| Hollywood Africans | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Jean-Michel Basquiat |
| Year | 1983 |
| Medium | Acrylic and oil stick on canvas |
| Movement | Neo-expressionism |
| Dimensions | 210 cm× 210 cm(84 in× 84 in) |
| Location | Whitney Museum of American Art, New York |
Hollywood Africans is a painting created by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1983. The artwork is Basquiat's response to the portrayals of African Americans in the entertainment industry.
Jean-Michel Basquiat started as a street artist writing graffiti as SAMO, then became immersed in the Downtown art and music scene. He was in an experimental band called Gray, but he was also connected to the emerging Hip-Hop movement. [1]
Basquiat was friends with graffiti artists such as Fab 5 Freddy, Toxic and Ramellzee. In 1983, Basquiat produced the hip-hop single "Beat Bop" by Rammellzee and K-Rob, and he created the cover art. [2]
Ramellzee and Toxic accompanied Basquiat to Venice, Los Angeles while he prepared for his March 1983 show, his second at the Gagosian Gallery in West Hollywood. [3] While in Los Angeles, the trio called themselves "The Hollywood Africans" as social statement to counter the stereotypical portrayals of African Americans in Hollywood. [4]
During this trip, Basquiat painted Hollywood Africans, which recounts a day when he and his friends "had their pictures taken in a photo booth and looked at movie stars' footprints." [5]
Set to a golden yellow backdrop, at the center of Hollywood Africans is a self-portrait of Jean-Michel Basquiat and his friends artists Toxic and Rammellzee, who accompanied him to Los Angeles. To the upper right of the depiction of Basquiat are the numerals 12, 22, and 60, which is his birthdate (December 22, 1960). [6]
As he often did in his works, Basquiat crossed out some words and phrases. He explained that this was actually meant to direct attention to them, "I cross out words so you will see them more; the fact that they are obscured makes you want to read them." [7]
Across the canvas are phrases such as "HOLLYWOOD AFRICANS FROM THE NINETEEN FORTIES" and "WHAT IS BWANA?" which indicate Basquiat is questioning the depictions of African Americans in film during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Bwana is the Swahili word for master or boss. The date 1940, written at the top of the painting, may refer to the year actress Hattie McDaniel became the first African American to win an Oscar for playing "Mammy" in Gone With The Wind (1939). [8]
With the notations "TOBACCO," "SUGAR CANE," "GANGSTERISM," and the title of the artwork, "HOLLYWOOD AFRICANS," Basquiat seems aware of the limited roles given to African Americans in both Hollywood and real life due to discrimination. The notations can also be interpreted as the new products built by Africans that Hollywood is exporting. [6] On the left side of the painting are blue footprints, referring to the footprints of movie stars outside of the Grauman's Chinese Theatre on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame. Basquiat and his posse are challenging the perception of three young black men in Hollywood and are cementing their place in history. [9]
Hollywood Africans is part of the permanent collection at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. In 2017, it was exhibited at the Barbican Centre in London as part of Basquiat: Boom for Real. [10] In 2020, the artwork was displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston for its exhibit, Writing the Future: Basquiat and the Hip-Hop Generation. [11]
Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement.
Fred Brathwaite, more popularly known as Fab 5 Freddy, is an American visual artist, filmmaker, and hip hop pioneer. He is considered one of the architects of the street art movement. Freddy emerged in New York's downtown underground creative scene in the late 1970s as a graffiti artist. He was the bridge between the burgeoning uptown rap scene and the downtown No Wave art scene. He was immortalized in 1981 when Debbie Harry rapped on the Blondie song "Rapture" that "Fab 5 Freddy told me everybody's fly." In the late 1980s, Freddy became the first host of the groundbreaking hip-hop music video show Yo! MTV Raps.
Rammellzee was a visual artist, gothic futurist "graffiti writer", painter, performance artist, art theoretician, sculptor and a hip hop musician from New York City, who has been cited as "instrumental in introducing elements of the avant-garde into hip-hop culture".
