There is clearly intention behind the chaos, so those who might claim that they're just childish daubings, "anyone could do that," etc, I would argue aren't looking very carefully. I was quite struck by "Riding With Death;" if I had a home where hanging paintings was an option that would be something I could hang on a wall. (Well, a framed print.) I don't know how to gauge genius in this context. For example, one of the reasons Picasso stands out is because he was actually a master of orthodox forms and techniques, so when he violated them he did so with real deliberation. Part of me is old school enough that I want to say that is a requisite for genius as opposed to "just" inspiration. But unlike Picasso, Basquiat burst upon a world in which art had become entirely commodified and capitalized, with all the delaminating forces operating on the artist which that implies. So he had no time to achieve mastery, only to be the "next big thing."
There is clearly intention behind the chaos, so those who might claim that they're just childish daubings, "anyone could do that," etc, I would argue aren't looking very carefully. I was quite struck by "Riding With Death;" if I had a home where hanging paintings was an option that would be something I could hang on a wall. (Well, a framed print.) I don't know how to gauge genius in this context. For example, one of the reasons Picasso stands out is because he was actually a master of orthodox forms and techniques, so when he violated them he did so with real deliberation. Part of me is old school enough that I want to say that is a requisite for genius as opposed to "just" inspiration. But unlike Picasso, Basquiat burst upon a world in which art had become entirely commodified and capitalized, with all the delaminating forces operating on the artist which that implies. So he had no time to achieve mastery, only to be the "next big thing."