Description

Basquiat - Past and Contemporary street culture

Before Basquiat rose to become one of the most significant artists of the 20th century, his work was already legendary on the streets of downtown NYC. Under the tag SAMO, his poetic and poignant symbols established a visual vocabulary that continues to inspire new generations of graffiti artists to this day

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 1983 painting Horn Players shows us all the main stylistic features we have come to expect from this renowned American artist. In addition to half-length portraits on the left and right panels of this triptych (a painting consisting of three joined panels), the artist has included several drawings and words—many of which Basquiat drew and then crossed out. On each panel we also notice large swaths of white paint, which seem to simultaneously highlight the black background and obscure the drawings and/or words beneath. Most notable perhaps is the preponderance of repeated words like “DIZZY,” “ORNITHOLOGY,” “PREE” and "TEETH” that the artist has scattered across all three panels of this work.