BASQUIAT REIMAGINED: A CRITERION COLLECTION RELEASE

 Criterion Honors Basquiat Biopic with Stunning 4K Remaster

From criterion.com:

The Criterion Collection is proud to announce the 4K UHD + Blu-ray release of Julian Schnabel’s Basquiat on April 29, 2025. Originally released theatrically in 1996, this impressionistic tribute to visionary artist Jean-Michel Basquiat captures the 1980s downtown Manhattan art scene with Jeffrey Wright delivering a breakout performance as the trailblazing painter. Featuring an ensemble cast, including David Bowie as Andy Warhol, Schnabel’s profoundly expressive directorial debut is presented in the filmmaker’s own luminous black-and-white remastering. This special edition includes director-approved features, offering an immersive experience of this elegiac portrait of an extraordinary life.

For more information, click here.

ATLANTA: Jean-Michel Basquiat

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled Notebook #1 (Cover), 1980–1981, Mixed media on board. Collection of Larry Warsh.
Image via high.org.

Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks

February 28 - May 29, 2016

HIGH MUSEUM OF ART

1280 Peachtree Street NE

Atlanta, GA

From High Museum of Art press release:

The High Museum of Art will present its first exhibition focused solely on the life and work of the influential artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960–1988).

The exhibition features rarely seen notebooks filled with the artist’s handwritten texts and sketches, the 160 unbound notebook pages will be presented along with 30 related paintings, drawings and mixed-media works drawn from private collections and the artist’s estate. Also on view will be the 1984 Basquiat painting “Untitled (Cadmium)” from the High’s permanent collection.

Basquiat’s notebooks, created between 1980 and 1987, demonstrate how he began to develop the artistic strategies that would inform his large-scale works, which combine text and images in a raw expressionist style to explore culture and society through historical and popular themes. His unique visual language aimed to undermine social hierarchies and rules, taking inspiration from comics, children’s drawings, advertising and Pop art, from Aztec, African, Caribbean, Greek and Roman culture, and from everyday life.

Language was an early medium for Basquiat, and words are an integral part of the notebooks and the large-scale figurative paintings for which he is best known. Handwritten texts run throughout his diverse production, blurring the lines between writing and drawing and between drawing and painting. While the total number of notebooks created by Basquiat remains unknown, the notebooks presented in this exhibition reflect the originality of Basquiat’s thinking and the diversity of his subjects. The eight notebooks in the exhibition and several other works have been borrowed from the collection of Larry Warsh, a New York–based publisher and early collector of Basquiat’s works, who previously served as a member of the Basquiat authentication committee.

Basquiat followed a specific format for his notebook texts, which he wrote primarily in black ink in capital letters similar to those of his street graffiti. Writing only on the right-hand pages, he used color sparingly in the notebooks, with a few exceptions.

Early sketches of subjects that recur in later works, such as tepees, skeletal faces and crowns, appear in the earliest notebooks from 1980 to ’81. The notebook writings range from extended narrative poems and wordplay to observations of New York’s street life, along with lists of celebrities and incidental notes from the artist’s personal life. As in his paintings, fragments of found texts appear throughout the notebooks, incorporating street signage, news stories and references from literature and the Old Testament. Other pages reflect Basquiat’s overriding interest in highlighting racial discrimination and acknowledging the important contributions of African Americans and other people of color as well as his interests in music, world history and popular culture.

“This exhibition offers a very intimate look at the life of an incredibly influential, and somewhat romanticized, figure in contemporary art,” said Michael Rooks, Wieland Family curator of modern and contemporary art at the High. “It’s evident from his writings that Basquiat knew he would find the fame that so fascinated and troubled him, and he recognized that his work spoke to the youth culture of a rapidly changing world. The notebooks give us an opportunity to trace his private thoughts and reflections from their pages to the walls of the gallery. From them, we may develop new perspectives on his artistic practice and a deeper understanding of his life.”

To accompany Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks, the High has gathered a group of Basquiat’s paintings on view on the Skyway Level of the High’s Wieland Pavilion.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue published by the Brooklyn Museum and Skira Rizzoli. The volume includes essays by exhibition curator and Basquiat scholar Dieter Buchhart; Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University professor and director of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard University; Franklin Sirmans, museum director of the Pérez Art Museum Miami and the High’s 2007 Driskell Prize honoree; and Christopher Stackhouse, a Brooklyn-based writer and visual artist.

