The Latter
- Justinian Mason
- Jul 25
- 5 min read
In a world full of Basquiat clones, I feel more compelled than ever to have a conversation about making versus creating. Recently there has been a noticeable rise in talented artists channeling their skills to produce low-hanging fruit concepts. If they aren't making their own version of something someone already made, they're making hyper commercialized art that fails to challenge viewers. My recognition of this trend has forced to draw a line between the distinction of making and creating.
Making
I would define making as constructing an art piece with a clear blueprint of construction based on prior creation; in otherwords, copying. The photo above is a solid example of making art. The piece above is a portrait of Audrey Hepburn by an artist named "The Cubist." This artist makes portraits of celebrities out of rubik's cubes. I can't deny that the ability to create art like this is insanely impressive, the skill of the artist is literally a point of discussion in this article. However, I find myself unimpressed by the piece in totallity because to me it's just the same classic picture of Audrey Hepburn, only now it's made out of rubik's cubes. In my mind it's made to highlight the skill, not the artistry/creativity, because to be frank, this isn't creative. They had a clear blueprint of what to replicate and executed it at a high level. It's an admirable skill, but selfishly, I wish they'd apply their amazing artistic ability to something of substance. We can't normalize amazing artists making sensationalized/sanitized bullshit. Moreover, lowkey we shouldn't even reward this type of art but that's a whole other conversation. So, if this side of making is centered around commercialism and cultural iconography, the latter is just straight up plagiarism.
You know what's never happened? The second coming of an already great artist. There hasn't been a second Vincent Van Gogh or Pablo Picasso. When I think of plagiarism in art I think about someone who's dying to live in the shadow of a storied artist. They revere that artist so much they can't help centering their artistic identity around that person. A great example of this type of person are Basquiat clones. If you aren't familiar with the term, it refers to the people who make paintings that have the essence of a Basquiat painting but have their own twist and story. This type of making is the most belligerent if you ask me. These artist take their lived experience, perspective, and skill and connect it to the imagery of an established artist instead of creating their own. Like you have an abstract concept based on your point of view, now just make a concrete piece that reflects it; don't just project it onto what's worked already. It's not so much about innovation, it's more about, you know, creating your own shit. There's a serious drought of imagination, people would rather be perceived as good than make their own art around their vision. Skill is a cool thing to have as an artist, but what's the point of skill if you aren't gonna create something with it?
Creating
I would define creating as the curation of ideas drawn by an individual's imagination, inspirations, and perspective. Last week I met a 15 year old kid who's gifted with skill and creativity. He's a graffiti artist, font creator, and all around artist. His art wasn't great for a 15 year old, it was great in general. Everything he showed me was a cool and fresh idea that was executed at a high level, art that inspires you to engage. He's a perfect example of someone who uses their skill and imagination to create art. Contrary to popular belief, imagination doesn't have to end after childhood. Earlier I touched on skilled people utilizing their perspective and experience to do everything but create a world or an image around their art. Imagination is going the extra mile to engage with your vision to truly make it your own. It's where the real work of art is developed. What is it that you want to see in the world or create as an artist? That question alone can turn the gears in the direction of imaginative art by forcing us to think critically. Rather than referring to a blueprint like a LEGO set, you start fresh and create a style that someday others may copy.
The last two photos are works by my friends Jean and Naya from Houston; their works are another great example of artist creating a unique physical portrayal of their abstract ideas. Seeing creative works of art like Jeans' or Nayas' only reaffirms my view on creativity. For years I have personally had a fixation with the idea that you cannot call your art your own if you copy from another artist so flagrantly. This personal outlook on art developed when I was 19, and I continue to wrestle with the idea of it being a harsh/reductive perspective. The idea stems from the opinion that art is personal; even though not all art represents a life story or the lived experience of an artist, it does represent their ideas. I have a fundamental belief that I have no business making what someone else has already created. If I do how could I truly call it my own? When you attach your idea to another artists' style it strips you of your ability to call it yours. At best it's an unfinished idea, at worst you're plagerizing another artists' work. At this point I'm 28 and it's an outlook that I know has kept me inspired, but sometimes I can't tell if I'm being fair or stubborn with the overall perspective. It's not meant to antagonize people who copy other artists, its purpose is to call out the delusion of calling yourself a creative person when you just make what's been created already.
There are far too many artists whose technical skills most people couldn’t even dream of possessing, yet they waste them on merely making art instead of truly creating it. I would love to see a world where those people step up and start creating art they can call their own. Whether it leads to innovation isn't the point. However, you'll be much closer to becoming you than the next Basquiat. Between making and creating, I choose the latter.
Some work by Naya and Jean:
Instagrams: @nnicrosa and @jean.e.sandoval
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