Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

They Don't Call 'Em Rap Artists for Nothing

January 15, 2010 by Marion Maneker

Slate‘s Jonah Weiner not only identifies rap’s fascination with Contemporary art but–if you click through to the entire story–makes some interesting connections between rappers like Jay-Z and artists like Hirst and Murakami:

This is not the first time Jay-Z has made an art-world reference in his work. For several years, he’s mentioned Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat in his rhymes, discussed Hirst in his interviews, and put pieces by Hirst and Takashi Murakami on conspicuous display in his videos and stage sets. Nor is he the only hip-hop star to do so: Kanye West and Pharrell Williams have collaborated with Murakami on videos and sculptures, and West has blogged enthusiastically about Jeff Koons and Urs Fischer, among other artists; Swizz Beatz, who produced “On to the Next One” and who appears in the video wearing a jacket painted with a Keith Haring design, has rapped about collecting Basquiats, and he Twitters regularly about such Chelsea-centric matters as hanging out with Larry Gagosian.

Hova Goes MoMA (Slate)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • For Growing Number of Private Museums, the Market Is Never Far BehindFor Growing Number of Private Museums, the Market Is Never Far Behind
  • Perrontin Owns VersaillesPerrontin Owns Versailles
  • Ordovas OrdainedOrdovas Ordained
  • Making Sense of WyethMaking Sense of Wyeth
  • Zao Wou-Ki, Liu Ye Lead Phillips $26 M. Hong Kong Sale As Market Reopens, Total Up from 2019Zao Wou-Ki, Liu Ye Lead Phillips $26 M. Hong Kong Sale As Market Reopens, Total Up from 2019
  • Getty Never Meant to Split Trust and Museum JobsGetty Never Meant to Split Trust and Museum Jobs

Filed Under: General

About Marion Maneker

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

Top Posts

  • A Season of Improvisation: Fall 2020 New York Modern and Contemporary Art Auction Analysis
  • Keith Haring’s 1989 Retrospect Comes to Sotheby’s London Prints Sale
  • Tony Podesta's Secret Art Buying
  • Four of Picasso's Women Valued at $28m Come to Christie's from Rose-Walters Collection
  • Login
  • Norman Rockwell's Not Gay. But Is He a Great Artist?
  • Roy Lichtenstein’s Top Ten Auction Prices
  • Re-discovered John Constable Painting at Sotheby's in December
  • Selection Bias In Art Is What Creates Value
  • Podcast
  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor