Defacement (The Death of Michael Stewart)

Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1983, Defacement The Death of Michael Stewart

In a world where everyone has the want and need to be heard, there are those few individuals that truly make an impact in a revolutionary way. The purpose of art is to convey a message. Therefore every artist is making a statement, portraying what he or she believes to be important and relevant and sharing that world with an audience. Sometimes these messages are portrayed in ways that are so abstract the viewer may not be able to fully comprehend it. After visiting the Jean-Michael Basquiat Exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario, it was evident that this man had not one, not two, but thousands of different motifs within this one small collection of artwork. Although the context varied, the theme of African Americanism was extremely profound. While in a state of awe, there was one particular piece that really stood out and spoke to my emotions, Defacement (The Death of Michael Stewart). This piece indicates a clear message speaking to the loss of faith in the notion of moral progress, targeting a direct situation in a bold way. With his use of representation and personal magnetism, Jean-Michael expressed his concerns for the lack of sensitivity toward the issue of racism not only within the art world, but society as a collective environment. 

Jean-Michael Basquiat was not only a visual artist he was a self-taught intellect that was constantly engaged in literature, writing, drama and music, essentially any mode of self-expression. The idea of individuality inspired him, feeding a hunger to keep searching and understanding it’s meaning and purpose in a world where conformity appeared to be the norm. Through his life and work it is clear that individuality was a big part of who he was. He found perfection in the imperfect, striving for new motifs to express his thoughts. “Given its rough, seemingly untrained and extreme, conceptual nature, Basquiat’s high-art oeuvre might not look so sophisticated to the uninformed viewer.” (Rodrigues, 228) While his talent is undeniable, the abstract and sometimes outrageous ways he often chose to express himself did not always allow for his message to be communicated clearly. Although, most of his art stood out like a sore thumb, it was clear that he was trying to get reactions from the people in the art world. He consumed himself with ethical issues and focused on the impact of race. Basquait once said, “The black person is the protagonist in most of my paintings…I realized that I didn’t see many paintings with black people in them.” Allowing us to understand why he believed race, specifically African-Americans, needed to be represented. He acknowledged that there was little attention paid to the average black male and wanted to not only explore that issue but also make it relevant. Moral progress of the civil rights movement seemed invisible to Jean-Michael, expressing his discontent with the New York City’s direct involvement of the average American immigrant through his art.

Basquiat challenged the status quo with a new extreme approach coupled with his desire to take any opportunity and put forth his own personal philosophy. He coined the alias “SAMO” on the streets of New York City by tagging public property. SAMO came from a combination of the common phrase “same old shit” and the word Sambo, which was a racial slur meant to describe a person that is mixed. “Even during this embryonic stage of his painterly career, Basquiat demonstrated a sensitivity toward issues of racism in American art and media.” (Rodrigues, 228) Through the visual figurative representations in, Defacement (The Death of Michael Stewart), it is evident that Basquiat was affected by the death of a fellow artist and friend, Michael Stewart. In a desperate need to express the multitude of emotions he was facing Basquiat created this piece. Michael Stewart was caught tagging a wall in the New York City subway station by police officers one evening in September of 1983. Michael Stewart was violently beat by police officers, which reportedly resulted in him having a heart attack. This incident put him in a coma and a couple weeks after that it led to his untimely death. The police officers trailed for this act of violence were eventually acquitted of their charges. The trial saw many artists from different platforms in New York stand up and communicate their displeasure with the world. “Not only did he question the unconscious racialization of the American popular and mass culture, but his work blurs his politics and his place within the art world.” (Schur, 643) Living in New York City Basquiat struggled with his personal identity of being a young black male in a city with no remorse. As a graffiti artist he brought his message to the forefront of society by expressing his personal and his cultures struggle to assimilate in the present day. Basquiat did not hesitate to express his evident discomfort with the way African American people and dark skinned artists were generally accepted but not respected or acknowledged as equals. 

Basquiat was introduced to the world of high art as a breath of fresh air by using techniques and approaches that did not differ anymore than the infamous Picasso. “… An assimilated Abstract Expressionism featuring more personalized and subjective figurative imagery came to the fore, characterized by its psychological and conceptual undertones.” (Rodrigues, 228) When visually analyzing the painting we see two distorted New York City policemen circling and beating a black ambiguous silhouette. It can be argued that the silhouette represents not only these two black artists but can stand for suppression throughout history. With this piece came a quote from Basquait, “It could have been me, it could have been me” allowing that particular argument of cultural dislike to come to surface. Basquiat uses only 5 colours in this piece, bright pink, and sky blue, orange, yellow and black. His line work is incomplete and not giving closure to the police officers figures still keeping his message very clear and literal. His use of form within the space is very central and using an upside down pyramid composition to lead the viewer’s eye from one figure to another. The piece has graffiti tagging within the frame and the word Defacement is shown above the figures. There are blotches of pink and black that occasionally distract the eye from the main event within the piece. On the right side of the composition there is a textured pattern coming forth that becomes recognizable throughout the canvas in a transparent way. The officer to the left has a facial expression that suggests he is enjoying what he is doing, where the officer to the right does not have any expression merely a set of eyes. This can suggest that the officer is unaware of the damage he is inflicting and he is only acting as he feels he should with no positive or negative emotions attached. The piece has subtle technical elements, using a very abstract painterly approach keeping the message clear and the emotion raw. This is the exact lack of social progress, understanding and respect Basquait wanted to bring awareness too.

Basquiat felt empty without chaos thus welcomed and embraced it to create inspiration that conveyed his hidden messages. Jean-Michael was aware of his social and cultural standing in society and used those experiences and perspectives to his advantage. In this particular piece he communicates his emotions with transparency that contradict his usual encrypted style. The lack of faith in the notion of moral progress is clearly depicted in this piece Defacement (The Death of Michael Stewart), as it exhibits Basquiat realizing that in this particular incident “it could have been me, it could have been me.”