Scope and Contents Young has written a poetic biography of the artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat.From Publishers Weekly: In this thick volume of 117 lean-lined poems, Young reanimates Jean-Michel Basquiat, the much-documented painter, graffiti artist and art world martyr who overdosed in 1988 at age 27. Unlike the salacious biographies, however, this epic is impressively faithful to its subject's obliquely political style and preoccupations: "Basquiat scrawls/ & scribbles, clots/ paint across/ the back/ wall of Keith Haring's/ Cable Building studio / two cops, keystoned,/ pounding a beat,/ pummel/ a black face scape/ goat, sarcophagus / uniform blue." By and large, the poems are ekphrastic, addressing particular Basquiat works and often incorporating Basquiat's painted texts into the poems (with the former often out-performing the latter), disturbing the neat division between homage and appropriation: "Andy's already bit/ the dust/ & Basquiat's just/ about to DEBT (SIC)/PISS PASSPORT/ FREE KIT...

Scope and Contents

Exhibition was curated by Amy Capellazzo and featured works on paper by Basquiat and poems in homage to these works by Kevin Young. The latter visited the Archive during the exhibition and inscribed this catalogue. The stapled pages provided by the gallery summarize Young's contribution to the exhibition. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.