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Jean-Michel Basquiat, Boxer Rebellion , 1982/83-2018

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Boxer Rebellion , 1982/83-2018
Screen print
28 3/4 x 39 1/4 in
73 x 99.7 cm
Edition of 60 plus 15 AP
Series: Other Estate Prints
Copyright The Artist
View on a Wall
Identified as a democratic street artist, the work of Basquiat is an aesthetic of Primitivism and Neo-Expressionism. Basquiat portrays aspects of his ethnic history as a political critique on racial...
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Identified as a democratic street artist, the work of Basquiat is an aesthetic of Primitivism and Neo-Expressionism. Basquiat portrays aspects of his ethnic history as a political critique on racial discrimination and displacement by encoding a collection of words and images.

Flexible was released as a screen print in 2016 by the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. The vaguely defined and obfuscated picture depicts a human who is shattered and torn. It seems to represent a West African narrator, the Griot. This artwork was likely, partly, an exploration of his own personality, considering Jean-Michel's artistic curiosity of his society and ethnicity. Basquiat, when asked, would define his art as heroism, the streets, and royalty. This artwork acts as a description of these three key themes in several respects. A tribal ruler is a figure Basquiat portrays. With hands outstretched and interlocked over his shoulders, his stance conveys faith and strength, qualities of his heroism. It seems that he is crowning himself. The essence of the support for the painting and how this material came about brings us back to the artist's roots on Manhattan streets.

Hollywood Africans was released as a screen print in 2015 by the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. It is based on a painting bearing the same title that features images and texts relating to stereotypes of African Americans in the entertainment industry. It was painted while Basquiat was on an extended visit to Los Angeles, California, in 1983. Several of the work’s notations are autobiographical: the trio of figures on the right depicts the artist with the rap musician Rammellzee and the painter Toxic, who had traveled with him from New York, and he includes the digits of his birth date: 12, 22, and 60. Other notations are historical: phrases such as “Sugar Cane,” “Tobacco,” “Gangsterism,” and “What is Bwana?” allude to the limited roles available to black actors in old Hollywood movies. The notion of exclusion or excision is reiterated in the way that Basquiat often crossed out words or phrases in his works. The technique, he explained, was actually meant to direct attention to them: “I cross out words so you will see them more; the fact that they are obscured makes you want to read them.”

Boxer Rebellion was released as a screen print in 2018 by the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat but is based on an original work created by the artist in 1982-83. Jean-Michel Basquiat would use boxers within his work many times, both in a generic sporting form, but also sometimes capturing several specific figures, such as Sugar Ray Robinson. Indeed, Sugar Ray himself is mentioned within the text of Boxer Rebellion.Two central figures, both boxers, take your focus initially, before the whole series of texts draws your eyes around the canvas. The style used across Boxer Rebellion is entirely typical of Basquiat, with his figures created from relatively simple lines, with only the occasional solid form. The perspective is entirely flat and most would describe them as cartoon-like. This was the artist at his expressive best, taking ideas from deep in his soul and allowing them to appear on canvas, just as they came out. There are some tightly worked areas of orange, red and pink colors, where one can still see the original strokes, but the majority of the artwork is of a white background with black text upon it.

The text is entirely hard to understand, drawing together seemingly random themes such as boxing and China, as well as some financial terms. Basquiat was a highly complex individual who perhaps used these paintings as a form of therapy, removing ideas from his own mind onto the paper on which he worked and allowing them to escape from his enclosed mind. He suffered mental health issues and was homeless too, but somehow managed to overcome many hurdles to establish himself as a key part of the New York art scene that would help to put American art at the top of the international art would for a period during the 20th century. His contributions are celebrated today just as much, if not more, than they were then and there has also been a greater interest in Afro Caribbean artists recently, which has also helped Basquiat's legacy to continue to thrive.

50 Cent Piece was released as a screen print in 2020 by the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. The work centers around Marcus Garvey, a Black nationalist leader and political activist from Jamaica, combining text, images, and diagrams to create a “stream of consciousness” effect that dissects historical narratives and popular culture of the time.

Phooey was released as a screen print in 2021 by the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat and was based on an original work created by the artist in 1982. Basquiat collaged original drawings onto canvas when creating Phooey in a period before moving on to photocopied versions of his illustrations. The piece features Basquiat's iconic motifs. The crown and copyright symbol interlace patches of sporadic text and rough sketches.

Each work is numbered, bears the Estate stamp and features the signatures of Lisane Basquiat and Jeanine Heriveaux, the artist’s sisters and current administrators of the Estate.
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