Basquiat's "Defacement": The Untold Story

by Jean-Michel Basquiat (Artist), Chaédria LaBouvier (Contributor), Nancy Spector (Contributor)

Police brutality, racism, graffiti and the art world of the early-1980s Lower East Side converge in one painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat painted Defacement (The Death of Michael Stewart) on the wall of Keith Haring’s studio in 1983 to commemorate the death of a young black artist who died from injuries sustained while in police custody after being arrested for allegedly tagging a New York City subway station. Defacement is the starting point for the present volume, which focuses on Basquiat’s response to anti-black racism and police brutality. Basquiat’s “Defacement”: The Untold Story explores this chapter in the artist’s career through both the lens of his identity and the Lower East Side as a nexus of activism in the early 1980s, an era marked by the rise of the art market, the AIDS crisis and ongoing racial tensions in the city.

Texts by Chaédria LaBouvier, Nancy Spector, J. Faith Almiron and Greg Tate are supplemented by commentary from artists and activists such as Luc Sante, Carlo McCormick, Jeffrey Deitch, Kenny Scharf, Fred Braithwaite and Michelle Shocked, who were part of this episode in New York City’s history, which parallels today’s urgent conversations about state-sanctioned racism. Basquiat’s painting is contextualized by ephemera related to Stewart’s death, including newspaper clippings and protest posters, samples of artwork from Stewart’s estate and work made by other artists in response to Stewart’s death and the subsequent trial, including pieces by Haring, Andy Warhol, David Hammons, George Condo and Lyle Ashton Harris.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

168 pages, Paperback

Published July 23, 2019

About the author

Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist. He gained popularity, first as a graffiti artist in New York City, and then as a successful 1980s-era Neo-expressionist artist. Basquiat's paintings continue to influence modern day artists and command high prices.

Reviews

[Simon Vozick-Levinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Guggenheim show that this is based on — a powerful selection of art by Basquiat, Keith Haring, and others relating to the 1983 police murder of young black artist Michael Stewart — is a must-see for anyone in New York this summer. This catalog goes above and beyond, with four illuminating essays (the best is a reprint of Greg Tate’s 1992 classic “Black Like B.”), and a final reported section in which curator Chaédria LaBouvier interviews two dozen people in Basquiat and Stewart’s shared orbit. An essential document of 1980s NYC, in all its creative dazzle and brutal injustice.

[Karen Kohoutek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing. It's a great look at Basquiat's art, at the context of the times, and of course the tragic history of police brutality against black people. Stewart died in 1983, and people thought THEN that it would bring about needed change. The book highlights Stewart's humanity, so he's more than a victim at the center, reminding us that every similar death represents a real loss to this scene and humanity. Highly recommended.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very important historical document, not just in for Jean-Michel Basquiat but Michael Stewart and also for the ongoing racial supremacy that is ongoing. Michael Stewart died at age 24 - beaten to death by NY transit cops in 1983. Michael Stewart was an artist, NOT the dog whistle claim that he was a grafitti artist defacing property that the cops used. This was a cover up from the start- he was listed as an unknown white male at Bellevue although he had ID and clearly was not white. He had no marker or paint on him. His eyes were removed and bleached by Dr. Elliot Gross to remove any signs of hemorrhaging that happen with strangulation.

The real cause of death was that Michael Stewart was seen kissing a white woman on the check before he went to the subway. This angered the racist cop, John Kostick and Michael was beaten to death. Unfortunately, joining the legacy of Black souls who died too early and where justice did not prevail, such as Emmett Till, Eleanor Bumpurs, and Eric Garner to name a few.

For those in the East Village art scene, this event galvanized the community and became an eerie pre cursor to the deaths that would so ravage the community with AIDS in the 1980s.

** footnote- I am sad that I did not get to see the exhibit in 2019. I was also surprised that the Guggenheim would make such a mistake that Trayvon Martin was shot in Tampa, Fl. This heinous lynching occured in Sanford, Fl. which is on the other side of Orlando.

[J.Istsfor Manity · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four essays and a slew of personal recollections are the foundation of this exhibition catalogue. LeBouvier and Greg Tate’s essays are indispensible when reading about Basquiat, especially about his work focused on police brutality. The centerpiece in both the book and installation was “Defacement,” about the brutal beating and eventual murder of Michael Stewart, a developing artist and New York east side scenester in September of 1983.

Tate’s essay is an update of his seminal 1992 essay “Black Like B:”

“I find it impossible to discuss Basquiat’s art without talking about white supremacy, and it’s victimization of him, even and especially after death … Maybe, like his detractors, I find him easier to handle now, just another dead black genius.”

Copious plates and illustrations make this more than the typical exhibition catalogue.

Paperback, 02/22/21.

[Cynthia Frazer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended: The analysis helped me pull my mind and experiences together, and appreciate further a Keith Haring exhibit I was able to travel to see before we all got stuck on the island. The format and text are tiny, but worth the time.

[Anne Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

So informative about this artist and Michael Stewart and the outrage of police brutality in the 1980s. Too bad it is still happening.

[Aidan Duffy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conceptualizing LES as an artsy, up and coming neighborhood feels so funny to 2024 me.