A Symbiotic Relationship
Warhol and basquiat
“It was like some crazy-art world marriage and they were the odd couple. The relationship was symbiotic. Jean-Michel thought he needed Andy's fame, and Andy thought he needed Jean-Michel's new blood. Jean-Michel gave Andy a rebellious image again” — Ronnie Cutrone
Jean-Michel Basquiat reputedly met celebrated pop artist Andy Warhol in 1979, while out on the street in Soho selling “postcards” he had made with artist Jennifer Stein. Basquiat was a big fan of Warhol (he owned and avidly read his book) and spotted him at lunch with art critic Henry Geldzahler (1935-1994). Exited by the chance encounter, he immediately went into the restaurant and tried sell them some of his work; it’s a moment recreated in Julian Schnabel’s (b. 1951) fictionalised biopic Basquiat, with Andy Warhol played by David Bowie. While Geldzahler rejected Basquiat as being too young and sent him away (a few years later he would interviewing him as one the biggest emerging artists on the New York art scene), Warhol bought a card depicting one of Basquiat’s now iconic sunglass motifs. The two artists were at different stages in their lives and careers and neither could have expected the intimate and turbulent relationship that would unfold between them. Basquiat was only 20 years old, a downtown talent rising rapidly from the graffiti scene, known for using the tag SAMO (short-hand for “Same Old Shit”), whereas Warhol, who emerged as a revolutionary figure in the 1960s, had been at the heart of the art establishment for over twenty years. As noted by legendary critic and art historian Robert Pincus-Witten, it seemed that during the 70s “Warholism had superseded Warhol”, as he received critical admonishment for a decade dominated by the portrait commissions (Robert Pincus-Witten, ‘Entries: Big History, Little History’, Arts Magazine, No. 54, April 1980, p. 184). Increasingly concerned about his public reception, at the dawn of the 1980s, according to Pincus-Witten, the artist was desperate to inaugurate “the Return of Andy Warhol.” At the time, the purpose of graffiti art was to obtain a level of fame, a certain status and recognition and this had always been Basquiat’s goal; he saw Warhol as being number one and wanted that same level of fame and respect. The ambitious young artist soon started to frequent Warhol’s New York City studio, The Factory, in an effort to infiltrate its social scene; though perhaps unsurprisingly, as the revered king of Pop Art, Warhol regarded Basquiat with aloofness.
Andy Warhol Self-Portrait with Basquiat, October 4, 1982. Image c/o Phillips New York
Jean-Michel Basquiat Dos Cabezas, 1982 © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat
Their friendship started after the two were formally introduced on 4 October 1982, after Swiss power-dealer Bruno Bischofberger (b. 1940) discovered a Basquiat painting in lower Manhattan and set up a lunch between them; it quickly became clear the two artists shared something of a simpatico and were mutually inspired by one another. Warhol was obsessed with documenting everything around him, taking over 130,000 images during his lifetime (He once said, “A picture means I know where I was every minute, that’s why I take pictures.”) and so soon turned his camera on Basquiat for a series of candid photographs. At the end of the session, Basquiat asked for a portrait with Warhol who agreed and stepped into the frame; of all the photographs taken that day it’s the only one where Basquiat can be seen grinning from ear to ear. Warhol gave the double portrait to the young artist who was so pleased that as soon as he left him, he rushed straight to his studio with the still-developing print in hand to make a rendering of the double portrait, painted in his characteristic visual language, which he delivered to Warhol, still wet. The painting, titled Dos Cabezas (1982), ignited the friendship between the two artists and started their journey of artistic collaboration. “Jean-Michel did not want to stay for lunch … about an hour and something later, he arrived with this huge painting,” Bischofberger told Tamra Davis, a filmmaker and friend. “Andy said to me, ‘Oh, I’m so jealous!’, and I said, ‘Why?’. He said, ‘He’s faster than me!'” — from Warhol, perhaps the ultimate accolade. An off-hand entry in Warhol’s diary reads: “Down to meet Bruno Bischofberger (cab $7.50). He brought Jean-Michel Basquiat with him. He’s the kid who used the name ‘Samo’ when he used to sit on the sidewalk in Greenwich Village and paint T-shirts . . . And so had lunch for them and then I took a Polaroid and he went home and within two hours a painting was back, still wet, of him and me together” (Hackett, The Andy Warhol Diaries, p. 462).
