Sunny Naseem’s ePortfolio

December 19, 2022December 19, 2022

Design Research Paper

Jean-Michel Basquiat was one of the greatest artists of NYC. Jean’s highly experimental work was praised for its representation on topics such as social cultures, poverty and more. His designs from his crown to the giant heads of his characters garnered interest for their creativity. While inspiring millions around the world, his work decades after his death in 1988 has only increased in value with Untitled, 1982 selling for 110.5 million and estimated to increase. His positive yet enigmatic personality alongside his collaborations with artists such as Andy Warhol made him unforgettable both through his work and as a person.

Born in Brooklyn, Basquiat’s surroundings and Haitian/Puertorican heritage With artist and friend Al Diaz Michel’s career took off when he became known for his work in SAMO. Both connected over their matching personalities and pursued art after dropping out of school. Originally standing for “Same old shit” referring to the weed both shared, SAMO was an inside joke brought to life through graffiti sprayed all over lower manhattan. This gained attention as the messages were often witty, socially challenging and humorous. Later the pair sold this story to the Village Voice where Philip Faflicks article gained traction and started Basquiat’s career. This portion of Michels career is rarely discussed as many SAMO pieces were lost to building

The Village Voice Article, Al Diaz

renovations and paint jobs however is equally as important to his career as his later achievements.

Known for his designs and their widespread symbolism, Basquiat further gained influence for his creativity with his pieces. Besides painting on canvases or paper, Jean often painted on materials he found on the streets of NYC ranging from rubber scraps to glass panels combined with multiple art styles and layers of paint. His extremely experimental techniques captured the attention of all hip-hop and rock related cultures which further had him embrace his classic use of intensely drawn symbols and words.

The New York Times Roslyn Sulcas/ Photo: Edo bertoglio/ Compose Yourself Magazine

Creating over 600 paintings and 1500 drawings, Basquiat’s pieces are proudly displayed all over the world in museums and purchased for outstanding prices ranging from twenty seven thousand to two million.

Untitled 1982, Widewalls – $23 million

Untitled 1981, Widewalls – $23.5 million

Flesh and spirit 1983, Widewalls – $27 million

Works cited

– A&E Networks Television. (2021, May 26). Jean-Michel Basquiat. Biography.com. Retrieved December 19, 2022, from https://www.biography.com/artist/jean-michel-basquiat
– Dazed. (2017, September 6). The story of Samo©, Basquiat’s first art project. Dazed. Retrieved December 19, 2022, from https://www.dazeddigital.com/art-photography/article/37058/1/al-diaz-on-samo-and-basquiat
– Experimental techniques. Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. (n.d.). Retrieved December 19, 2022, from https://www.guggenheim-bilbao.eus/en/learn/schools/teachers-guides/experimental-techniques
– facebook.com/hffb27. (2022, February 12). [photo series] revisiting Basquiat. Compose Yourself Magazine. Retrieved December 19, 2022, from https://composeyourselfmagazine.com/2015/02/photo-series-revisiting-basquiat/
– The most expensive Jean Michel Basquiat paintings at auctions. Widewalls. (n.d.). Retrieved December 19, 2022, from https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/most-expensive-jean-michel-basquiat-artwork/untitled-yellow-tar-and-fea thers-1982

– Stoppard, L. (2017, September 20). How Jean-Michel Basquiat predicted our identity-obsessed Digital age. British GQ. Retrieved December 19, 2022, from https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/jean-michel-basquiat
– Sulcas, R. (2017, September 18). Banksy strikes again, with nod to Basquiat. The New York Times. Retrieved December 19, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/18/arts/design/banksy-jean-michel-basquiat-barbican-center.html

November 12, 2022November 12, 2022

Meme-ing of the Memes

Meme 1: Photoshop

For the first meme I initially took inspiration from posts such as this –

While surfing the web for more images such as this, I found an image from call of duty which immidietly shifted what I wanted to make the meme since I played the video game and personally find the scene funny.

For context the main character Mason is being interogated and even electrocuted if not compliant. This became mainstream as meme culture took this screenshot as well as a specific scenes from the interogation to make various edits and jpegs. Many videos had the screens playing anime intros followed by Mason getting electrocuted which I honestly found hilarious.

(Contains profanity) Initial scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdbYGpl8iK4

Working off of my previous concept I changed the meme from not using math in the world to having the new image depict what an Algebra class feels like. Basically working off of the anxiety felt in any math class alongside Mason getting asked “The numbers- What do they mean” felt like it worked really well.

Final result:

Meme 2: Illustrator

When looking for inspiration I found this meme which I chose to draw massive inspiration from as I found it funny and very relatable.

To be original I decided to use this meme as a template to draw a similar version while also implementing different font sizes, the self drawn character, including a logo and more.

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Initially the characters head was supposed to be a filled elipse with a black stroke but it felt too plain and proper. I think the character being drawn brings a natural feel to the meme.

October 21, 2022October 21, 2022

Visual Quote Project

For the visual quote project I present “Be Here Now” said by spiritual teacher and guru Ram Dass. An influential professor of psychology, psychedelics and more, Dass greatly encouraged finding ones inner self through a variety of methods from controlled drug use to meditation. As I greatly agree with his beliefs and methods this quote is what I chose to visualize.

My first sketch is of an illuminated figure meditating with “Be Here Now” written in Hebrew and English.

My second drawing shows a figure standing (Silhouette) with earth surrounding them.

Later I implemented both sketches and images online to create the first concept of my quote I later changed.

“Be Here Now.” Written in Hebrew and English.

I later switched to Chalk font and an almost complete redesign due to issues with the words in photoshop. Later I also felt this font didn’t send the message across as naturally as it could which Chalk font delivered.

Finally after looking into Background images I ran into an image of earth surrounded by hands and by adding previous concepts my project basically completed itself.

Final visual quote

August 4, 2019January 20, 2020

Raster and Vector Graphics Project

Project Description

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Reflection

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