Exhibit Link

How Basquiat became hip-hop’s patron saint of art

BROOKLYN: Jean-Michel Basquiat

Jean-Michel Basquiat. Untitled (Crown), 1982. Acrylic, ink, and paper collage on paper, 20 x 29 in. (50.8 x 73.66 cm). Private collection, courtesy of Lio Malca. Copyright © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat, all rights reserved. Licensed by Artestar, New York. Photo: Mark-Woods.com Image via brooklynmuseum.org.

Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks

April 3 – August 23, 2015

BROOKLYN MUSEUM

200 Eastern Parkway

Brooklyn, NY

Excerpt from New York Times, published April 3, 2015:

Basquiat’s reputation never suffered the eclipse that befell some ’80s painters. His talent was too undeniable, his art too accessible and — for better and worse — his story, as a young, black, self-taught prodigy, too inspiring, despite its tragic end. Since his death at 27 from a drug overdose in 1988, his originality has only become clearer. Basquiat was a better artist than many of his peers. In addition, his genius brought a welcome alternative to the predominant whiteness of Western art history. His work speaks of blackness in proud, insistent, imaginative ways, touching repeatedly on the achievements of African-American culture and the ordeals of African-American life that are both part of the national psyche.

Read full review here

Exhibit Link

The Unknown Notebooks of Jean-Michel Basquiat

Rare Look Inside Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Private Notebooks at Brooklyn Museum

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: Chris Rock as Jean-Michel Basquiat

Comedian reveals he was in talks to play neo-expressionist artist in biopic

BlackArtistNews | January 5, 2015

Chris Rock is a funny guy. In a Rolling Stone interview published in December 2014, he revealed that he was considered for the role of Jean-Michel Basquiat in the 1996 film directed by Julian Schnabel.

No joke.

Rock told the magazine:   

“After New Jack [City, a 1991 feature where Rock played a drug addict] there was talk of me playing Basquiat, with Julian Schnabel directing. But here's the problem: I didn't know who Schnabel was, and I didn't know who Basquiat was. I could name everybody in the [rap group, Grandmaster Flash and the] Furious Five, though.”

Rock's obviously not upset about not receiving the part. 

Maybe he's found solace in the probability that Schnabel can't name the members of the Furious Five.

Read the complete version of Chris Rock: The Rolling Stone Interview here.

COVER: Jean-Michel Basquiat / New York Spaces / October 2014

Art in Balance

Interior  Design | William T. Georgis Architect

Text | Jorge S. Arango

Photograph | Costas Picadas

For an art dealer’s Gramercy Park apartment, William Georgis creates a livable context for an ever-changing collection of paintings, sculptures, and furnishings.

Excerpt: 

A gallery and a home serve divergent purposes. Art in one is for sale, in the other purely for enjoyment. Furnishings are minimal in the former to maintain the attention to the art, while in the latter the balance between them must be comfortably calibrated for living. But when the homeowner is a prominent private art dealer like this client, these distinctions blur.  

Three Basquiats take up so much space that the entry hall seems “papered” in the artist’s imagery. At the end of the hall is a table in front of a Perriand console with works by, among others George Condo and Picasso.  

The place is chock-full of works by Alexander Calder, George Condo, On Kawara, Richard Prince, Cy Twombly, Andy Warhol and others. Yet each feels integral to the spaces in which they appear. And the constant swapping of a Christopher Wool painting for a Twombly or a Prouvé commode for the Perriand, makes this a living, breathing barometer of the homeowner’s almost promiscuous curiosity and evolving tastes.  

“It’s an interesting study in visual appetite,” says Georgis. “Over time, it shows us the hand of the collector. A lot of designers think of their work as sacrosanct, flies preserved in amber. That’s not interesting to me.”

To read complete story and see more images pick up a copy of the October 2014 issue of New York Spaces.

NEW YORK: Jean-Michel Basquiat

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (Scales of Justice), 1982, Acrylic and oil paintstick on paper, 30 x 22 1/4 inches, The Schorr Family Collection, Art Ⓒ The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat / ADAGP, Paris / ARS, New York 2014. Image via rizzoliusa.com.

Jean-Michel Basquiat Drawing:  Work from the Schorr Family Collection

May 1 – June 13, 2014

ACQUAVELLA GALLERIES, INC.