Warhol, the founding father of Pop Art, and Basquiat, his much younger Neo-Expressionist protégé, were perhaps an unlikely duo, yet, whilst they were from different generations, they were both, after all, aesthetic pioneers, and two of the greatest creative minds of an era. That day, immortalized in these two iconic works of art, marked the beginning of one of the most important relationships within the history of contemporary art; a six-year friendship and artistic collaboration — albeit turbulent — that would shape the course of Basquiat’s short career while providing Warhol a heralded final chapter of his. Critics often thought Basquiat was latching onto Warhol’s established fame, while others claimed Warhol was using Basquiat to stay relevant on the back of the young artist’s popularity. Artist Ronnie Cutrone (1948-2013), Warhol’s studio assistant, said: “It was like some crazy art-world marriage and they were the odd couple. The relationship was symbiotic. Jean-Michel thought he needed Andy’s fame, and Andy thought he needed Jean-Michel’s new blood. Jean-Michel gave Andy a rebellious image again” (Ronnie Cutrone cited in: Victor Bockris, Warhol: The Biography, Cambridge 2003, pp. 461-62). Others, however, were more convinced of a genuine adoration between the two. Late Interview editor Glenn O’Brien insisted, “Andy loved Jean-Michel like a son almost”. The nature of their relationship was at times questioned in circles around New York, but rumours of physical intimacy between the two have been dispelled by friends and family and there’s no evidence that they were lovers. “Andy, like many people, was very seduced and enamoured by Jean-Michel,” noted Suzanna Mullouk, one of Basquiat’s girlfriends, before adding, “I think he probably had a crush on him.” Whilst Warhol can be seen flirting with Basquiat in footage from the 80’s, and it’s clear the pair had a connection; it’s more likely they simply ignored convention and refused to fit neatly into any prescribed box. This, coupled with Warhol’s apparent disinterest in sex – he was once quoted as saying, “Sex is more exciting on the screen and between the pages than between the sheets” – points to a relationship that was purely platonic.
Unitled (Head), graphite, colored pencil and oilstick on paper (1980-1985) by Jean-Michel Basquiat
In their friendship, each found in the other something they were lacking, and were enamoured and intrigued by each other. Basquiat was desperate to establish himself as an artist, and sought the fame, recognition and the network to establish his critical reputation. Despite showing at Anina Nosei and Tony Shafrazi, he was never quite co-opted by the high-art circuit; with his work rejected by both the Whitney and MoMA. Warhol sponsored the young artist (he later found him a studio on Great Jones Street that would remain Basquiat’s base until his death, that gave him some much-needed stability) and plugged him into a network that helped cement his critical ascendancy. On the other hand, the well-connected Warhol had reached something of an impasse in his work, and relished the shock of innovation and energy. Schooled by the graffiti of the streets rather than the academy, Basquiat offered Warhol a fresh perspective and the injection of life Warhol was looking for to revive his ailing career. Though even after featuring in his first major show New York/New Wave, exhibited at MoMA PS1 in 1981, Basquiat still felt alienated from elite art circles in the city and this began to cause tension within his friendship with Warhol.
