Behind the Frame: Basquiat
This portion of the project was made to bring guests in to the world of Jean-Michel Basquiat. This included an interpretive recreation of his original art studio in New York, displaying his various works and personally crafted pieces to reflect the themes of his work as well as his personal life. Also included is the Church of Samo, dedicated to his career as a Grafiti artist, which guests can interact with. Programs Used: Sketchup, Photoshop, Procreate.
Inside the Studio
Guests enter the studio that present various displays of Basquiat’s work, as well as a series of interviews to watch being projected on the screen on the right.
The Church of SAMO
One thing that is important to explore in Basquiats work is his relationship to religion and power. This comes in the form of his character and graffiti tag, SAMO. Originally pitched as a false religion by Basquiat, where these tags would follow ironic phrases satirizing consumerist culture. This exhibit allows the guests to decorate the front altar with paper crowns, writing, or even their own graffiti to honor SAMO’s legacy.
The Car Crash
When Basquiat was seven years old, he was hit by a car. When recovering in the hospital, he became fascinated by the anatomical drawings done in the medical tome Henry Gray’s Anatomy of the Human Body. He was inspired by the illustrations of organs and dissections, which he later on incorporated into his work. This section takes the scene of a car crash, peppered with many of Basquiat’s notable works involving the symbolism of heads and the human body, taken as inspiration from this experience.
The Studio
Guests face a recreation of the exterior of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s New York studio, with a lighting fixture modeled after his signature crown design.
