Jean-Michel Basquiat was born today, December 22nd, in 1960. The painting above, Untitled (1981) is currently on view at The Broad in Los Angeles.
From the museum about this work-
Many of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s paintings are in some way autobiographical, and Untitled may be considered a form of self-portraiture. The skull here exists somewhere between life and death. The eyes are listless, the face is sunken in, and the head looks lobotomized and subdued. Yet there are wild colors and spirited marks that suggest a surfeit of internal activity. Developing his own personal iconography, in this early work Basquiat both alludes to modernist appropriation of African masks and employs the mask as a means of exploring identity. Basquiat labored over this painting for months — evident in the worked surface and imagery — while most of his pieces were completed with bursts of energy over just a few days. The intensity of the painting, which was presented at his debut solo gallery exhibition in New York City, may also represent Basquiat’s anxieties surrounding the pressures of becoming a commercially successful artist.
In the video below (also from The Broad) LeVar Burton discusses the work and its possible connection to Basquiat’s childhood and family.
The Pancakes and Booze Art Show returns to Los Angeles with art from over 100 artists, performances, and of course pancakes and booze (also Saturday)
Front Porch Cinema’s free movie at Santa Monica Pier this week is the live action Beauty and the Beast
Angel Olsen is opening for Arcade Fire at The Forum
Cloak & Dagger Festival runs tonight and tomorrow til 2am at the Globe Theatre and The Palace Theatre. Tonight the lineup includes The Jesus and Mary Chain, TR/ST, Mykki Blanco, HEALTH and more
Saturday
The Brewery Artwalk is back for its Autumn edition- a great chance to check out the artists in the large complex and get some food and drink while there (also running on Sunday)
Hauser and Wirth is having a public opening for Mike Kelley: Kandors 1999-2011, with food, drink and music by Moon Uterus
Curls (with Christopher Owens of Girls) are playing with Sure Sure at Moroccan Lounge
Allah-Las are playing at The Regent Theatre with Entrance and Mapache opening
Pop-Up Magazine at The Theatre at Ace Hotel brings a magazine to life with “film, photography, film, radio, and original music all mixed together and performed live onstage”- for this iteration presenters include LeVar Burton and TV writer Cord Jefferson
Moses Sumney is playing at the El Rey Theatre with Sudan Archives
