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拍品专文
“What drew Basquiat almost obsessively to the depiction of the human head was his fascination with the face as a passageway from exterior physical presence into the hidden realities of man’s psychological and mental realms.” (F. Hoffman, Jean-Michel Basquiat Drawing: Work from the Schorr Family Collection, exh. cat., Acquavella Galleries, New York, 2014, p. 74).
“Looking at these works, one cannot escape without feeling the almost perverse sense of care taken to raw detail with what seems an acute distracted concentration. However crude the image may be or how fast it appears to have been executed–every line, mark, scratch, drip, footprint, fingerprint, word, letter, rip and imperfection is there because he allowed it to be there.” (J. Depp in E. Navarra, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Paris, 2000, p. 16-17).
“Drawing, for [Basquiat], was something you did rather than something done, an activity rather than a medium. The seemingly throw-away sheets that carpeted his studio might appear little more than warm-ups for painting, except that the artist, a shrewd connoisseur of his own off-hand and under foot inventions, did not in fact throw them away, but instead kept the best for constant reference and re-use.” (R. Storr, “Two Hundred Beats Per Min,” in Basquiat Drawings, exh. cat., The Robert Miller Gallery, New York, 1990).
Rife with Jean-Michel Basquiat’s distinct visual vocabulary, Untitled (Triptych) is a rich example of the artist’s early works on paper. Perhaps more intimately than his paintings, Basquiat’s drawings expose the raw energy and complex machinations of the artist’s mind in bold strokes that echo his beginnings as a street artist. By repeating various symbols and forms, the artist was able to create dynamic and balanced works that exist as microcosms of his painting process. Each line is instilled with a concerted effort to move on to the next until the whole work is absorbed.
Playing out on three pages seemingly taken directly from the artist’s sketch pad, this triptych depicts several of Basquiat’s iconic symbols and signature stylistic elements. Rendered on a neutral paper ground, each tableau combines text and image with bold, furtive linework. The left page exhibits a number of pairs: cars, crowns, buildings, and what appear to be stylized tipis in the foreground of the composition. Added to this are the number ‘13’, a pizza or dartboard-like form, and a gaunt visage peering off to the right side, locking eyes with a similar face on the rightmost panel. This floating face is surrounded by the words ‘LAWYER’, ‘JUDGE’, and ‘LOAN’, as well as what seem to be barred windows. Two large arched shapes in the bottom of the image bear the subtitle ‘MOSES TABLETS’, and the addition of several Roman numerals to their surface cements them as a simplified rendition of the biblical Ten Commandments. The central panel, much sparser than its bookending brethren, exhibits an animalistic form sporting a crown and a jumble of Roman numerals above some sketchy pitchforks. These collection of disparate parts is completely typical of Basquiat’s work, and as Robert Storr notes, “Drawing, for [Basquiat], was something you did rather than something done, an activity rather than a medium. The seemingly throw-away sheets that carpeted his studio might appear little more than warm-ups for painting, except that the artist, a shrewd connoisseur of his own off-hand and under foot inventions, did not in fact throw them away, but instead kept the best for constant reference and re-use” (R. Storr, “Two Hundred Beats Per Min,” in Basquiat Drawings, exh. cat., The Robert Miller Gallery, New York, 1990). These are not sketches for future works, but solid compositions in their own right.
One of the most sought-after, if not the most volatile, artists of the 1980s, Basquiat combined a shrewd knowledge of art history and stylistic trends with a carefully cultivated self-image and a visual language rooted in graffiti. Known for his energetic renderings of various figures and symbols, some of Basquiat’s compositions might appear unplanned at first glance. About this perceived sense of haste, the actor Johnny Depp noted in an essay on Basquiat, “Looking at these works, one cannot escape without feeling the almost perverse sense of care taken to raw detail with what seems an acute distracted concentration. However crude the image may be or how fast it appears to have been executed–every line, mark, scratch, drip, footprint, fingerprint, word, letter, rip and imperfection is there because he allowed it to be there” (J. Depp in E. Navarra, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Paris, 2000, p. 16-17). A man known for painting in Giorgio Armani suits, Basquiat was the ultimate craftsman of his own persona. Positioning himself as both a student of the street and a gallery darling, his attention to every detail is readily apparent in his works and his legacy.
Executed in 1981, the year before Basquiat’s breakout solo exhibition at Annina Nosei Gallery, this triptych is representative of many of the visual tropes that would become the artist’s signature style. Crowns, Roman numerals, and above all the human head, figure prominently into many of his compositions. “What drew Basquiat almost obsessively to the depiction of the human head was his fascination with the face as a passageway from exterior physical presence into the hidden realities of man’s psychological and mental realms” (F. Hoffman, Jean-Michel Basquiat Drawing: Work from the Schorr Family Collection, exh. cat., Acquavella Galleries, New York, 2014, p. 74). The two heads in Untitled (Triptych) face each other across the expanse, their multiple outlines giving them the look of blind contour drawings vibrating on the page.
Growing up in Brooklyn, Basquiat was exposed early to the history of art by his mother, who visited the Brooklyn Museum with the young artist and encouraged him to become a Junior Member. However, after a number of factors caused him to switch schools, Basquiat decided to drop out at the age of seventeen. Moving to Manhattan and staying in warehouses and the apartments of friends, Basquiat became acquainted with many artists associated with the rise of street art in the 1980s. Among his contemporaries were Kenny Scharf, Keith Haring, and Al Diaz, with whom he started the duo SAMO. Painting on walls in the East Village, Basquiat always endeavored to become part of the thriving scene. Meeting Andy Warhol in 1983, and being taken in by the veteran Pop artist as both a protégé and friend, greatly contributed to Basquiat’s rise to prominence.