18 East 79^th Street (Between Madison and Fifth Avenues)

New York, NY

From Acquavella Galleries press release:

Acquavella Galleries is pleased to present Jean-Michel Basquiat Drawing: Work from the Schorr Family Collection, an exhibition of works by Jean-Michel Basquiat curated by Fred Hoffman. The show will feature 22 works on paper and two paintings from the collection of Herbert and Lenore Schorr, who were the artist’s devoted collectors, supporters, and friends. "We have had the pleasure of knowing Herb and Lenore Schorr for over thirty years, and are delighted to present the first exhibition on their important collection of works by Jean-Michel Basquiat,” said William Acquavella. “Focusing on the significance of drawing in Basquiat's practice, we are pleased to show these remarkable works on paper, many of which are being exhibited to the public for the first time."

Herbert and Lenore Schorr began collecting the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1981, before his first New York exhibition. “During the artist’s seminal years 1982-83 the Schorrs acquired several of his most important paintings, but in contrast to virtually every other early collector, the Schorrs also pursued and acquired a great number of works on paper both directly from the artist and from his early dealers,” explained curator Fred Hoffman. “The Schorrs astutely understood that working on paper was equally central to his practice as painting on canvas. Their collection demonstrates both the focus and ambition that the artist invested in the medium of drawing.”

Basquiat showed an affinity for drawing at an early age and this practice was a central component of his artistic output. Between 1980-88, the artist produced approximately 1000 works on paper, which articulate complex narratives, revealing flawed power structures and hinting at fundamental failings in social discourse.

The portrait of Herbert and Lenore Schorr that will be included in the exhibition highlights the impact their support had on the artist’s short but prolific career. “We had so much confidence in him from the beginning and couldn’t understand why other people couldn’t see it,” explained Lenore Schorr. “A wonderful exhibition that he did at Fun Gallery in 1983 didn’t receive a single review and we were the only ones to buy a painting.” That painting, Leonardo da Vinci’s Greatest Hits is now considered a seminal example of the artist’s work and will be one of two paintings on view.

Curator Fred Hoffman, Ph.D. met Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1982 and worked closely with him during the artist’s residency in Venice, California from 1982-84. With Hoffman's help, Basquiat produced five editions of prints, published in 1983 by New City Editions. Hoffman also assisted in the production of the artist’s 1984 silkscreen paintings and co-curated Basquiat’s retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum in 2005. He is the Ahmanson Curatorial Fellow at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

Jean-Michel Basquiat (b.1960 d.1988) has been the subject of numerous major museum exhibitions throughout the United States and Europe. In 2005, a retrospective exhibition, Basquiat, opened at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and subsequently traveled to the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. A 2010 retrospective, organized by the Fondation Beyeler in collaboration with the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, marked what would have been Basquiat’s 50th birthday. His work is included in private and public collections throughout the world, including The Broad Art Foundation, Santa Monica; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Museu d' art Contemporani de Barcelona, Spain; and The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

A fully illustrated catalogue with an essay by Fred Hoffman will accompany the exhibition.

Exhibit Link

POSTPONED: Christies Suspends Online Auction of Works by Jean-Michel Basquiat

This full page advertisement for Christie's planned auction of works by Jean-Michel Basquiat appeared in the March 2014 issue of Interview magazine.

Text | Patricia Cohen for the New York Times

Published | March 9, 2014

Christie’s auction house postponed an online auction of Jean-Michel Basquiat works owned by a former roommate of his after Basquiat’s sisters filed a federal lawsuit in early March 2014, arguing that some of the items may not be authentic. After initially saying that the auction would proceed, Christie’s quietly reversed itself, posting a notice on its website: “Our goal is to allow time for all parties involved to reach an equivalent level of confidence in the validity of these items, so that the sale may resume at a later date.”

Alexis Adler, the owner of the auction items, said in an emailed statement that she was disappointed by the decision and that she “looks forward to bringing the Basquiat Estate to the same level of confidence that she and Christie’s share in the unassailable authenticity of these early and seminal works which she acquired from Jean-Michel.”

A number of the items for sale were mentioned in a 1998 biography of the artist, “Basquiat: A Quick Killing in Art,” by Phoebe Hoban, who visited the apartment that Ms. Adler shared with Basquiat in the early 1990s. Malu Halasi, a friend of Ms. Adler’s, said there were photographs from 1983 documenting his writings, the notebooks and the scripts that were being offered for auction.