Michael Thomas Holman is a New York-based artist, writer, filmmaker and musician. He is also an early 1980s downtown scene subculturalist and creator of the Hip Hop music program Graffiti Rock. Holman is a founding member, along with Jean-Michel Basquiat, of the experimental band Gray.
Matthew William Dike was an American music executive, record producer, and DJ. He co-founded the hip-hop record label Delicious Vinyl in 1987. In the 1980s, Dike was artist Jean-Michel Basquiat's studio assistant and he worked on the Beastie Boys album Paul's Boutique (1989). He co-wrote and produced the song "Bust A Move" (1989) by Young MC, and co-produced "Smart Girls" (1991) by Brian Wilson.
"Beat Bop" is a song by American hip-hop artists Rammellzee and K-Rob. It was produced and arranged by Jean-Michel Basquiat. Initially, it was made as a test pressing by Tartown Inc. in 1983. That same year, the song was released as a single by Profile Records, and featured in the hip-hop documentary film Style Wars (1983).
Malik Johnson, better known as K-Rob, is an American rapper most famous for providing vocals for "Beat Bop" with Rammellzee in 1983. He was also a graffiti artist with the tag "Crane." He released the singles "I'm a Homeboy" and "The Day K-Rob Came Back" under his own name, in 1986. Since the 1980s, however, aside from providing a verse for "Beat Bop Part 2" on 2004's Bi-Conicals of the Rammellzee, K-Rob has devoted himself more to his Muslim faith.
Gray is an American experimental band formed by artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and filmmaker Michael Holman in 1979, of whom filmmaker Vincent Gallo was also a member. The group was influenced by the members' artist backgrounds and the sonic experimentation of their contemporaries in New York's No Wave scene. Gray performed at venues such as the Mudd Club and CBGB which were the epicenter of New York's underground scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The Death of MichaelStewart, known as Defacement, is a painting created by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1983. The artwork is Basquiat's response to anti-Black racism and police brutality. It memorializes the death of Michael Stewart at the hands of New York City Transit Police for allegedly writing graffiti in the subway. No graffiti was found, according to Stewart’s girlfriend at the time of his death, Suzanne.
A Panel of Experts is a painting created by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1982. The artwork in part is Basquiat's depiction of a catfight between two of his lovers, Suzanne Mallouk and singer Madonna.
Untitled is a painting created by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1982. The artwork was sold at Christie's for $57.3 million in May 2016. At the time, that was the record for Basquiat's most expensive painting. In 2022, it was sold for $85 million at Phillips, becoming Basquiat's third highest auction sale and fourth most expensive painting.
Undiscovered Genius of the Mississippi Delta is a painting created by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1983. Spanning over 15 feet, the artwork is an assessment of select African American history. The painting sold for $23.7 million at Sotheby's contemporary art evening auction in May 2014.
Dos Cabezas is a painting created by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1982. The double portrait resulted from Basquiat's first formal meeting with his idol, American pop artist Andy Warhol.
Irony of Negro Policeman is a painting created by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1981. It depicts a black figure as police officer.
Torrick Ablack, also known as Toxic, is an American artist who was part of the graffiti movement of the early 1980s in New York City. He transitioned from street art to exhibiting his paintings in galleries and museums internationally.
Anthony Clark, known as A-One, was an American graffiti artist. He developed a style he called "aerosol expressionism".
Flesh and Spirit is a painting created by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat c. 1982–83. The multi-panel painting, which is one of the largest ever made by Basquiat, sold for $30.7 million at Sotheby's in May 2018.
Untitled (Pollo Frito) is a painting created by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1982. The artwork was sold at Sotheby's for $25.7 million in November 2018.
Bird on Money is a 1981 painting created by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1981. It is a tribute to jazz musician Charlie Parker, who was nicknamed "Bird." The painting was acquired in 1981 and is housed in the Rubell Family Collection. In 2020, New York rock band the Strokes used the artwork as the cover for their studio album The New Abnormal.
Al Diaz is an American urban artist and lecturer best known for being among the first generation of graffiti writers in the community and for co-creating the graffiti campaign SAMO© with Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1978.