Artists That I Chose
1. Kayla Mahaffey
2. Roberto Lugo
3. Sasha Gordon
4. Jean-Michel Basquiat
5. Sophie Pearson
Themes Artists Addressed
1. Kayla Mahaffey’s paintings and illustrations are based on the theme of resilience. She’s a contemporary artist who does very colorful and whimsical paintings that are Afro-surrealist. All of her works have a sort of dreamlike feel because of her use of the compositions.
2. Roberto Lugo focuses on his cultural influences through his ceramics as a form of social activism. He combines graffiti and often incorporates hip-hop and historical figures throughout these vessels. I actually got the chance to meet Roberto Lugo in person back in high school during a trip and we were invited into his studio. At the time he was working on a large scale sculpture that resembled a vase yet had a hole in the middle so we were able to walk through. It was like paying a homage to everything back in Philadelphia as that’s where he grew up—having it turned into that huge ceramic vase with graffiti on the inside with the color scheme of traditional Chinese ceramics.
3. Sasha Gordon does a lot of portraits which are driven from her childhood and upbringing. Some of her paintings focuses on her mental health and her struggles with OCD and trichotillomania. Also the intersectional aspect of her being the main focus of her paintings, some have that take on the over-sexualization of Asian women and her feeling of isolation during her childhood—as she’s from the suburbs of upstate NY so there weren’t much people like her which made her a target or spotlight of separation which she mentions during an interview.
4. Jean-Michel Basquiat was a neo-expressionist artist who covered the themes of colonialism, race, and inequality. The stark contrast of colors, texture of the materials, and use of lines is common throughout all of his works. Sometimes there’s a figure which can seem disjointed in the abstracted style which further contributes to his style of expression but also can be influenced by his state of mind and past experiences.
5. Sophie Pearson’s work covers her personal experience with girlhood and the idea of bringing peace to her past self. Her paintings range from depicting her childhood and her traumas as well as family. Others focus on body image, perception, and self love.
Challenges Artists Faced
1. Mahaffey’s challenge is creating these whimsy paintings but with the concepts that are influenced by the struggles in South Side Chicago (where she was born and raised). She makes a point to establish that idea that we must make the most out of what we have during tough times which I think drives her creativity for her paintings and illustrations.
2. Before Lugo became an established artist and professor, during his youth he would make pottery in his home with his mother. I believe there was a time where he had to carry the ceramic equipment/throwing wheel which was taxing on his body so all of that combined were his challenge. Yet despite all this struggle he was determined to make that a career which paid off immensely.
3. The main challenge Sasha Gordon faced was during her transitional period from her hometown to college. The shift in environment and meeting new artists made her realize she didn’t have to focus on just the technicality of her artwork as she previously been working in hyper realistic portraits. She challenged herself to incorporate those experiences into her narratives of the paintings which would help with the storytelling.
4. Basquiat’s challenge as an artist I’d say would be the backlash that he got during the time he was creating his paintings. Especially because his style isn’t hyper realistic there were many who questioned his worth as an artist or if he should even be referred to as one. The challenge he had as a person during his career was his addiction, mental health, and rapid growth of fame at such a young age. I think with all of that combined he was vulnerable to being exploited which ultimately lead to his early death.
5. A challenge that Pearson faces is in regards to commission work as she feels she can’t evoke her complete sincerity to the piece if it’s not personal. Which is because the process in which she paints, it derives from her emotion and passion so doing non personal works there is a disconnect.
Inspirations I Drew From The Artists
1. The colorful and sort of strange iconography that’s displayed within her works is something im inspired by. At first glance you would think it’s supposed to be solely nostalgic yet the more you look the more skewed it gets because of this subtle story she’s trying to tell.
2. The combination aspect really draws me to his work because graffiti is such a common thing that I’ve grown up seeing. I like the irony of his pieces because of how the general public views/feels about graffiti so to connect it to pottery that’s often seen as glamorous or ‘sophisticated’ is pretty cool.
3. What inspires me about Gordon’s work is the fact you may feel as though the imagery is sort of familiar in a way. Yet it’s more of an extension of truth or an emotion being portrayed by the colors, figures, composition. Her paintings being surrealist and contemporary contribute to the dreamlike reality that is displayed amongst her works.
4. I appreciate his work for being authentically himself and despite all the backlash he would get, he’d still keep making art. Another things is the fact we as viewers would never know if the painting is completed besides Basquiat himself because his work can be unpredictable.
5. What I appreciate about her work is having this conceptual take on memory for her childhood based paintings. Often the adult figure next to her is a block of red or blue each representing her mom and dad and how she perceived them. What I also like is her brush strokes with certain paintings as there’s likeness to it without having to do extensive hyper realistic detail which is charming about her art style.
Things I’d Like To Incorporate Into My Personal Work
Overall researching more about all of these artists I want to continue to explore the conceptual aspects of my personal art. Also to simply do what I feel connected to as that would be how I’m recognized as an artist.
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