Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child

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Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTamra Davis
Produced by
  • Tamra Davis
  • David Koh
  • Lilly Bright
  • Stanley Buchthal
  • Alexis Manya Spraic
StarringJean-Michel Basquiat
Cinematography
Edited byAlexis Manya Spraic
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed byArthouse Films
Release dates
  • January 25, 2010 (2010-01-25) (Sundance)
  • July 21, 2010 (2010-07-21) (United States)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child is a 2010 documentary film directed by Tamra Davis. It crosscuts excerpts from Davis' on-camera interview with the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and anecdotes from his friends and associates. The film was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2010.[1]

Background[edit]

Tamra Davis was working in a Los Angeles art gallery in 1986 when she filmed an interview with her friend, Jean-Michel Basquiat.[2] After Basquiat's death from a heroin overdose in 1988, Davis stored the footage away. In 2008, Davis was encouraged by gallerists at the Museum of Contemporary Art to do something with the footage.[3] She began interviewing friends and associates of Basquiat's and pieced together a documentary.[2] The film is titled after an article about Basquiat written by art critic Rene Ricard for Artforum in 1981.[4]

Synopsis[edit]

In the beginning of his 10-year career, Jean-Michel Basquiat was known for his graffiti art under the alias SAMO in Manhattan's Lower East Side in the late 1970s. He sold his first painting to Debbie Harry for $200, dated Madonna, and became a close friend and collaborator of Andy Warhol's.[1] Basquiat was launched into international stardom for his bebop-influenced neoexpressionist work. However, soon his cult status began to overshadow his art.[5] As a successful black artist, Basquiat was constantly confronted by racism and misconceptions. The Radiant Child draws from insider interviews and archival footage of Basquiat's telling his story in his own words.[1]

People interviewed[edit]

Reviews[edit]

The film received positive reviews, however, critics noted that it doesn’t fully explore why Basquiat's work was so "innovative in the New York art scene of the 1980s."[6] Slant Magazine wrote that "you see the paintings and hear people praise them, without the space to consider them in between, " adding: "The film's a decent introduction to a man who walked the world of SoHo, CBGB, and Andy Warhol's final days, but the more you know going into the movie, the more you sense it leaving out."[7]

The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "Naturally, the doc is well illustrated with examples of Basquiat’s work, some of which are little-seen. But even those who dispute his place in art history should come away with a feeling for the man whose brief career is a textbook example of a flame burning too bright to last."[8]

The Artforum wrote: "The movie gives a sense of how driven he was, how it seemed as if he aimed, by sheer volume, to assure himself a place in the pantheon of twentieth-century painters, when in fact he achieved that position by virtue of a necessarily smaller number of masterpieces, produced in the early and late stages of his heartbreakingly short career."[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Sundance '10 | Tamra Davis Revisits the Life of Jean-Michel Basquiat". IndieWire. January 21, 2010. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  2. ^ a b "Q&A: Director Tamra Davis Talks Basquiat and Her New Documentary". The FADER. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  3. ^ Meter, William Van (2010-07-19). "Asked & Answered | Tamra Davis". T Magazine. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  4. ^ Kane, James (October 14, 2010). "Review: Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child". St. Louis Magazine. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  5. ^ Pinnington, Mike (January 25, 2018). "Close-Up on Tamra Davis's "Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child"". MUBI. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  6. ^ Kendricks, Neil (February 7, 2010). "Art world makes a run at Sundance Film Festival". The San Diego Union-Tribune.
  7. ^ Cutler, Aaron (July 19, 2010). "Review: Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  8. ^ AP (2010-10-14). "Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child — Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  9. ^ Taubin, Amy (July 20, 2010). "Amy Taubin on Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child". Artforum. Retrieved 2021-08-30.

External links[edit]

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