An intimate look at Jean-Michel Basquiat's art, courtesy of his family

An intimate look at Jean-Michel Basquiat's art, courtesy of his family

Transcript¹

A recently opened exhibition in New York City celebrates the blazing, beloved artwork of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. It includes 200 rarely and never-before-seen paintings, drawings and artifacts. They've been put on display by his sisters – giving an intimate, familial look at the artist's life and career.

There are rooms built into the "Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure" exhibition that recreate specific places from his life. Like A VIP room from the Palladium nightclub, studded with photos of the young artist enjoying the high life with his celebrity² pals³, plus two massive panels Basquiat painted for the club.

One of the panels Basquiat created for the now-shuttered Palladium nightclub in Manhattan, now installed at the "King Pleasure" exhibition.

Courtesy of the Basquiat family

On the Lower East Side of the early 1980s, visual artists and musicians of all stripes happily commingled⁴. Basquiat had his own experimental band, Gray, that he founded with filmmaker Michael Holman; another Gray member was actor and director Vincent Gallo. One of Basquiat's friends and early buyers was singer Debbie Harry⁵ of Blondie. She in turn cast him as a DJ in the video for Blondie's song "Rapture"; he appears just as she begins rapping about their mutual⁶ close friend, artist Fab 5 Freddy

Blondie YouTube

Another space in "King Pleasure" is a recreation of Basquiat's studio on Great Jones Street, in a space he rented from his friend and collaborator⁷ Andy Warhol. The room is scattered⁸ with his paintings and art books open all over the floor. A TV shows clips from some of his favorite movies, while the music of one of his heroes, Miles Davis, plays overhead. In one corner, one of Basquiat's trench⁹ coats is hung up — a potent¹⁰ reminder¹¹ of the missing artist, who died in 1988 of a heroin¹² overdose at age 27.

These recreations are just one of the ways in which this isn't a typical fine arts exhibition. "King Pleasure" was curated by Basquiat's two younger sisters, Lisane Basquiat and Jeanine Heriveaux, who oversee¹³ their late brother's estate, with the exhibition space designed by noted¹⁴ architect David Adjaye.

Lisane says that the immersive show offers their perspective on Jean-Michel Basquiat. "What we're able to do is provide context," she says, "and to have people who appreciate Jean-Michel's work get a fuller understanding of who this man was on a personal level — where he came from, the family that he was brought up through, and the context within which he started his journey."

Alongside the paintings and drawings, the show includes many mementos¹⁵ of their family life. But the main draw is still his art: the quick, sure hand that he displayed even as a teenager. The exuberant¹⁶ colors. The trenchant¹⁷ commentaries on race and hierarchy¹⁸. The smart, sometimes cynical¹⁹ phrases he rendered in text on his canvases. Centuries of artistic²⁰ and historical references crammed²¹ in next to skulls²², anatomical drawings and cartoonish cars, ideas pinging off each other just as in the bebop music he loved. His anointing of great Black cultural figures as kings. He sometimes literally²³ crowned them in his work, says his sister Jeanine.

"For him, it was very important that Blacks were portrayed²⁴ in a positive light," Jeanine says. "And so I think that was the main reason that not only did he crown himself, he crowned those heroes." Heroes like Jessie Owens, Joe Louis, and one of his particular idols²⁵, saxophonist Charlie Parker.

Writer and Basquiat specialist Chaedria LaBouvier says that "King Pleasure" is a chance for the public to see many works that they wouldn't otherwise get to see. "I thought it was a wonderful display of just quantity," she notes. "When you're talking about Basquiat, 90 percent of his works are in private collection, and most of those are in Europe."

Basquiat's 1983 painting Jailbirds.

Courtesy of the estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat

In 2019, LaBouvier curated a Basquiat show for the Guggenheim Museum in New York, as the first solo Black curator to helm an exhibition there. (LaBouvier later accused museum leadership of racism²⁶, after which the Guggenheim's artistic director and chief curator, Nancy Spector, left "to pursue other curatorial endeavors and to finish her doctoral dissertation²⁷" after more than three decades at the institution. The museum conducted an independent investigation²⁸ of Spector that cleared her of those charges, though LaBouvier did not participate in that investigation.)

LaBouvier says she wishes that there were more opportunities for scholars to engage with Basquiat's work and his legacy²⁹, even as he has become a reference point in pop culture. She notes that the artist's works were often snapped up, just after they were completed, by private collectors in the heated 1980s art market. "How else are you going to see or have access to those works?" she asks. "But there's also this imbalance — when there's not a lot of academic research or scholastic³⁰ research, our understanding of the artist is compromised."

What "King Pleasure" doesn't do is evoke³¹ the most troubling elements of Basquiat's biography, including his heavy drug use, his mercurial³² personality, and the accusations³³ he made to friends and interviewers that he had been physically³⁴ abused by his parents, father Gerard and mother Matilde, as recounted in Phoebe Hoban's 1998 biography, Basquiat: A Quick Killing³⁵ in Art.

