Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks
James Kalm, despite some stinging comments published in a critique of the exhibition “Crossing Brooklyn,” and the initial disappearance of his name from the guest list, is inadvertently admitted to the Museum’s Brooklyn Artists Ball. While celebrity artists schmoozed with deep-pocket donors in the main foyer, your correspondent slinked upstairs to an empty gallery, and records video of “Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks”. Jean-Michel Basquiat uniquely captured the spirit of his time in the 1980s East Village. Featuring 160 pages of rarely seen documents, and related works on paper and large-scale paintings, this display presents the artists poetic side, while also exposing his deep interest in language games, lists, ontological design and daily ephemera.
April 4, 2015
The Brooklyn Museum
Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks with an evening of live music, dance, performance, and film. Highlights include music by Lion Babe; a screening of Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child; a dance performance by Urban Bush Women; and opportunities for interactive engagement with the exhibition through a dance workshop by subway dance collective W.A.F.F.L.E., a collective mural by Slack Glaze, and a writing workshop.
The Brooklyn Museum’s Target First Saturday events attract thousands of visitors to free art and entertainment programs each month. Some Target First Saturday programs have limited space and are ticketed on a first-come, first-served basis.
*Denotes a free ticketed program. Tickets are handed out at the Visitor Center one hour prior to each program.
5 P.M. Music: Revive Music presents a jazz tribute to Basquiat reminiscent of downtown NYC in the 1980s.
*6 P.M. Curator Talk: Curator Tricia Laughlin Bloom shares her insights into the creation of the exhibition Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks.
*6 P.M. Film: Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child (Tamra Davis, 2010, 88 min.) offers an intimate look at Basquiat’s career from his first SAMO tags in the 1970s to his early death in 1988.
*6:30-8:30 P.M. Hands-On Art: Design and create your own crown in celebration of Basquiat.
7 P.M. Music: Natasha Diggs, of New York City’s premiere all-vinyl party Mobile Mondays, spins ’80s and ’90s hip-hop.
7-9 P.M. Interactive Space: Join W.A.F.F.L.E. (We are Family for Life Entertainment), a collective known for transforming subway cars with gravity-defying pole pirouettes and acrobatics, for an interactive performance and dance workshop. Contribute to a collective mural with Slack Gaze and enjoy an ’80s hip-hop set by DJ Kid Ginseng from Tom Tom Club.
7 P.M. Poetry Reading: Inspired by Basquiat’s rich use of language, Cave Canem presents Poetry Meets Art, featuring readings from LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs and Roger Reeves.
*8 P.M. Dance Performance: Urban Bush Women explore representations of the body in Dark Swan, for which the contemporary dance company won a 2014 Bessie Award.
*9 P.M. Workshop: Tom LaFarge and Wendy Walker of the Brooklyn-based Writhing Society lead a writing workshop inspired by Basquiat’s notebooks.
9 P.M. Music: Recently named one of “10 New Artists You Need to Know” by Rolling Stone, Lion Babe presents a unique blend of soul and funk infused R&B.
Museum admission is free from 5 to 11 p.m. and includes entrance to galleries and events. Programs are subject to change without notice. For more information, visit www.brooklynmuseum.org. Museum galleries are open until 11 p.m. Parking is a flat rate of $5 from 5 to 11 p.m.
Directions:
Subway: Seventh Avenue express (2 or 3) to Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum stop; Lexington Avenue express (4 or 5) to Nevins Street, cross platform and transfer to the 2 or 3. Bus: B41, B69, B48.On-site parking available