artichokes and garnets

thecoolnessfactor:

Basquiat v. Banksy 

by Ella Doty 

Basquiat, known for his abstract “paintings” and being a neo-expressionist artist, headlined a graffiti art movement in the 1970’s. He expresses a coolness just by his stance, his hair, his look  and the interesting art around him. As we look at the picture, there is an unknown about him just by his outward features, what he’s wearing, the expression he makes. It is very hard to interpret. The unknown makes it cool. As we look now towards Banksy’s picture we see life come alive on the street. It is literally a still life, not graffiti. Why does this non-grafitti artist, become one of the most famous graffiti artists in the world? The most obvious difference also is that the street/graffiti artist is not there posing with his art. Because, he does not even reveal himself. He takes no pictures publicly and when giving interviews, he puts on a black mask and changes his voice with a machine. His total isolation makes us want more of his art and become interested in him. Him not even showing himself makes him interesting and cool. It all leads back to the unknown. Us not getting a clear interpretation of Basquiat or his abstract art, makes him cool. Us not even knowing what Banksy looks like making him a complete unknown, makes him absolutely cool. The unknown factor in cool has become so extreme that a person we think is cool, we’ve never even seen before.