Jean-Michel Basquiat, “Anthony Clarke”, 1985, Detail
Jean-Michel Basquiat: Now’s the Time at the AGO is a highpoint of Black History Month in Toronto this year. The daring goal of the curators of the show is to engage with various Toronto communities and provide a comprehensive cultural experience that would be relevant to a broad audience, beyond the usual museum appreciators. To that effect, the AGO engaged a group of local artists and musicians to design a Toronto-specific program, which includes the highly publicized public opening this Saturday complete with DJs and a break-dancing competition. A taste of the event was offered at the press preview on February 3rd, 2015. A very touching moment was when Curtis TALWST Santiago took a selfie in front of the journalists: he explained that Basquiat had been his inspiration since his first explorations in drawing and so working toward the success of the show had a special meaning for him.
Curtis TALWST Santiago (artist, musician) takes a selfie with the journalists
The journalists enter the exhibition
Jean-Michel Basquia, “Natchez”, 1985, Detail
The journalist crowd met break-dancers at the press preview with a calmly amused response – for, it seems, a more energetic cheer would have been something quite out of the ordinary in a stately setting of an esteemed art institution, even now. In official remarks, Dieter Buchhart (the guest curator and a Basquiat scholar from Austria) and Stephanie Smith (the new chief curator at the AGO) attempted to link Basquiat’s art to contemporary society and recent events, namely the pastiche nature of the Internet era and the race crisis in the United States.
All the more surprising was the lack of contemporaneity in the very traditional display of the exhibition, which surely is not without its merits: Buchhart opted for a thematic organization of the artworks, fully explained in the gallery and in the audio guide, a novel approach which would give food for thought to a connoisseur of Basquiat’s oeuvre. Regardless of whether your interests are more academic or that you simply agree that these paintings look really cool, the exhibition is definitely a must see and holds a pleasant surprise for all with some amazing T-shirts and other fun stuff in the gift shop.
Artworks from “Unidentified Black Males” section
T-shirts with Basquiat’s art in the gift shop
Text and photo: Elena Iourtaeva
*Exhibition information: February 7 – May 10, 2015, Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas Street West, Toronto. Gallery hours: Tue & Thur – Sun: 10 – 5:30, Wed 10 – 8:30 p.m.; Extended Friday hours (5:30 – 8:30 p.m.): February 13, 20 and 27, 2015