Another day, another post about Art Basel on this blog! Moving along... Andre 3000 presented a super rad exhibition in Wynwood called I Feel Ya, presented in collaboration with SCAD, which is an architect school. Together they set out to explore street art, fashion and film through installations combining all those mediums. The vibe was very socially satirical, making the works extremely interesting without feeling pretentious. It's incredible to get a chance to see inside the minds of some of these artists and the way their imagination and brains work. Their interpretation of everyday things was anything but dull.
In one of the rooms, an army of duplicated mannequins were lined up in rows wearing jumpsuits that each read an ironic statement about the world we live in. My favorites, seen below, were: "Obviously Oblivious", "Children of the Cornbread", "Art of Fart" and "Thinking Deeply About Shallow Shit". The space was really cool and the exhibit was fascinating. I love when art makes you think but doesn't seem elitist, which is one of the main reasons for why I enjoy Art Basel so much.
The second part of this post showcases pieces by a German artist duo named Herakut. They actually had an entire solo exhibit put on in a giant warehouse in the middle of Wynwood. Their pieces were incredibly powerful, their imagination absolutely insane, making their work some of the most interesting and peculiar art I've ever seen. Their influences range from extremely savage to bordering on existentialism, with graphics so haunting it would be impossible to not be somewhat shaken, or intrigued by them, at the very least.
You'll also notice another very powerful piece among the ones presented here with the face of a woman and the caption "Stop Telling Women to Smile". This poster was plastered on the streets everywhere and I initially loved it because the words really resonated with me. Ever since I can remember, there were always random men yelling at me in the street to tell me to smile. I had to take a picture of it. When I later googled it I found out it was a whole moevement against street harassment started by artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh. Learn more about it by clicking here. I love social movements like this that empower women and I always have so much admiration for people who actually feel passionate enough about a topic to take a stand.
The rest of the photos are of us hanging out and having fun in the south Florida sunshine. I miss it so much as I type this from the cold, snowy Northern land. If you can't get enough of all this art don't forget to check out my previous posts about Basel by clicking here!
Photos by me and Lisa Tam