This week you will explore the work of contemporary artist Rashaad Newsome who mixes earlier art with popular culture. Read a recent New York Times article about Newsome and watch some videos about him, including one produced by the artist. Newsome’s work was recently on display at the Marlborough Gallery in Chelsea. What seems historical about Newsome’s art? Do you think the references to history make his art more relevant to you? Why or why not?
Link to NYT article on Newsome “Blending Hip-Hop and Heraldry”
Interview with Rashaad Newsome at Hartford’s Wadsworth Atheneum museum
Groups 1, 2, and 3: Please submit a post by Saturday, 4/28
Groups 4, 5, and 6: Please comment on a classmate’s post by Saturday, 4/28
The frames that Rashaad Newsome designed are very cool and impressive. As a car enthusiast, I appreciate the fact that he worked with a body shop and used colors that are associated with fine automobiles. When it comes to the video, I wanted to turn it off. What was artistic about it and what was I looking at? I found no real redeemable value to it. I have been playing the drums in bands for over twenty years and I don’t feel that there is much originality in sampling someone else’s music and putting lyrics/rap over it.
i agree on you with the creative idea of using color paint used on popular cars of today on the frame work of his collages especially the ones rappers and hip hop artist would likely get like the color they would use on a Lamborghini. And with the video for some reason i just couldn’t last 2 minutes it bothered my eyes and was to much to look at. I think he was using the hands in the video as if a conductor or mostly known as a Maestro would play the music, but it had to many images and four minutes was to long.
yes i also agree that this was a very creative and unique piece of art especially with the colors because colors is what mostly attracts attention and livens things up as for the video, as someone who wears contacts and my eyes get very dry from looking at something too hard it did hurt my eyes and i couldn’t get though the whole thing it was too busy and had a lot going on
Same here, the video was too busy for my taste; I don’t get it. I guess I’m not seeing what Mr. Newsome is trying to express. But the idea of merging heraldry with modern hip-hop is very creative. These are two very different concepts but at the same time, similar, in the way people use them to identify themselves. Equally, the collages are very busy looking too but, in my opinion, they work. They are a modern interpretation of the original European coats of arms from the past. The colors, frames and elements used to create them point to the hip-hop culture, although, a bit overdone. The works tie old historical European elements with today’s modern popular culture, in this case, hip-hop.
i agree because the video was jam packed and i didn’t understand what he was expressing. Combining heralds with hip hop is a great idea due to the different concepts of each.
it seems like alot was going on, i understand his mixture or art in the hip hop world but some things didn;t make sence, at least to me it didn;t. especially for that extensive amount of time. i think he could have put less in the video, instead of stuff that was tooo allover the place, it doesn’t allow ur mind to focus on one thing
I agree that the video was a bit all over the place, there should have been more of a central focus. The mixture of art and hip hop is interesting. It is cool how he thought of the concept to mix medieval elements and mix it with hip hop.
For this type of image I absolutely see the hip hop culture in his art but I cannot see the history in it. There hasn’t been a lot of art that I have seen from this particular artist but even though it is a new style, the history is hard to grasp. The reason I don’t like it is because everything is extremely shinny and I don’t understand what he is trying to tell me about his art.
there was a lot going on in the video, at one it became confusing. it was a very smart and creative idea of using color paint used on popular cars of today on the frame work of his collages. the references to history didn’t make his art more relevant to me because i just didn’t quite understand what was his message.
I do not see how the finished product relates to history but i see this work of art as a modern one because it has some modern characteristics like the quality of the of it and how innovative the collage looking piece is. The video had a lot of stuff going on. The piece is very colorful and even though i cant relate it to myself i do see where the artist got the ideas from. I see a lot of skin and what seems to be legs or parts of several naked bodies, i think he was trying to portray the importance people put on having the perfect body.