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Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks

Tags for: Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks
  • Special Exhibition
Sunday, January 22–Sunday, April 23, 2017
Location:  004 Special Exhibition Gallery
The Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Gallery
old school composition book defaced with scribbles and tape

Untitled Notebook (front cover), 1980–81. Jean-Michel Basquiat (American, 1960–1988). Mixed media on board; 9 5/8 x 7 5/8 x 1/4 in. Collection of Larry Warsh. Copyright © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat, all rights reserved. Licensed by Artestar, New York. Photo: Sarah DeSantis, Brooklyn Museum

  1. Still from A Conversation with Basquiat, 2006

     Tamra Davis (American, b. 1962). 23 min., 22 sec. © Tamra Davis. Courtesy of the artist. By permission of the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat, all rights reserved. Photo: Jonathan Dorado, Brooklyn Museum 

  2. Untitled (Crown), 1982

    collage of paper
     Jean-Michel Basquiat (American, 1960–1988). Acrylic, ink, and paper collage on paper; 20 x 29 in. Private collection, courtesy of Lio Malca. Copyright © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat, all rights reserved. Licensed by Artestar, New York. Photo: Mark-Woods.com 

  3. Untitled, 1985

    collage of papers on a cube
     Jean-Michel Basquiat (American, 1960–1988). Xerox collage on wood box; 11 1/8 x 8 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. Collection of Larry Warsh. Copyright © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat, all rights reserved. Licensed by Artestar, New York 

  4. Untitled (alternate view), 1985

    collage with a tree sketch
     Jean-Michel Basquiat (American, 1960–1988). Xerox collage on wood box; overall 11 1/8 x 8 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. Collection of Larry Warsh. Copyright © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat, all rights reserved. Licensed by Artestar, New York. Photo: Gavin Ashworth, Brooklyn Museum  

  5. Famous (recto and verso), 1982

     Jean-Michel Basquiat (American, 1960–1988). Acrylic and Xerox collage on canvas mounted on wood; 72 3/4 x 39 1/8 x 21 1/2 in. Private collection, courtesy of Lio Malca. Copyright © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat, all rights reserved. Licensed by Artestar, New York. Photo: Christopher Burke 

  6. All Beef, 1983

     Jean-Michel Basquiat (American, 1960–1988). Oil, acrylic, oilstick, and nail on canvas mounted on wood; 72 3/4 x 39 1/8 x 21 1/2 in. Private collection, courtesy of Lio Malca. Copyright © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat, all rights reserved. Licensed by Artestar, New York. Photo: Mark-Woods.com 

  7. Untitled (Ink Drawing), 1981

    drawing of a person on notebook paper
     Jean-Michel Basquiat (American, 1960–1988). Sumi ink on paper; 12 x 9 in. Private collection. Copyright © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat, all rights reserved. Licensed by Artestar, New York. Photo: Gavin Ashworth 

  8. Untitled Notebook Page, c. 1987

    a prayer
     Jean-Michel Basquiat (American, 1960–1988). Wax crayon on ruled notebook paper; 9 5/8 x 7 5/8 in. Collection of Larry Warsh. Copyright © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat, all rights reserved. Licensed by Artestar, New York. Photo: Sarah DeSantis, Brooklyn Museum 
View More CMA Objects in the Exhibition

About The Exhibition

Brooklyn-born artist Jean-Michel Basquiat filled numerous notebooks with poetry, wordplay, sketches, and personal observations ranging from street life and popular culture to themes of race, class, and world history. The first major exhibition of the artist’s notebooks, Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks features over 150 pages of these rarely seen documents, along with related works on paper and large-scale paintings.
 
A self-taught artist with wide-ranging interests, Basquiat was influenced by comics, advertising, popular culture, African American history, and everyday life. Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks emphasizes the distinct interplay of text and images in Basquiat’s art, providing unprecedented insight into the importance of language in the artist’s process.
 
A fully illustrated catalogue accompanies the exhibition.

Tickets for Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks are $10 for adults; seniors and college students $8; children ages 6–17 $5; children 5 and under free. Museum members free; member guests $5, member guest FREE Days: Wed, 4/5–Sun, 4/16

See It First, See It Free: Member Preview Days 

  • Fri, 1/20, 5:00–9:00 p.m.
  • Sat, 1/21, 10:00–5:00 p.m.

 

Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks is organized by the Brooklyn Museum and is curated by Dieter Buchhart, guest curator, with Tricia Laughlin Bloom, former Associate Curator of Exhibitions, Brooklyn Museum.

 

Special thanks to Larry Warsh and Lio Malca.