“Looking at these works, one cannot escape without feeling the almost perverse sense of care taken to raw detail with what seems an acute distracted concentration. However crude the image may be or how fast it appears to have been executed–every line, mark, scratch, drip, footprint, fingerprint, word, letter, rip and imperfection is there because he allowed it to be there.” (J. Depp in E. Navarra, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Paris, 2000, p. 16-17).
“Drawing, for [Basquiat], was something you did rather than something done, an activity rather than a medium. The seemingly throw-away sheets that carpeted his studio might appear little more than warm-ups for painting, except that the artist, a shrewd connoisseur of his own off-hand and under foot inventions, did not in fact throw them away, but instead kept the best for constant reference and re-use.” (R. Storr, “Two Hundred Beats Per Min,” in Basquiat Drawings, exh. cat., The Robert Miller Gallery, New York, 1990).
Rife with Jean-Michel Basquiat’s distinct visual vocabulary, Untitled (Triptych) is a rich example of the artist’s early works on paper. Perhaps more intimately than his paintings, Basquiat’s drawings expose the raw energy and complex machinations of the artist’s mind in bold strokes that echo his beginnings as a street artist. By repeating various symbols and forms, the artist was able to create dynamic and balanced works that exist as microcosms of his painting process. Each line is instilled with a concerted effort to move on to the next until the whole work is absorbed.
Playing out on three pages seemingly taken directly from the artist’s sketch pad, this triptych depicts several of Basquiat’s iconic symbols and signature stylistic elements. Rendered on a neutral paper ground, each tableau combines text and image with bold, furtive linework. The left page exhibits a number of pairs: cars, crowns, buildings, and what appear to be stylized tipis in the foreground of the composition. Added to this are the number ‘13’, a pizza or dartboard-like form, and a gaunt visage peering off to the right side, locking eyes with a similar face on the rightmost panel. This floating face is surrounded by the words ‘LAWYER’, ‘JUDGE’, and ‘LOAN’, as well as what seem to be barred windows. Two large arched shapes in the bottom of the image bear the subtitle ‘MOSES TABLETS’, and the addition of several Roman numerals to their surface cements them as a simplified rendition of the biblical Ten Commandments. The central panel, much sparser than its bookending brethren, exhibits an animalistic form sporting a crown and a jumble of Roman numerals above some sketchy pitchforks. These collection of disparate parts is completely typical of Basquiat’s work, and as Robert Storr notes, “Drawing, for [Basquiat], was something you did rather than something done, an activity rather than a medium. The seemingly throw-away sheets that carpeted his studio might appear little more than warm-ups for painting, except that the artist, a shrewd connoisseur of his own off-hand and under foot inventions, did not in fact throw them away, but instead kept the best for constant reference and re-use” (R. Storr, “Two Hundred Beats Per Min,” in Basquiat Drawings, exh. cat., The Robert Miller Gallery, New York, 1990). These are not sketches for future works, but solid compositions in their own right.
One of the most sought-after, if not the most volatile, artists of the 1980s, Basquiat combined a shrewd knowledge of art history and stylistic trends with a carefully cultivated self-image and a visual language rooted in graffiti. Known for his energetic renderings of various figures and symbols, some of Basquiat’s compositions might appear unplanned at first glance. About this perceived sense of haste, the actor Johnny Depp noted in an essay on Basquiat, “Looking at these works, one cannot escape without feeling the almost perverse sense of care taken to raw detail with what seems an acute distracted concentration. However crude the image may be or how fast it appears to have been executed–every line, mark, scratch, drip, footprint, fingerprint, word, letter, rip and imperfection is there because he allowed it to be there” (J. Depp in E. Navarra, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Paris, 2000, p. 16-17). A man known for painting in Giorgio Armani suits, Basquiat was the ultimate craftsman of his own persona. Positioning himself as both a student of the street and a gallery darling, his attention to every detail is readily apparent in his works and his legacy.
Executed in 1981, the year before Basquiat’s breakout solo exhibition at Annina Nosei Gallery, this triptych is representative of many of the visual tropes that would become the artist’s signature style. Crowns, Roman numerals, and above all the human head, figure prominently into many of his compositions. “What drew Basquiat almost obsessively to the depiction of the human head was his fascination with the face as a passageway from exterior physical presence into the hidden realities of man’s psychological and mental realms” (F. Hoffman, Jean-Michel Basquiat Drawing: Work from the Schorr Family Collection, exh. cat., Acquavella Galleries, New York, 2014, p. 74). The two heads in Untitled (Triptych) face each other across the expanse, their multiple outlines giving them the look of blind contour drawings vibrating on the page.
Growing up in Brooklyn, Basquiat was exposed early to the history of art by his mother, who visited the Brooklyn Museum with the young artist and encouraged him to become a Junior Member. However, after a number of factors caused him to switch schools, Basquiat decided to drop out at the age of seventeen. Moving to Manhattan and staying in warehouses and the apartments of friends, Basquiat became acquainted with many artists associated with the rise of street art in the 1980s. Among his contemporaries were Kenny Scharf, Keith Haring, and Al Diaz, with whom he started the duo SAMO. Painting on walls in the East Village, Basquiat always endeavored to become part of the thriving scene. Meeting Andy Warhol in 1983, and being taken in by the veteran Pop artist as both a protégé and friend, greatly contributed to Basquiat’s rise to prominence.