The Basquiat effect

The cultural impact of Jean-Michel Basquiat

Résumé

Various art forms have been used throughout history to represent humanity through visual storytelling, often reflecting social and political dynamics of the time. Artworks have been canonized for the ways in which they realistically illustrate periods in time, figuratively and literally. By looking at canonized artworks throughout history, there is a drastic change in the form of art from traditional painterly and sculptural practices to unconventional forms of art that often call for artists to go above and beyond their previous boundaries. Many credit this change to the avant-garde works of Marcel Duchamp, whose work changed perceptions of art, questioning its validity, coining the term ‘The Duchamp Effect’ in reference to the historical reception of his work that transcended questions of quality, and called for viewers to acknowledge the conceptual importance of art (Hopkins and Jones, 2006). The legacy of Marcel Duchamp is not necessarily grounded in the aesthetics of his works, but instead the impact they had. [...]