#and to encourage you guys to look into artists like Basquiat

[the-goya-jerker]

ooo!! Slave Auction by Basquiat was also in IWTV, what do you think of that!

I just got this one today and I'm pulling it ahead of the queue to talk about it.

Jean Michel Basquiat was a brilliant artist. Much of his work centered on his experiences as a black man in America.

His pieces are heavy, they are deeply cultural. He covered subjects like segregation (Jim Crow), and the relationship between black Americans and the police (The Irony of Negro Policemen and La Hara).

Genuinely and honestly, I'd like you to look inside yourself and ask, why do you want me to review the eroticism of a piece about slavery? I try to keep any personal details on here sparse, but I will say, it isn't my place to do that.

Instead, I'm giving some discussion questions. You don't have to answer these, but I'd like you to consider them in your head, maybe do some looking into this piece and others by Basquiat.

What is Basquiat saying about slavery here?

What do you think the style of this piece says about the artist's view of the history of slavery? How does it enhance the themes of this piece?

Pick a single element of this piece and consider: what does it mean? What is it representing?

Since you brought up the show: What do you think the significance of this painting is for Louis de Pointe du Lac? What do you think the importance is narratively and for the character?

I'd also like to genuinely recommend some work by black artists and about black artists. I encourage my followers to add anything they recommend in the replies or reblogs.

The works of Nick Cave (Forothermore is a good starting point for looking at his work)

Black Art: In the Absence of Light, a 2021 documentary on black artists in America

The work of Kenhinde Wiley (who you can see more about in the documentary An Economy of Grace)

BLK ART by Zaria Ware

Brooklyn on my Mind by Myrah Brown Green

Wrong is not my Name by Erica N. Cardwell

[rg-notes]

Who's the next Buffett?

For those of us who look up to Warren, it's an interesting question... so why not ask Buffett himself? Turns out, no surprise, it's already been asked... in 2010 Warren had dinner with Jay Z, and coming out of the dinner he said,

For a young person growing up, he's the guy to learn from.

So, the next question is what financial advice would Jay Z give a young person today.... in his words, with his experience, and his flavor. A few years ago I read J's book Decoded (highly recommended) and what I took away is the unique set of experiences that made Jay Z who he has become, not only as an artist but as an entrepreneur. Sadly, Jay Z has yet to write a finance book so I turned to my friend ChatGPT to pull together these insights and they don't disappoint.

"I'm not a businessman; I'm a business, man." - This famous line from Jay Z's song "Diamonds from Sierra Leone (Remix)" emphasizes the importance of investing in oneself and building a personal brand. Source: Genius.com.

"I'm a risk taker. I always try to go for the gusto. I've always been like that; in business, in music, and in life." - In a 2013 interview with Vanity Fair, Jay Z discusses his willingness to take calculated risks and pursue ambitious goals.

"Financial freedom my only hope, F**k livin' rich and dyin' broke" - In the song "Can I Live," Jay Z emphasizes the importance of saving and investing for the future, rather than living lavishly in the present. Source: Genius.com.

"I'm living proof that, yeah, you can be successful doing something you love." - In a 2013 interview with NPR, Jay Z encourages young people to pursue their passions and turn them into profitable careers.

"I'd rather die enormous than live dormant" - This famous line from Jay Z's song "Can I Live" encourages listeners to take risks and pursue their dreams, rather than settle for mediocrity. Source: Genius.com.

"My brands are an extension of me. They're close to me. It's not like running GM, where there's no emotional attachment." - In a 2010 interview with Forbes, Jay Z discusses the importance of investing in assets that align with one's personal values and interests.

"It's cool to have multiple sources of income because you never know which one is going to be a home run." - In a 2013 interview with Vanity Fair, Jay Z encourages young people to explore different avenues for generating income and building wealth.

"I'm a mirror to society because I'm a part of society. If you don't like what you see in me, then you don't like the society that we're living in." - In a 2010 interview with CNN, Jay Z discusses the role of networking and building relationships in achieving financial success.

"I'm hungry for knowledge. The whole thing is to learn every day, to get brighter and brighter. That's what this world is about." - In a 2010 interview with Forbes, Jay Z emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and personal growth, even in the face of financial success.

Jay Z has turned maybe the best music career of all time into one of the best business careers of all time by hyper-diversifying his portfolio. All while, as he said above, ensuring that his businesses are an extension of him and authentic to his brand and values. His businesses... also from ChatGPT...

Roc Nation - Jay Z founded this entertainment company in 2008, which includes a record label, talent agency, and music publishing division.

Tidal - In 2015, Jay Z acquired the music streaming service Tidal and relaunched it as a high-fidelity streaming platform. His stake was worth about $100 million.

Armand de Brignac - Jay Z owns a stake in this luxury champagne brand, which is estimated to be worth over $300 million.

Art collection - Jay Z has an extensive collection of art, including works by Picasso, Basquiat, and Warhol. The collection is estimated to be worth over $70 million.

Real estate - Jay Z owns multiple properties, including a $26 million mansion in the Hamptons and a $88 million mansion in Bel-Air, California.

Investments - Jay Z has made strategic investments in various companies, including Uber, JetSmarter, and Impossible Foods.

In my experience, ChatGPT has these values grossly understated. For example, Tidal was sold to Square for ~$300M and it was rumored that Jay Z owned 60%. Far more than the $100M stated above.

The mutual respect between Jay Z and Warren Buffett is also well known.

In an interview in 2010, Jay Z was asked about the business figures he looks up to, and he named Buffett as one of his top inspirations. He praised Buffett's long-term perspective and his ability to make smart investments based on sound principles.

