Basquiat

Thursday I went to see the Jean-Michel Basquiat Exhibit at MOCA. I've been anticipating this exhibit ever since my sister-in-law saw it in New York and told me it was coming to LA. It has been open for about a month or so but I've waited until I had a day to myself to see it. I had never seen a Basquiat in person before yet he is my favorite painter and I've read extensively about his art and his life.

I must say the exhibit is phenomenal. It truly is a comprehensive collection that captures his entire career perfectly (granted his career spanned less than 10 years, it's still pretty remarkable). Literally the only thing missing would be his old SAMO graffiti before he started painting, and I don't think there is much of that out there.

All of his "greatest hits" are there including Untitled (Head) which is featured on all of the publicity for the show, Six Crimee what I consider one of his best, Untitled (Sugar Ray Robinson), Now's The Time, etc. The only one I expected to be there that wasn't was Self-Portrait As A Heel, but I was pretty impressed that all of these were in the same collection. There are also many paintings (such as Grillo) on strange canvases (wood panels, doors, etc.)that are pretty exciting to view.

The show is laid out chronologically for the most part. You get to see his work as he hit the ground running with pieces from his first show to the end of his life where the quality of his work tapered off. This was interesting and sad for me to see. JMB died in 1988 and by 1987 his paintings were noticeably sub-par to his earlier work. His paintings always had a primal, rough quality to them, but by the end it seemed as if his stroke had lost it's intensity and his eye for composition was too sporadic. But even in the midst of sloppy work such as Victor 25448 and Riddle Me This Batman there are gems such as Eroica and Pegasus. The show ends with Exu. I can tell just by looking at it that Basquiat was a mere shell of what he once was when he painted it and drugs had damaged his mind and his hands to the point of self-parody. That being said it is still a beautiful paining as it bookends his tragic life.

It is commonly believed that the soundtrack and sometimes inspiration to Basquiat's work is jazz music. JMB himself said it on more than one occasion. But I must respectfully disagree. Jazz is my music and JMB is perhaps my favorite artist but the connection between the two is superficial. You can look at Basquiat's work and see an improvisational and African approach that is present in jazz as well. But that parallel is too easy. You see with jazz music improvisation and personal expression come from technique. While most of our greatest jazz musicians never attended a music school or conservatory they all spent relentless hours practicing, listening to other musicians, and honing their craft. All of these things are blatantly (and beautifully) missing in Basquiat's work. I see no technique, just raw expression.

The soundtrack to Basquiat's work is rap music. Both were born in NYC in the early eighties, both are unapologetic in their rejection of standard artistic concepts. Like a rapper grabs a mic and freestyles about his surroundings on top of a drumbeat, JMB grabs his paintbrush and vigorously paints surrounded by his source material (comic books, magazines, television, etc.) on top of a canvas. These parallels are much more obvious and accurate ... To this observer anyway.

I plan on going back to the exhibit at least one more time. Maybe more. I'm sure I will have more to say after those visits as well.