| Jean-Michel Basquiat |
(New York City, 1960-1988)
In the late 1970's, brief,
subversive and sometimes aggressive messages began to appear spray-painted
on buildings and the streets of Manhattan. The messages were signed
SAMO (an acronym for 'Same Old Shit' but also meant to evoke the
name 'Sambo'), and became notorious in the New York art world. It
eventually became known that SAMO was Jean-Michel Basquiat and by
1980 Basquiat began exhibiting paintings and soon became an 'art
star,' taken under the wing of Andy Warhol. Basquiat was incredibly
prolific, making nearly 1,000 paintings and over 2,000 drawings in
the span of a short career, lasting only eight years. His work was
remarkable for its energy and directness, though some scholars described
it as 'primitive,' suggesting possible racial biases of the period.
His work was rich with references to jazz, and he developed a personal
iconography that included skeletal figures, masks and crowns. His
portraits never looked like their subject, since Basquiat was more
interested in what transcended mere appearance. Untitled
(Subject) includes a familiar icon of Basquiat's, the skull,
and may in fact be a self portrait. Identity in all its complexity
was a common theme in his work and his life. |
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Untitled (Subject)
1985
Acrylic, oilstick on canvas
60 x 48 in. |
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Untitled (Subject), detail |
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Untitled (Subject), detail |
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