Jay Z has also referenced Buffett in his lyrics. In his song "Family Feud" from his 2017 album "4:44", he raps, "I'll be damned if I drink some Belvedere while Puff got Ciroc / Y'all need to stop / It's like putting Warren Buffet in buildings with Trump."

The reference to Buffett in this verse is a comparison between two wealthy individuals with vastly different values and business practices. Buffett is known for his conservative investing strategy and philanthropic work, while Donald Trump, who was a real estate developer before entering politics, is known for his flashy lifestyle and controversial business practices.

Jay throws shade and respect in the same line. And while there is mutual respect between Jay Z and Warren Buffett, my guess is Warren hasn't listened to 4:44.

[soft922-blog]

“It’s exhausting and it hurts”: Brown Girl In The Art World

In this poetic text and photography work, produced for The Royal Standard’s current exhibition, Black Blossoms, Rene Matić candidly describes her experiences as a contemporary artist and a Queer, woman of colour.

Do you remember catching sight of your mum after losing her in the supermarket? That soft landing when you see her down the aisle and you are safe. This is the way it feels when seeing another brown girl in a room full of white people… Safe.

My favourite poem is by a great friend of mine, Jemima Khalli. Someone who gives me that safe feeling.

“There is an awareness within us of one another tying eyes when we cross footpaths and sinking into where we are – women of colour”

“When you are a woman of colour you are a part of something so so soft. A link in a chain. Hand in hand, always”

When you are a woman of colour you are a part of something so so soft. A link in a chain. Hand in hand, always. Being 6 years old, alone down the cereal isle in Aldi is how it feels, for me, to be alone in a room of white people.

Actually, that’s a good way to describe the art world: A room of white people.

The other day I went to my first symposium that my wife had organised on “artist-led spaces.” I have just become and artist in an artist-led space so I felt as though this may be something I could resonate with.

I am the only person/artist of colour in the artist-led space that I am involved in. I was also the only person of colour amongst the 20-plus people that were in that room, sitting opposite a panel of white people.

“Small electric shocks of anxiety keep pulsing through my veins”

I sit and observe, I’m uncomfortable as I am the only person not having a conversation. Small electric shocks of anxiety keep pulsing through my veins as time goes on and still no one has even dared to make eye contact with me. The coffee encourages the anxiety and I am left thinking about how if someone was to talk to me perhaps we’d spark a real good conversation and exchange Instagrams. Networking, the dream.

Melissa Harris-Perry is the author of a book called Sister Citizen. She’s also a professor in political science. She’s the definition of a boss ass bitch. In the book, she references research called “the crooked room.” They would take someone and put them in a dark room and when the lights are turned on, all the angles of the room are crooked and everything is tilted differently. Sitting on a movable chair, the person’s responsibility is to find the upright. It’s basically asking how dependent are we perceptually on the things that we can see when figuring out what is up and down.

“Harris-Perry describes being a black woman in America as being in a constant crooked room”

Most people are field dependent and they would get themselves tilted in that chair as much as 45 degrees, but perceive themselves as straight up and down because they are inline with the crooked images all around them (lol society).

Harris-Perry describes being a black woman in America as being in a constant crooked room. Society presents to us a series of crooked images that makes it hard to figure out what the true upright is.

Mate, this shit is like being a woman of colour full stop. But lets talk about the hashtag ART WORLD which I am now describing as a crooked room of white people which I have snuck into and am standing in the corner. The art on the walls is exploring the identity of the white male. To the field dependent people aka the majority of the (art) world, this room is upright, they can stand peacefully even though its only at 45 degrees, because their chair is inline and adjusted perfectly to allow them to view the ceramic pot that’s been made by the white boy and his mum. The work “explores his identity and their relationship” — stuff that those people can really resonate with. They stand alongside it comfortably while discussing last weeks PV, wine in hand. Meanwhile the person of colour is well aware that the room is at a 45 degree angle and the blood is rushing to their head and they gonna pass out while wondering what the relevance of this shit is. Is it just to take up space so there’s no room for PoC? Prolly.

“And to Basquiat, I apologise, as we are still tired of seeing white walls, with white people, with white wine”

And so what happens when the room is upright to the minority? The wine starts to spill from the glasses of the white people. The work on the walls is too political, too girly, too angry, too black, too scary, too confronting. I spot a woman of colour across the room and I am safe. BUT everyone else has lost their shit so we go back to the comfortable 45 degrees. An example of the journey back to the 45 degrees is when Tate Liverpool had Glenn Ligon: Encounters & Collisions along side Jackson Pollock: Blind Spots. I sat in the gallery and watched people walk straight past Ligon’s carefully curated show exploring race, gender and sexuality in visceral, vibrant ways. They had come to see Pollock, and Ligon’s show was “too political” for them. Apparently some white gallery visitors actually complained about the use of the word Nigga in one of his paintings.

Last night I went to a PV in someone’s flat (hold tight it’s 2016). A caucasian exhibition in a caucasian home. I didn’t speak to anyone. Some guy legit came up to my wife and I and only introduced himself to her and started a conversation. Must be nice. I spent my time looking out the window, the world was still beautiful. The more I make art the more I fall in and out of love with everything. I’m just trying to work out what the upright is. It’s exhausting and it hurts. To women and to artists like myself, you are not weak for struggling. This stuff is real hard. And to Basquiat, I apologise, as we are still tired of seeing white walls, with white people, with white wine. We will get there one day.

Rene Matić

This text, entitled Brown Girl In The Art World I, has been produced for Black Blossoms: the current exhibition at The Royal Standard, Liverpool.