Basquiat died in 1988 at 27 from a heroin overdose. His sisters, Jeanine Basquiat Heriveaux and Lisane Basquiat, argued in their complaint, filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, that Christie’s did not consult with the estate on the authenticity of the items. The estate, however, disbanded its authenticity committee in 2012.

Source Link

Christie’s Postpones Basquiat Sale After Suit Alleges Some Works Are Fakes

Upcoming Basquiat auction may be full of fakes: lawsuit

Basquiat siblings file $1 million lawsuit against Christie’s, claiming auction house isselling phony works of the artist

ON VIEW: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Reclining Nude

Photography by Paige Powell

January 16 – February 22, 2014

SUZANNE GEISS COMPANY

76 Grand Street

New York, NY

Suzanne Geiss Company is pleased to present Jean-Michel Basquiat, Reclining Nude, an exhibition of rare candid photographs of Jean-Michel Basquiat taken by Paige Powell. This is the first presentation of photographs from Powell’s comprehensive archive, a significant chronicle of 1980’s art and culture in America. Her work offers uncommon glimpses into the lives of artists and friends who participated in the cultural transformations of the era.

On view is a series of black and white 35mm nude portraits of Jean-Michel Basquiat made in 1983 in Powell’s then Upper West Side apartment. Like many nights during Powell and Basquiat’s two year relationship, the images show the painter relaxed on a futon, drawing while watching cartoons. Earlier that year, Powell used the apartment to show work by Basquiat, AOne, and Rammellzee. Several of the paintings are visible on the walls of the living room where Basquiat reclines. The photographs were taken with Powell’s Canon camera, which she carried with her everywhere.

Paige Powell moved to New York City from Portland, Oregon in 1980 with the intent of working for Interview Magazine or Woody Allen. A few weeks after she arrived, she landed both jobs. Interview stuck, and Powell was Advertising Associate (later Associate Publisher) and a contributing photographer and writer. Through her work, she became a close friend and confidant of Andy Warhol, founder of the publication, and a fixture at his Factory.

Powell is a photographer, curator, and animal rights activist. She lives and works between Portland, Oregon; New York; and Los Angeles. She is in the beginning phase of organizing her extensive archive of photographs.

Exhibit Link

Now on View: ‘Jean-Michel Basquiat Reclining Nude’

Basquiat’sEx-Girlfriend Paige Powell Presents A Series Of Very NSFW Images Of The Artist

Remembering Basquiat – Nude and Otherwise

Paige Powell on Photographing Basquiat

SOLD: Jay Z wraps up a Basquiat

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Mecca, 1982, acrylic and oilstick on canvas mounted on wood supports, 70 x 68 7/8 inches.
Image via sothebys.com.

Auction hammer slammed on music giant's $4.5M bid for Jean-Michel Basquiat painting at Sotheby’s

From the nypost.com November 20, 2013:

He raps, “I just want a Picasso in my casa” — but Jay Z has settled for another of his art-world obsessions, plunking down a cool $4.5 million for a Jean-Michel Basquiat piece.

The Brooklyn-born rap impresario was the anonymous buyer of a quirky 1982 Basquiat painting titled “Mecca’’ on November 13, 2013 at Sotheby’s in Manhattan, a source told The Post.

His hefty purchase — an orange, white and black acrylic and oil-stick work — features the Empire State Building under a trademark Basquiat crown.

Its estimated sale price was between $4 million and $6 million, so the rapper got something of a steal.

But it doesn’t look as if money would have been an object anyway — Jay Z has had a love affair with the late graffiti artist and fellow Brooklyn native for several years.

Jay Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, has repeatedly included in his songs references to Basquiat — who OD’d on heroin in 1988 at age 27.

He said one of Basquiat’s paintings even inspired an entire track — and has lovingly talked about a print of that work that he owns.

The painting, “Charles the First,’’ was the basis for his 2010 song “Most Kingz,’’ the rapper has said. It opens with the lyrics “Inspired by Basquiat, my chariot’s on fire.”

In his 12th, and most recent, studio album, “Magna Carta Holy Grail,” Jay Z references some $493 million worth of art, according to Forbes.

