Tormented Art

Amedeo Modigliani  (July 12, 1884 – January 24, 1920) wasn't an extraordinary painter or sculptor. What made his work famous is the story behind the art. 

I never knew of Modigliani until I saw Andy Garcia play a fictionalized account of his life in the film Modigliani. In the film Modigliani is an up and coming Italian painter who becomes the art rival of then famous Pablo Picasso. He battles with canvas, Picasso, addiction and his love of women. My favorite line from the film is also the best description of the artist. "Why must you suffer for your art Mo, when all you have to do is paint." 

Afterwards I researched Modigliani and found his real history far more interesting than the movie. Modigliani made tormented art. He suffered and lived with illness his entire life. He was born into a wealthy Italian Jewish family who were well established in their community. Modigliani contracted pleurisy when he was 11, then a few years later caught typhoid fever. When he was 16, he contracted tuberculosis which later claimed his life at 35. 

During his brief career Modigliani was a man obsessed with art. He would sometimes do up to 100 sketches in a day. He loved alcohol, drugs and women just as much so he was often homeless and broke. During those low periods he would sell sketches and paintings for necessities, so the majority of his work is lost history.

The art that remains has become far more famous than Modigliani dreamed. He was a talented, and tormented man who only managed one art show in his entire career. Back in 2010 a series of his paintings from 1917 sold for over 68 million dollars. A testament that his art was before his time. 

Below are some paintings from Amedeo Modigliani, the man, myth and legend. If you would like to see more of his work click the link: Modigliani Gallery.

Graff Art

This post is dedicated to the most unappreciated element of Hip-Hop Graffiti. I love Graff Art! I was skilled with the pen and paint can long before I picked-up the mic. Graffiti is a general term and holds some negative connotations (closed minded people only associate graffiti with vandalism) which is why I use the term Graff art. It is art and while vandalism may be associated with graffiti it is NOT a part of the art form. Graff Art comes in various styles. There are murals like the type done by fine arts painters, also lettering, or abstract pieces. 

Mr. Cartoon started as a sick graff artist before taking his talents into the tattoo parlor. DJ Kay Slay used to be known as the artist Dezzy DEZ and was featured in the film Style Wars. Below are a few pieces of Graff art from artists Mears, Axis, Dash, Hex, Jest, Kofie, El Mac, Pimp, Such, Plex, Fresno, Sleep, Styles, Tyke, Risky, LadyPink, Siner, Spurn and Zombie. Check it out!

Female MC's

Hip-Hop has changed allot over the years and one of the most noticeable changes is the disappearance of female MC's. Back in the 90's there were allot more female MC's with talent in the game. Now there seems to be only one or two with real talent and allot of copycats of those two being promoted by their label. 

Artists like Queen Latifah, Bahamadia, MC Lyte, Rah Digga, Sonya Blade, Heather B, Lil Kim, and Lady of Rage are just a few artists that used to spit fiya. Below I put a few tracks from these emcees as a tribute to the dying genre. Don't get it twisted there's allot of female talent out there, but major labels seem to have lost their interest. This could be for many reasons but I'm assuming it has more to do with album sales than talent. 

Check out the clips below and if u like the tunes, tell a friend to tell a friend.