Basquiat's sisters deny the abuse accusations. In a written statement to NPR, Lisane said: "We grew up in the 1960s when spanking³⁶ was a common form of disciplinary action. That doesn't overshadow the incredible passion and commitment that they demonstrated to the three of us. Our parents loved us. They didn't always get it right. but they put their heart and soul into helping³⁷ us become the best we could be."

Moreover, as a very young, Black man of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent, Basquiat became a superstar in a mostly white high art world that frequently othered and belittled³⁸ him, even as the market value of his work skyrocketed. His sisters say that the exhibition is a celebration of how much he did accomplish in such a short time.

"That's the story that Jeanine and I wanted to tell is the story of this really complex human being," says Lisane.

"He was very purposeful, and he was very determined³⁹," Jeanine adds. "He said, 'I will one day be famous.' And boy, did he make that happen. He was determined."

Tickets for "Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure" in New York are currently on sale through the beginning of September.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

3 pals   

n.朋友( pal的名词复数 )；老兄；小子；（对男子的不友好的称呼）家伙

参考例句：

• We've been pals for years. 我们是多年的哥们儿了。
• CD 8 positive cells remarkably increased in PALS and RP(P CD8+细胞在再生脾PALS和RP内均明显增加(P 来自互联网

4 commingled   

v.混合，掺和，合并( commingle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Tears commingled with the blood from the cut on his face. 眼泪和他脸上伤口流的血混在一起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Fact is inextricably commingled with fiction. 事实与虚构混杂难分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

6 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

7 collaborator   

n.合作者，协作者

参考例句：

• I need a collaborator to help me. 我需要个人跟我合作，帮我的忙。
• His collaborator, Hooke, was of a different opinion. 他的合作者霍克持有不同的看法。

8 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

9 trench   

n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕

参考例句：

• The soldiers recaptured their trench.兵士夺回了战壕。
• The troops received orders to trench the outpost.部队接到命令在前哨周围筑壕加强防卫。

10 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

11 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

12 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。

13 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

14 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

15 mementos   

纪念品，令人回忆的东西( memento的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The museum houses a collection of mementos, materials and documents. 博物馆保存着很多回忆录以及文献资料。
• This meant, however, that no one was able to retrieve irreplaceable family mementos. 然而，这也意味着谁也没能把无可替代的家庭纪念品从火中救出来。

16 exuberant   

adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的

参考例句：

• Hothouse plants do not possess exuberant vitality.在温室里培养出来的东西，不会有强大的生命力。
• All those mother trees in the garden are exuberant.果园里的那些母树都长得十分茂盛。

17 trenchant   

adj.尖刻的，清晰的

参考例句：

• His speech was a powerful and trenchant attack against apartheid.他的演说是对种族隔离政策强有力的尖锐的抨击。
• His comment was trenchant and perceptive.他的评论既一针见血又鞭辟入里。

18 hierarchy   

n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层

参考例句：

• There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
• She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。

19 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

20 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

21 crammed   

adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)

参考例句：

• He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
• All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。

22 skulls   

颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜

参考例句：

• One of the women's skulls found exceeds in capacity that of the average man of today. 现已发现的女性颅骨中，其中有一个的脑容量超过了今天的普通男子。
• We could make a whole plain white with skulls in the moonlight! 我们便能令月光下的平原变白，遍布白色的骷髅！

23 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

24 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

25 idols   

偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像

参考例句：

• The genii will give evidence against those who have worshipped idols. 魔怪将提供证据来反对那些崇拜偶像的人。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史
• Teenagers are very sequacious and they often emulate the behavior of their idols. 青少年非常盲从，经常模仿他们的偶像的行为。

26 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

27 dissertation   

n.（博士学位）论文，学术演讲，专题论文

参考例句：

• He is currently writing a dissertation on the Somali civil war.他目前正在写一篇关于索马里内战的论文。
• He was involved in writing his doctoral dissertation.他在聚精会神地写他的博士论文。

28 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

29 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

30 scholastic   

adj.学校的，学院的，学术上的

参考例句：

• There was a careful avoidance of the sensitive topic in the scholastic circles.学术界小心地避开那个敏感的话题。
• This would do harm to students' scholastic performance in the long run.这将对学生未来的学习成绩有害。

31 evoke   

vt.唤起，引起，使人想起

参考例句：

• These images are likely to evoke a strong response in the viewer.这些图像可能会在观众中产生强烈反响。
• Her only resource was the sympathy she could evoke.她以凭借的唯一力量就是她能从人们心底里激起的同情。

32 mercurial   

adj.善变的，活泼的

参考例句：

• He was of a mercurial temperament and therefore unpredictable.他是个反复无常的人，因此对他的行为无法预言。
• Our desires and aversions are mercurial rulers.我们的欲望与嫌恶是变化无常的统治者。

33 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

34 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

35 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

36 spanking   

adj.强烈的，疾行的；n.打屁股

参考例句：

• The boat is spanking along on the river.船在小河疾驶。
• He heard a horse approaching at a spanking trot.他听到一匹马正在疾步驰近。

37 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

38 belittled   

使显得微小，轻视，贬低( belittle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She felt her husband constantly belittled her achievements. 她觉得她的丈夫时常贬低她的成就。
• A poor but honest man is not to be belittled. 穷而诚实的人是不该让人小看的。

39 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。