Hennessy Youngman/Art Thoughtz
December 11, 2014 12:16 PM   Subscribe

It's been over two years since Hennessy Youngman's made an Art Thoughtz video, but that doesn't change the relevance of what he's posted and the deeper meaning behind them all. (NSFW SLYT)

Youngman touches upon other things like: among other aspects of the contemporary art world.


So just who is Hennessy Youngman?
A nod to the comedian Henny Youngman, famous for his "one-liners," and Hennessy cognac, Hennessy Youngman is the alter-ego of Jayson Musson, a Brooklyn-based artist who received his BFA in Photography at the University of the Arts and his MFA in painting at the University of Pennsylvania.


What's the point of Art Thoughtz, anyway?
Well, there is a lot going on here beneath the surface. Upon multiple views, one can see that the goofy hats, oversized pendants and chains, baggy t-shirts, nonchalant attitude, and colloquial language is all a veneer for a multidimensional critique. On one dimension, we have Musson critiquing contemporary art, artists, and art institutions. On a deeper level, however, he's making a very wry and nuanced critique on the racial stereotypes by playing into them.


Random Fun Fact: Art Thoughtz ranked #11 on Art Info's "The 100 Most Iconic Artworks of the Last 5 Years." .


Similar, albeit archived posts:
"WHO NEEDS CRITICAL THEORY "and "If you can't make it, fake it. By over-explaining it."
posted by ourt (12 comments total) 18 users marked this as a favorite
 
Wait, this Hennessey Youngman?
posted by 1adam12 at 12:28 PM on December 11, 2014 [4 favorites]


I was gonna ask the same thing^! The whole CVS Bangers series is great.
posted by raihan_ at 12:32 PM on December 11, 2014 [2 favorites]


YUP.
posted by ourt at 12:32 PM on December 11, 2014


Years ago he was also a rapper in a group called Plastic Little. In one of their songs he rap's the line "and do the Harlem Shake"

Some guys later sampled that line for another song and many hours of youtube videos were born.
posted by cmfletcher at 1:25 PM on December 11, 2014 [3 favorites]


Musson and fellow Philly artist Alex Da Corte have a really great multi-channel video thing up at the ICA right now. Really worth seeing if you're anywhere nearby.
posted by neroli at 1:35 PM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]


Previously.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 2:20 PM on December 11, 2014


Take my art, please.
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 3:09 PM on December 11, 2014 [3 favorites]


This is my favorite piece on Hennessy Youngman (on CVS Bangers, media ownership deregulation, trap music, & race in modern American popular music): Silent Majority Music.
posted by The Bridge on the River Kai Ryssdal at 4:07 PM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]


Came to Ctrl+F CVS Bangers, will be staying for the rest of the post. Thanks!
posted by en forme de poire at 4:15 PM on December 11, 2014


DAMN HENNESSEY, WHERE YOU FIND THIS TRACK?
posted by Strange Interlude at 7:24 PM on December 11, 2014


I loved CVS Bangers and its variations, but I didn't know anything about Hennessy Youngman. Now I kind of feel the same way about CVS Bangers as I do when someone says, "Oh, Bobcat Goldthwaite? The guy who screams?" No, there's so much more!!
posted by Room 641-A at 7:50 PM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]


I love Musson's work as a gallery artist too, such as his show of cut-up Coogi sweaters at Salon 94
posted by minhrootloop at 2:08 PM on December 19, 2014 [1 favorite]


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