouts of violent acting out, seen when he overthrows the Thanksgiving table which is covered in food that his family members and wife had probably slaved for hours over. Additionally, Pollock, from the beginning of the film, is never shown as someone stable and competent to sustain a level and grounded state of mind and mood. Both Basquiat and Pollock reflect the idea of the artist as "more sensitive to life and the experiences of life than are other people." They both take on child-like mannerisms, require an impossible amount of attention and care, treating their significant others and the people around them as parental figures. They both show "emotional instability prior to the onset of their artistic careers," perhaps more noticeable in Pollock. Pollock reflects the idea of the artist as "manifesting a severity of psychiatric symptoms, an age of onset, and a pattern of mood disturbances highly characteristic of manic-depressive illness."