Vice-loving AND Cruelty-Free, Urban Decay's new store in Ontario
A cosmetics store called Urban Decay opened up recently at the slickly renovated Square One mall. I walked in yesterday to see all the decay. I wasn't disappointed.
Urban Decay has teamed up with "artist" Jean-Michel Basquiat to make the perfect co-ordination of imagery and makeup. In our era of anti-beauty, which is now reaching a nefarious satanic state (and where else does deliberate embrace of ugliness take us), Jean-Michel Basquiat's legacy becomes the perfect "artistic" expression for contemporary fashion and "beauty."
Here is what Urban Decay says about the UD/J-MB link-up:
We’ve been fans of Basquiat’s art since before the early days of UD; so when his estate approached us about a collaboration based on his artwork, we couldn’t wait to start creating. From the colors and shade names to the packaging, EVERYTHING in this collection evolved from Basquiat’s art. Like Urban Decay, Basquiat was an outsider who challenged the status quo and used color in nontraditional ways. From his informal graffiti work and the way he mixed mediums and colors to the way he spoke out against social injustice
Urban Decay Jean-Michel Basquiat Tenant Eyeshadow Palette: $39OK, the "untitled" is funny.
Shades included:
- Studio (pale pink matte)
- 1960 (bright pink matte)
- Neo (rich aubergine w/micro-shimmer)
- Les (charcoal-black matte-satin)
- Graffiti (deep metallic green)
- Exu (bright green shimmer)
- Boom (bright teal matte)
- Untitled (rich deep blue matte)
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Self-Portrait, 1982
Media: acrylic, crayon
Dimensions: 239 x 193 cm
Private Collection
© The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquia
Art critics dare not expose the emperor as having on no clothes because they would be exposed as having on no clothes either. So we get endless repetitive art-talk admiration for truly ugly horrors.
And it takes someone who has no stake in the postmodern art horrors either financially or intellectually to expose the nakedness of these. One such is a blogger, short-lived and anonymous (probably has a real job to protect, where he doesn't earn even a tiny percentage required to pay for these multi-million dollar doodles) whose post I've posted in full below.
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I don't get it: Jean-Michel Basquiat
By: Daily soup
June 4, 2011
[make sure to read the comments]
I once dated this fine art major from the academy of art college. she was a bit introverted at times but tended to emerge from that shell with a bat outta hell fury when angered or passionate about an issue. So her and I are on the haight and we go into this poster shop. she stops and and asked me; do you know jean michel basquiat? asking me in a tone that seemed to indicate irrevocable damage to our relationship was at hand should I answer poorly. not wanting to be erroneously outed as a liar, I simply said no, I am not familiar with jean michel basquiat. surprised, she looked at me as if I had looked in the mirror and said: you know what? I hate you niggaz. In an ever so sexy low tone, she explained a short history of this painter and then she gentility grabbed my wrist and led me to a stack of posters.
I was expecting to see some undiscover 20th century new york answer to leonardo du vinci or vincent van gogh.Instead I get these.....
If star wars came out in Shakespeare's day, I would imagine this is what the darth vader of his day would look like.
AFTER MY EXPOSURE to these...umm...yeah...I asked her, oh wow! was he insane? At this point, my girl was clearly offended. she went on into a whole discussion about not "getting it" and how I shouldn't be in art school because I lack the vision to see beauty in the abstract and so forth and so on.
I retorted by asking her has she ever seen the paintings they found made from serial killers and mass murderers? well these would definitely fit in the lot for sure.This led to an intense yet low decibel trade off of passive aggressive quips.I swear even arguing with that girl was a strange venture down the rabbit hole.
A day later, I went back to that store alone and for almost 15 minutes (and after fighting off the strong compulsion to make the sign of the cross numerous times before those painting) I went from a strong silent and contemplative stone pillar stance to a loud and eruptive THIS SHIT IS GARBAGE! WHAT THE FUCK IS THE DEAL WITH THIS OVERRATED SPLASH OF SHOCKING AND DISTURBING VOMIT OF QUASI ARTISTIC INSANITY WORTH ONLY THE CANVAS IT WAS PAINTED ON!?
Surprised by that flood of seldom used vernacular and vocabulary, I stopped myself. Then was asked to leave the store, NO SWEAT, I've BEEN KICKED OUT OF BETTER PLACES THAN THIS. I guess word got back to my girlfriend because she broke up with me that evening.
Look, I'm not ashamed of the fact that I could stand in an art gallery scratching in perplexity. Wondering what one sees in abstract expressionism. I'm not insecure about my uncultured and unrefined nature. I'm proud of my blue collar, sports bar self.
yes I do miss the GF from time to time, although we aren't talking, we do past each other and say hi. But I still get pretty peeved when I realize that our relationship came to an end over JMB. It couldn't be a micheal angelo?
I guess our relationship was less fine art and more chicken scratch.