Jean-Michel Basquiat

"The mystery that was Warhol was challenged by the complexities that were Basquiat. Their projected 'images' were powerful and uncompromising, while they both harboured a vulnerable, humble spirit which endowed both of them with a sense of humour. They 'understood' each other" (Keith Haring in Exhibition Catalogue, London, The Mayor Rowan Gallery, Collaborations. Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1988, n.p.)

Originally in the personal collection of Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat's impressive Portrait of Jon, 1985 provides a fascinating insight into the 1980s New York art world.  Documenting the close relationship that was forged between Basquiat and Warhol, the present work depicts Jon Gould, Warhol's muse and amorous interest for several years and was thought to perhaps have been a commission undertaken by the young Basquiat.  As Luca Marenzi notes, "many of Warhol's photographs attest to his infatuation [with Jon] and it is possible that this is a commission done for Warhol who planned to give it to Jon or keep it for himself..." (Luca Marenzi, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Milan 2005).

Basquiat first met Warhol in 1983 and they quickly developed a strong friendship which would continue throughout Warhol's lifetime.  Warhol was intrigued by Basquiat's raw approach to art and complex disposition.  Jon Gould worked in Corporate Communications for Paramount Pictures and was introduced to Warhol through the photographer Christopher Makos.  Gould was reluctant of Warhol at first according to Makos: "I had to convince Jon that it was worthwhile to be with Andy.  And Andy started convincing him [Jon] in the way he knew best, by taking him along to glamorous parties... We all went to 54... and I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw Andy being thrown around the dance floor like a scarecrow by Andre Leon Talley.  His wig looked as if it were about to fall off, but Andy was oblivious of everything and everyone but Jon, who stood watching from the bar" (Christopher Makos as quoted in Bob Colacello, http://www.warholstars.org/jongould.html).  Gould was regarded as a unique character who "seemed to have two personalities, two styles, two lives: straight and gay, preppy and flamboyant, on his own in Los Angeles and with Andy in New York. He was... awkward when he walked into a room, agile on the ski slopes and the dance floor. He was extremely proud of his old New England roots" (as quoted: Bob Colacello, http://www.warholstars.org/jongould.html).  

In Portrait of Jon Basquiat employs his celebrated street art technique of integrating elements of graffiti and urban street iconography into his composition, translating them into portraiture.  Basquiat's rendition of portraiture defies all traditional laws associated with classical portraiture and in many senses also reveals a fragmented vision of himself.  Seeking to remove the constraints imposed on creativity by society and traditional principals governing art, Basquiat practiced a stream of consciousness technique from head to hand, whose liberating effects are powerfully conveyed in Portrait of Jon.  Basquiat's composition is powerfully charged by the presence of his dominating figure, and Gould emerges on immense scale, almost floating off the picture plane.  His torso is bulky and drastically out of proportion and is outlined by one heavy black line, monopolizing the canvas.  His arms appear to be severed off at the shoulders where there is a sharp contrast to the black with a deep blood-red colour.  Gould's flesh is a bold orange, an aggressive colour that gives his subject a powerful presence against his backdrop of dripping faint blue and white.  His eyes are almond-shaped and empty and his portrait reveals no expression; rather his face is almost reminiscent of one of Amedeo Modigliani's caryatids or Pablo Picasso's primitive masks.  The reference to tribal masks recalls the primitive figuration of Art Brut and the work of Dubuffet which frequently appears in Basquiat's oeuvre.  Bruno Bischofberger echoes these ideas in his preface to the catalogue for the 1999 Basquiat retrospective at the Museo Revoltella, in Trieste: "Jean-Michel Basquiat achieved his status in art and art history by painting and drawing his work in a chosen "primitive" style which reaches us in an expression of innocence".  Basquiat's "primitivism" is referenced repeatedly to include words and phrases like 'graffiti artist', 'totems', 'primitive signs', 'fetishes', 'African roots', 'magical', 'cult', 'childlike', and 'weapon'.  These words are consistently represented in Basquiat's art through symbols and icons and is the formula for which Basquiat bases his work. 

In Portrait of Jon, the literal word and symbol of 'Petrol' appear in a collaged element to the right of Gould's head, followed with the text "Their heads wrapped".  In the lower left there is the faint trace of an alligator's head surrounded by letters and indecipherable words as paint has been lashed and dripped over the surface.  Certainly, Basquiat layered his canvases with isolated and dislocated texts or letters or codified marks that enriched the index of the pictorial image.  Jagged, almost violent strokes of almost a dark turquoise blue and reddish-brown paint are thrown in the upper left while the remainder of the background is subtle in tones of off-white and dripping strokes of blue.  The electrifying Portrait of Jon, loaded with Basquiat's idioms, holds a unique position in the realm of contemporary portraiture and a remarkable intimate connection with Warhol that is undeniably ever-present and endlessly intriguing.