Fall Creek Junior High art students, under the guidance of art department chair Michelle Feeney, have developed their own self-portraits inspired by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat’s unique style.
These self-portraits are on display in the Fishers Arts Council Gallery at the Collaboration Hub at the Hamilton County Community Foundation this month. The students captured themselves and used voice and imagery to bring light to social issues that were personal to them. You can read about their artwork through their written artist statements that accompany each piece.
Students were given the choice to display their work publicly in a gallery setting, along with having the opportunity to sell their work, and over 100 students jumped at the chance. In addition to visual artwork, many students have also contributed colorful reports on Black Americans who have made incredible contributions in the field of science.
Basquiat
Basquiat was born on Dec. 22, 1960. He was an American street artist from Manhattan who rose to fame in the 1980s. He started as a graffiti artist on the lower East Side inspired by hip-hop culture and his experiences within the Black community. It was hard for the art community to take his work seriously after starting as a graffiti artist. Early in Basquiat’s career, he made his money by selling homemade postcards on the street corners. Artist Andy Warhol purchased one of his postcards. This transaction helped catapult Basquiat’s creative livelihood.
He turned to large scale paintings, often completed on old doors that were found in local dumpsters. He used a variety of mixed media and subject matter to bring awareness to social issues, especially the gap between the poor and the wealthy and integration versus segregation within the Black community. His paintings were intertwined with brilliant poetry, text, and imagery to capture the viewers’ attention to issues that were often neglected or hard to talk about.
He was soon breaking down barriers in art museums. It was not often you saw a Black man’s work on display in predominantly a white man’s world. He was soon featured in galleries all over the world and even had a solo exhibit at the Whitney Museum of American Art. His most famous painting “Untitled,” sold in 1982 for $4,000. In 2017, it was auctioned at Sotheby’s for $110 million.
Basquiat’s rise to fame and success did not come without struggles. His abundance of wealth, fame, and success was something he was not equipped to deal with. He struggled with addiction, and later lost his battle to addiction at the young age of 27. His portraits are multifaceted, full of layers, words, images, colors, textures, symbolism, and representation from other artistic styles, cultures, and time periods. They bring light to social issues that are still hard to talk about today.
Fall Creek Junior High art students thank the Fishers Arts Council in allowing them to have this platform to celebrate Black History Month. Please come out and support these student artists and listen to their artistic voice. They are all so powerful.
As a community, you are challenged to come and view this exhibit from these brilliant youth. There is no doubt they will leave the world a better place.
Additionally, local fiber artist Kaliah Elliott has several crocheted pieces on display and will bet at Second Friday with her crocheted handbag business, Kali B Hookin.
Come see the Scrapper & Skelton Blues Duo this evening during the Second Friday reception at the Collaboration Hub at 11810 Technology Drive, Fishers. (Photo provided)
Join the party at the Second Friday reception tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Collaboration Hub at 11810 Technology Drive, Fishers, and meet the student artists and Kali, explore their passionate art, dig the music of blues duo Scrapper & Skelton, and enjoy some light refreshments. This event is welcome to all ages – plus there will be a special interview segment with the artists at 6:45 p.m.
See you on Second Friday. If you can’t make it, be sure to check out the artwork that is up all month long.
About the Fishers Arts Council
Fishers Arts Council is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization whose mission is to support, advocate, and cultivate visual and performing arts opportunities that educate and/or enhance the lives of those who live, work, and visit Fishers. Visit the art gallery space at the Collaboration Hub at Hamilton County Community Foundation, 11810 Technology Drive, Fishers, online at FishersArtsCouncil.org, or call (317) 537-1670.