This Week in BAIA News: Weekly Newsletter May 30, 2018
May 30, 2018
Weekly Newsletter
The Real Value of Art
By Shantay Robinson
The valuation of art is a contentious subject for many. Most people don’t understand why anyone would spend millions of dollars on seemingly nonfunctional objects such as art. But the value of art deals less with its material qualities and more with its ethereal qualities. The lore surrounding Jean-Michel Basquiat’s life and death lends to the mystique embodied in his artwork. The somewhat tortured soul that he was allows us to read into his artworks through a lens of sympathetic understanding. Basquiat wanted fame from a largely homogenous art world. And although criticized for wanting that immortality, he did achieve his greatest aspiration. Last year, he surpassed Andy Warhol’s highest artwork sale with the sale of his Untitledskull painting. The last time the Basquiat painting had been sold in 1984 it was for $19,000. Thirty-three years later, Yusaka Maezawa purchased the painting from a Sotheby’s auction for $110.5 million.
“An artwork can have us think of society in ways that volumes of written text cannot.”
In the last eight years BAIA has generated thousands of hours of free original content and educational tools. We have also conducted member workshops, profiles on artists, collectors and industry professionals as well as produced fine art shows in major markets that were free and open to the public.
We had the opportunity to provide the following free lesson plan to the BAIA community.
CLAUDE LEWIS ON BEING RAISED BY ICONIC ARTIST DR. SAMELLA LEWIS
This episode of BAIA Talks Najee Dorsey talks with son of art icon Dr. Samella Lewis, Claude Lewis. While in conversation Claude shares stories from what he remembers most about Elizabeth Catlett as well as Dr. Lewis’s sacrifice of starting the Black Art Quarterly later known as the International Review of African American Art and contextualizing his mother’s legacy.
SUBSCRIBE & LIKE for more podcasts #BAIAtalksPODCAST
SAVE THE DATE:
March on Washington Film Festival Returns to DC for Sixth Year & to present a group art exhibit from Black Art In America, curated by founder and visual artist, Najee Dorsey.
On July 12, the March on Washington Film Festival returns to Washington, D.C. for its sixth year. Founded in 2013 in Washington, DC to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the Festival uses film screenings and the performing arts as a platform for discussions featuring filmmakers, academics, activists and artists to discuss the groundbreaking social engagement of the 1960s as well as the movement’s current work towards justice and equality.
The festival features award-winning artists and activists to honor the untold stories and unsung heroes of the civil rights movement.
We are pleased to present a new collection of small works by master impressionist painter, Ted Ellis. Mr. Ellis’s work has graced the cover of numerous publications, museum walls and collector homes around the country. These new works will be a welcomed and prized pieces in your home.
First 25 orders will be hand signed by the artist. Which of these new releases would you order first? Let us know in the comments below & shop for Garden Art exclusively at:
www.gardenartforthesoul.com
