VNDRZ
James Van Der Zee’s portrait of Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1982He looks so classy and sensitive. I never really took to the art, I mostly knew it from the Warhol collaborations, but it is definitely growing on me since I’ve seen some of the canvases for real.
I’ve yet to see any of his work in person actually, missed his Brooklyn Museum retrospective because I hadn’t gotten into him by then (forever kicking myself for that..) Shame that he doesn’t get much retrospectives of his work in the first place. Also a shame that there isn’t one Basquiat piece up at Moma. Must be a reason, though probably not a great one.
I’ve read Hoban’s book which solidified everything.. And the monographs that are out now, the main ones, are all great collections. The Deitch publication is especially definitive when it comes to early Basquiat, the nomad haha. Great interview with Suzanne Mallouk for example.
It’s easy to overlook Basquiat’s art as childish, which is definitely is in some cases, but I fell in love with his sensibility rather quickly. It was easy. His love of art and history is what gets me the most. Etc.
I could go on all day about ‘im. Haha.
He does have some stuff up at MoMA, actually. Not a lot, but a few. The last time I checked, anyway.
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