In one track, “Picasso Baby,’’ Jay Z gives a nod to Basquiat by rapping, “It ain’t hard to tell, I’m the new Jean-Michel.”

A Jay Z rep did not respond to requests for comment.

Source Link 

Sold Lot Archive for Mecca

HOT LINKS: April 22, 2013

Kehinde Wiley photographed by Martin Scholler for GQ magazine. Image via bossip.com. 

Over the past few days, the following online news items caught the attention of BlackArtistNews:

Kehinde Wiley GQ magazine profile

Harry Jones, co-owner of a New Orleans gallery specializing in African-American art, dies at 74

5 African American Artists not named Jean-Michel Basquiat

Nick Cave’s fancies freed for Peabody Essex ‘PM’ series

Senga Nengudi to lecture May 2 at Brooklyn Museum

Transformative series ‘Art Speaks’ at Birmingham Museum of Art

NY Times Art Review: ‘Faith Ringgold’s America: Early Works and Story Quilts’

A Second Glance: African Disapora art and the South Side of Chicago

Saving Basquiat: Seeing the Art Through the Myth-Making

FIVE: Don Byron

“FIVE” is a special feature at BlackArtistNews where five questions are posed to an individual artist, curator, gallerist, collector or art lover. Why five questions? Well, there are five fingers on each hand and artists create with their hands hence one, two, three, four, FIVE.

Composer and musician Don Byron photographed September 2011. BlackArtistNews photo. All rights reserved.

Don Byron is a jazz musician but his discography says otherwise. The GRAMMY nominated composer and multi-instrumentalist’s heterogeneous collection of recordings (infused with elements of classical, funk, gospel, hip-hop and rock) characterize his innate ability to be hip and versatile without seeming too self-indulgent. BlackArtistNews spoke with the virtuoso about his tender, plaintive ballad “Basquiat” a composition that first appeared on Byron’s CD Romance With The Unseen (Blue Note, 1999) and revisited in classical mode on A Fine Line: Arias & Lieder (Blue Note, 2000). The Bronx, New York native’s comments packed quite a punch in this edition of FIVE:

Do you remember what inspired you to compose a song about Jean-Michel Basquiat?

Well, you know, I used to see him on the street in SoHo sellin’ stuff. Course I was like a fool; I never bought anything. He was like a homeless guy who sold stuff on the street, you know. And then some years went by and you saw him: he was dee jaying and stuff… I lived in New York all through that period and I followed a  lot of the downtown culture. I study in Jazz but I was into all this “downtown” music so I saw him a lot. [Also] I kind of sympathize with the plight of the black intellectual. You know where like people are dissing you because they don’t really expect you to have what you have. You know they disbelieving what you have. And then exploiting you at the same time. I’m going through that myself [Laughs] so I just really um, I just wrote something from that experience. Um, [the song] was supposed to be in a film – not about Basquiat – but that's what I was thinking about when I wrote it.

That's not surprising. The song does have a cinematic quality.

Mm-hum, Mm-hum.

So from your perspective was he a genius?

I thought that [was] established. You don’t need me to say that. Everybody knows that. Yeah, of course he was a genius. I mean whatever it means to be a genius he would be that.

The song is included on your CD called “Romance With the Unseen.” That title seems to be an appropriate metaphor for societal obsession with dead celebrities especially the ones who lived unbalanced lifestyles.

"Unbalanced lifestyles." That’s an interesting way of putting it.

Do you think it's healthy for society to buy into the notion of the artist as tortured soul?

People like that. You know before Amy Winehouse there was Billie Holiday and Judy Garland and… people like to see somebody decline in front of their eyes… they think that’s more “honest.” [Laughs] Like Paul McCartney just living a nice life, that ain’t “honest.” You know. But especially with black folks they like that especially – but not exclusively – ‘cause that Amy Winehouse thing that was way out. Somebody that young would just do that to herself. She did it to herself, you know. And everybody knew it. She was so out, a couple of bands quit on her! And she was makin’ the money! And um, when you think about people diggin’ somebody because they’re like that it says something… it's a thing we’ve seen before. Let’s put it that way. Edith Piaf. You know. We’ve seen that before. What can I say?

Are there any other visual artists that inspire you?

Um, right now?

Not necessarily.