Of course, their relationship wasn’t entirely cynical, and according to those artists who knew the pair back in the 1980s, they had a remarkable friendship based on an a genuine mutual adoration and inspiration, and with a 30 year age difference between the two, Warhol started to take on an almost parental role in Basquiat’s life. The younger artist would reference his tumultuous childhood, which saw him attending a New York private school at one point and a homeless teenager at another, and Warhol would even visit his family in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. Friends of the pair commented on their father-son connection, including artist Fred Brathwaite (more popularly known as Fab 5 Freddy) (b. 1959), who insisted, “Andy was really giving (Basquiat) great advice. He would be like ‘Jean, did you do this? Have you spoke to your mom?” Warhol was also there to support Basquiat throughout the hard times. One of Basquiat’s girlfriends Paige Powell would turn to Warhol for advice about her partner’s addiction issues, noted in Warhol’s diary in 1983: “Oh, and Paige is upset – Jean-Michel Basquiat is really on heroin – and she was crying, telling me to do something, but what can do you?” It becomes evident through these written entries, as time went on and Basquiat was struggling to recover from his depression and worsening heroin addiction, that he started distancing himself, and Warhol noticed: “Called Jean-Michel but he hasn’t called me back, I guess he’s slowly breaking away.” Inexplicably, when the young artist turned to Warhol himself to talk about his struggles, he wrote: “Jean-Michel came by and said he was depressed and was going to kill himself and I laughed and said it was just because he hadn’t slept for four days.” Somewhat perversely, Michael Dayton Hermann of the Andy Warhol Foundation in New York, said that the artist actually photographed that moment, depicting Basquiat looking utterly downcast in a soulless hotel room.
Eventually Basquiat got his first solo exhibition at the Mary Boone Gallery in 1984. After Schnabel, who Boon signed as a young, unknown artist, shocked West Broadway by jumping ship to Pace, Basquiat showed his appreciation of Boone’s support by saying: “Don’t worry, Mary, I’m going to make you much more rich and famous than Julian ever would.” Things turned around quickly. By February 1985, Basquiat was on the cover of the New York Times Magazine. Moreover, as Basquiat’s fame grew, the two artists were able to grow creatively together and produce some of their best collaborative work. Somewhat competitive as they existed simultaneously in the New York art world, the two spurred each other on. The late 1980s were some of the most productive of Warhol’s career, resulting in some of his most paradigmatic works, such as as the legendary series of Fright Wig (1986) self-portraits.
“Jean brought back a much-needed touch of mischief that had been disappearing from the Factory agenda. But, he also brought an atmosphere of obsessive production that left its mark long after the collaborations had stopped,” artist Keith Haring (1958-1990) wrote of the pair in his insightful 1988 essay Painting The Third Mind. “For an artist, the most important and delicate relationship he can have with another artist is one in which he is constantly challenged and intimidated. This is probably the only productive quality of jealousy. The greatest pleasure is to be provoked to the point of inspiration … Painting with Jean-Michel was not easy. You had to forget any preconceived ideas of ownership and be prepared to have anything you’d done completely painted over within seconds” (Keith Haring, Painting the Third Mind, 1988, in: Exh. Cat., Milwaukee, Milwaukee Art Museum, Andy Warhol: The Last Decade, 2009, op. cit., pp. 203-04). During one of his visits to the studios of Warhol and Basquiat, Haring observed: “Each one inspired the other to out-do the next. The collaborations were seemingly effortless. It was a physical conversation happening in paint instead of words. The sense of humour, the snide remarks, the profound realizations, the simple chit-chat all happened with paint and brushes.” By that stage the pair were inseparable, and would work out together in Warhol’s studio, buy clothes, eat Chinese food, discuss rent and gallery representation, and even get manicures together: “Jean Michel and I went over to Yanna’s, and we had our nails done. And you know, my nails are getting better. The two of us would make a good story for Vogue,” said Warhol.
