Montreal celebrates Basquiat with his connection to music
Posted October 21, 2022 4:56 pm.
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) opened Seeing Loud: Basquiat and Music, the first exhibit of its kind to focus on artist Jean-Michel Basquiat’s profound relationship to music.
Exhibit goers are treated to a sonic landscape that provides a thread to the visual spectacle of Basquiat’s art. Divided by musical genre; each gallery space reflects the influence that particular musical style had on his work.
“Jean-Michel Basquiat’s art is loaded with sonic charge,” says Mary-Dailey Desmarais, Chief Curator of the MMFA.
70s and 80s New York
New York City saw an incredible explosion of art in the late 70s and 80s. New genres of music were springing up in every borough of the city. From No Wave/Post Punk to the roots of Hip-Hop, these new sounds could be heard spilling out of nightclubs and legendary block parties.
Basquiat was no stranger to this scene – a musician himself – playing in the ‘No Wave’ band Gray and immersing himself in a world of musical exploration that parallels his visual art. From the moment you walk into the exhibit, music permeates the air, you are quickly confronted by colourful images that explore themes of police brutality, racism, and African diaspora.
Hip-Hop and Graffiti
In the late 1970s, a new genre of music was budding in New York along with a new style of graffiti, colouring the streets, subways and walls of the city. Along with artistic collaborator Al Diaz, Basquiat formed the duo SAMO. They spray-painted their cryptic societal commentary using buildings and fences as their canvas.
Jazz
Arguably the most significant genre to influence Basquiat, elements of Jazz can be seen throughout his work. Not only in his improvisational style, Basquiat’s repetition of visual elements resembles melodic lines found in the genre. Basquiat discovered a way to create a dialogue between the music he revered and his artistic style.
“Jazz was a major source of inspiration for him, as were the blues and vernacular forms of Black American music, which he integrated into his paintings and which had a profound influence on his artistic practice, both formally and thematically,” explained Vincent Bessières, guest curator for the Musée de la musique – Philharmonie de Paris.
Seeing Loud: Basquiat and Music
With more than 100 original pieces of Basquiat’s work, the MMFA has brought together a coherent retrospective of the artist’s work as a musician and visual artist. The exhibition is accompanied by an augmented reality app offering visitors a chance to further delve into the presented works.
Seeing Loud: Basquiat and Music is currently showing at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts until Feb 19, 2023.