Well, I like all kinds of things visually. I like some of that Bauhaus shit. There’s all kinds of stuff that I like. I really couldn’t pick one guy or one woman or one anything in the visual arts. I think [more] about filmmakers. I was just watching Wendell Harris Jr.’s Chameleon Street. That expresses me! That’s like "Where am I at?" That’s where I’m at.

Does art matter?

Do the visual arts matter? Yes!

However you interpret the question is fine with me.

Well, you know sound and artistic manipulation of an environment whether through architecture, whatever, they really make a lot of difference.  So of course they matter. Everybody know that. You don’t have to ask me that.

Don Byron online

Classical version of "Basquiat"

HOT LINKS: June 4, 2012

Jean-Michel Basquiat (American, 1960-1988), Untitled, 1981, acrylic, oilstick and spray paint on canvas, 78 x 72in. (199.5 x 182.9cm.). To be auctioned by Christie's London on June 27, 2012. Estimate in the region of $20 million. Courtesy Christie's Images Ltd. 2012. Click here for auction details.

Over the past few days the following items caught the attention of BlackArtistNews:

Basquiat Painting could set record at Christie's June 27 auction

Artist Regi Taylor Designs Community Sculpture For the City of Baltimore

Two exhibits trace the journey of Dawoud Bey

Going green in black America at heart of Marc Bamuthi Joseph work

The Modern Art Notes Podcast: Mark Bradford

The Modern Art Notes Podcast: Mickalene Thomas

Black women make statements through words and works

Art review: "Manifesting Memory" asks and answers questions about Black heritage

MEDIA NEWS: $16 Million Basquiat Sets New World Record At Phillips Art Sale

Hannah Elliot, Forbes Lifestyle reporter
Published: May 10, 2012

The contemporary art auction at Phillips de Pury on May 10, 2012 in New York set a new world record for a work by Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Untitled from 1981 sold for $16,322,500 including premiums to beat the previous record of $14.6 million set in 2007. The work went to a private bidder.

“We are very happy,” said Simon de Pury, the chairman of the auction house who led the auction. He said he was not surprised about the sale. “I thought it was a very solid sale. We are pleased.”

All told, Phillips evening sale culled $86,897,500 to hit between the $75 million – $110 million estimated totals for the night. That total was down from $94,823,000 last year but up considerably from $17,130,000 in 2010.

Top sellers of the night besides the Basquiat were Untitled VI by Willem de Kooning, which sold for $12,402,500; Untitled (Bolsena) by Cy Twombly for $6,242,500; Brushstroke Nude by Roy Lichtenstein for $5,458,500; and two by Andy Warhol: Mao ($10,386,500) and Gun ($7,026,500). Each of the top 10 lots sold went for more than $2.4 million including buyers premiums.

The [auction] mood was lively if not as electrifying as a certain diamond auction at Christie’s late last year. Women in Louboutin shoes and men with the long, artfully coiffed hair of European royalty milled around drinking champagne downstairs in the lobby before the sale started. Later in the main room they clapped appreciatively when the Basquiat sold. Most of the buyers were longtime art patrons, according to Michael McGinnis, Phillips’ worldwide head of contemporary art. Bidders from Russia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East are especially strong this year, he said.

Click here to continue reading

Basquiat Painting Brings$16.3 Million at Phillips Sale (NYTimes)

HOT LINKS: May 7, 2012

Wanderers by the late artist Willie Robert Middlebrook is on display at Expo/Crenshaw Station in Los Angeles, CA. Image via scpr.org.

Over the past few days the following items caught the attention of BlackArtistNews:

Artist Willie  Middlebrook dies

Photographer Dawoud Bey's 'landmark' moment: Two exhibits in two Chicago institutions

Q & A with Dawoud Bey: "Harlem, U.S.A"

The Art of Fashion: Kehinde Wiley Joins Forces with Riccardo Tisci For His Latest Exhibit (Vogue.com)

São Paulo trio Defies Racism

Beyoncé Knowles' open letter to Jean-Michel Basquiat

New Exhibit Shows Africa's influence on Disapora in US

Hues of History: A new show traces 70 years of cultural change through the lens of African-American art

Smithsonian American Art Museum takes new look at changes of 20th century through black art (Washington Post)

Diversifying the Portfolio: Jeff Goodby on minorities in advertising and weathering the tough times (Adweek.com)

Albert C. Barnes: An eccentric collector and democratizer of art

Glenn Ligon: African-American artist with work in White House discusses role of black creators