Self Portrait, acrylic, silkscreen ink and pencil on canvas (1966) by Andy Warhol
By the spring of 1984, as their friendship developed, both socially and creatively, the pair secretly began an artistic collaboration. Warhol would make notes in his diary about when Basquiat would come over “to work on one of (their) joint paintings”. The artists had a huge impact on each other’s practices; it was Basquiat who convinced Warhol to eschew the indolent comfort of the silkscreen and return to painting by hand — as can be seen in Arm and Hammer II (1985). They would pass a work between them for their mutual intervention, like a game of chance happening, free association, and mutual inspiration, combining each of their artistic tropes. Warhol’s contribution to the collaborations can be seen in his recognisable pop art technique and characteristic incorporation of corporate logos and advertising copy as shorthand signs for the materialistic modern psyche. In contrast, Basquiat responds with his trademark graffiti style, raw and unpredictable, an only partially successful attempt to deface them, or otherwise “humanize” them, creating a dialogue between the two personalities and aesthetics of each artist. They made several “Untitled” works together but one of their most well-known collaborative pieces is Ten Punching Bags (Last Supper) (c. 1985), commissioned by gallerist and collector Alexandre Iolas. The piece was originally intended to be displayed in Milan directly across the street from Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, somewhat playfully, as a statement against ideological oppression in the art world.
In 1985 they organized a joint exhibition Paintings shown at Tony Shafrazi Gallery in New York, showing the first fruits of their collaboration. It was slandered by critics and torn apart by the media, who saw the partnership as cynical opportunism on behalf of both artists. Among the countless negative reviews, many began claiming once again that Warhol had used Basquiat to stay relevant. Writing in the New York Times, Vivien Raynor accused Basquiat of becoming an “art-world mascot,” declaring, “The collaboration looks like one of Warhol’s manipulations … Basquiat, meanwhile, comes across as the all too willing accessory.” This caused some considerable tension between the two artists, as Warhol recalls: “I asked him if he was mad at me for that review where he got called my mascot, and he said no.” Even before the exhibition, Warhol wrote: “I’m just holding my breath for the big fight he’ll pick with me right before the show of our collaboration paintings at the Shafrazi Gallery.” It came at a particularly problematic time for Warhol whose own reputation and legacy were in great jeopardy. “Jean-Michel embraced Andy at a time when Andy was not very popular”, recalls Tamra Davis, adding, “I don’t know if Jean-Michel felt bad that he let Andy down, or if he believed what the press said that Andy was taking advantage of him.” Either way, Basquiat left New York, hurt and depressed; he wanted to keep a distance between the two artist’s works, and to be seen as one significant person and not a duo. “He didn’t return to Warhol to paint or anything”, Bruno Bischofberger recounts. The two artists barely spoke afterwards and ultimately there was no reconciliation. Warhol’s unexpected death in 1987 left a hole in New York City’s art scene and took its toll on Basquiat’s health and state of mind, consequently revealing the extent to which Warhol had been his rock. “They had a falling out and they never had a chance to repair that,” Mallouk explains, “he really went downhill after that”. Basquiat struggled to keep up with his artistic lifestyle, turning back to his destructive behaviour, and endorsing his heroin addiction to occupy himself; the following year he died from an overdose at the age of 27.
Despite a somewhat tragic end, the fact that Warhol and Basquiat were genuine friends cannot be discounted. They were an unlikely pair, from different generations and backgrounds, but the respect and admiration the artists shared for one another inspired two separately iconic bodies of work; and together, they forged one of the most important relationships within the history of twentieth century art. Seeing their works side by side, the viewer encounters a symbiotic combination of the quotidian symbols that define Warhol’s iconic Pop canon, with the impulsive graffiti vernacular of Basquiat. The friendship monumentalizes a fleeting moment when two of the most revolutionary artistic minds of the 20th century found a fruitful common ground, with Warhol laying down signature tropes and Basquiat responding with taunts and defacements. Although the authenticity of their friendship was questioned, by looking at Warhol’s diary entries, it seems like there was a genuine bond between the two. Warhol would often write words of encouragement and praise, saying in a 1984 entry: “I think he’s the best, I really do.” Much like Warhol, Basquiat first became famous for his art and then became famous for being famous, a product of the hyped-up 1980s, and a metaphor for the dangers of artistic and social excess.