Art critics and scholars, Frances Negron-Muntaner and Yasmin Ramirez argue that Basquiat’s use of crowns and related symbols constitute a critical vocabulary of contestation that resignifies the concept of sovereignty (self-rule) in at least three distinct, if at times overlapping, ways:
.At one level, as Basquiat mined black stereotypes and inquired into the production of racist/ colonial orders… [the goal] is to achieve sovereignty through the eradication of “stereotypes, cultural appropriation, exclusion, ignorance, irrelevance,” and the “rhetorical imperialism” embedded in U.S. (and European) law and discourse.
.Basquiat’s pursuit of a (royal) place in Western art history led to a persistent inquiry into the relationship between subjectivity (who I am), lineage (who are my ancestors), and authority for Afro-diasporic artists.
.Finally, Basquiat’s frequent deployment of crowns to honor black men is akin to Frantz Fanon’s characterization of postcolonial “true sovereignty” as the affirmation of black dignity and self-worth. (338)
Do you see these three arguments depicted somehow in Julian Schnabel’s film?
How does this painting, “50 Cent Piece” (1983), exemplify what Negrón-Muntaner and Ramirez argue?
Significantly, Basquiat writes “OPERATION BOOTST/RAP” at the same level and in proximity to “US OCCUPATION OF HAITI ENDS 1921,” linking different migratory flows originating in U.S. invasion and economic dispossession. Perhaps to underscore that the Puerto Rican exodus is a result of the invasion and not simply an immigrant phenomenon, Basquiat does not mention Luis Muñoz Marín, the Puerto Rican coarchitect of the migration policy, but his father, Luis Muñoz Rivera, who was acting as secretary of state and chief of the cabinet for the autonomist government of Puerto Rico when the United States invaded the island on July 25, 1898. (358)
See pages 353-359
Presentation(s)
Unpacking the Film
Elaborate on the racially-based aggressions displayed in the film? What strategies did Basquiat use to navigate racism within the art world? 1:04