Jean-Michel Basquiat

Paper Summary:

This paper examines two untitled paintings, painted by Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1981. It first discusses a painting of an abstract landscape split vertically down the center by a thin red line. The paper then discusses the second painting - an ecstatically colorful portrait of a solitary male figure. The paper discusses the meaning in each painting.

From the Paper:

"What one finds, when examining both the paintings discussed here, is that they are emblematic of one of the main themes running throughout Basquiat's oeuvre - man's conflict between nature and culture. In the first painting, the human figure is conspicuously absent. But a number of tools and vehicles that man's development has relied upon over the years - from the hammer to the airplane - form the nexus of the painting. In this regard, the absence of a human figure is haunting. It infers that the tools that we have invented in the name of progress very well may outlast us in our ongoing struggle to master the natural world."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Armand, Louis. "Jean-Michel Basquiat: Identity and the Art of (Dis)Empowerment." 2001. Retrieved November 12, 2007 from http://web.ff.cuni.cz/~lazarus/basquiat.html.
• Basquiat, Jean-Michel. Untitled. 1981. Retrieved November 12, 2007 from http://eu.art.com/asp/sp-asp/_/Aff--CONF/CTID--682692304/RFID--978325/TKID--15041968/pd--10112338/posters.htm.
• Basquiat, Jean-Michel. Untitled. 1981. Retrieved November 12, 2007 from http://www.ihmadrid.com/comunicativo/mini_galeria/images/basquiat-untitled_1981_jpg.jpg.
• Seed, John. "Recollections of JMB." Retrieved November 12, 2007 from http://www.johnseed.com/basquiat.html.

More papers on Jean-Michel Basquiat:

• Essay # 85342 : "Jean-Michel Basquiat"
• Comparison Essay # 109459 : "Basquiat--Portraits in Cinema and in Print"
• Comparison Essay # 41592 : "Black Art"

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