Jean-Michel Basquiat: 1981: the Studio of the Street

by Diego Cortez, Glenn O'Brien

In 1981 Jean-Michel Basquiat made the momentous transition from the street to the studio. He had attracted considerable attention with his Times Square Show the summer before, and reinforced that nascent notoriety with a wall of phenomenal works in Diego Cortez's New York/New Wave at P.S. 1, which opened the following winter. A few months later, the dealer Annina Nosei offered Basquiat an independent space in which to prepare work for her September group show, Public Address. He was only 20. Between the world of spray-painted poetry and what critic Peter Schjeldahl called "New York big-painting aesthetics" lies a fantastic Jean-Michel 1981: The Studio of the Street includes paintings and drawings on everything from note cards to sheet metal to a leather jacket and conventional canvas. In them, as throughout his career, Basquiat married an exuberant spontaneity and art-brut sensibility with a firm command of not only art materials but

Genres: Art

248 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2007

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book focuses on 1981, and includes great interviews with Fab 5 Freddy, Diego Cortez, Arto Lindsey and others.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

heartbreaking but necessary read.

[reqbat · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a wonderful collection of interviews about the period of 81-82, wonderful photos, stills from Downtown 81, shots of Gray plus flyers B made for their shows, and some great related art pieces.