JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT: THE INSPIRATION
JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT
Jean-Michel Basquiat (December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the neo-expressionism movement.
Born in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York City, the second of four children to Matilde Basquiat (née Andrades, 1934–2008) and Gérard Basquiat (1930–2013).[2] He had an older brother, Max, who died shortly before Jean-Michel's birth, and two younger sisters, Lisane (b. 1964) and Jeanine (b. 1967). His father was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and his mother was born in Brooklyn to Puerto Rican parents. He was raised Catholic.
Basquiat first achieved notoriety in the late 1970s as part of the graffiti duo SAMO, alongside Al Diaz, writing enigmatic epigrams all over Manhattan, particularly in the cultural hotbed of the Lower East Side where rap, punk, and street art coalesced into early hip-hop culture.
In May 1978, Basquiat and Diaz began spray painting graffiti on buildings in Lower Manhattan. Working under the pseudonym SAMO, they inscribed poetic and satirical advertising slogans such as "SAMO© AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO GOD."
By the early 1980s, his paintings were being exhibited in galleries and museums internationally. At 21, Basquiat became the youngest artist to ever take part in Documenta in Kassel, Germany. At 22, he became one of the youngest to exhibit at the Whitney Biennial in New York.
While not publicly identifying as bisexual, he had relationships with both men and women. His former girlfriend, Suzanne Mallouk, described his sexuality as "multichromatic," indicating attraction to various people regardless of gender.
He began snorting heroin during his career. In the last 18 months of his life, Basquiat became something of a recluse. His continued drug use is thought to have been a way of coping after the death of his friend Andy Warhol in February 1987.Despite attempts at sobriety, Basquiat died at the age of 27 of a heroin overdose at his home on Great Jones Street in Manhattan on August 12, 1988.
_INFO FROM WIKIPEDIA.ORG
Jean-Michel Basquiat's muse and long-term partner was Suzanne Mallouk, a waitress and aspiring artist he met at Night Birds bar in 1981. They had an on-again, off-again relationship until 1983, remaining friends until his death in 1988. Mallouk supported him financially while he focused on painting, and he later referred to her as "Venus" in his artwork, including "A Panel of Experts".
Jean-Michel Basquiat and Madonna had a brief but intense romantic relationship in 1982 when both were on the cusp of fame. Their relationship, though short-lived, had a significant impact on their careers, with Madonna's music and Basquiat's art being influenced by their time together. The relationship ended badly, with Basquiat reportedly demanding the return of paintings he had given her and then painting them black.
Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat were influential artists who collaborated on numerous paintings in the 1980s, blending their distinct styles and creating a unique visual language. Warhol, a leading figure of Pop Art, and Basquiat, a rising star of Neo-Expressionism, initially met in 1982 and became close friends. Their collaboration involved taking turns adding layers to canvases, often incorporating Warhol's Pop Art symbols and Basquiat's Neo-Expressionist style.
DIRECTOR'S
NOTES
This production was a labor of love...literally, it was. The Paintings of Lov-ve started out as sort of a pass-the-time-away thing when I was a news journalist at The St Louis American Newspaper one month in 2003 and co wrote a draft with a colleague at the newspaper.
Well, after a couple of starts and stops for a few weeks with a cast and rehearsals, the project was put on the shelf due to the original co writer moving to Los Angeles....Fast forward to 2020 (17 years later) and the bug to bring this to the stage was becoming a thorn waiting to be unthorned. So, I decided to dust off the old draft, add in another cowriter, Andrea Carlton and auditioned a cast (which consisted of Mike Billips who is reprising his role in the 2025 cast ) and eventually produced a first ever live virtual production of this show in the summer of 2020 through Hollywood Fringe's Stay at Home Series as well as The Minnesota and Orlando Fringe Festivals.
As a result, the show (which was initially titled "3 Way Lovve") was nominated for a 2021 Young-Howze Award for Best Long Zoom Play. Well, now in 2025, the play is finally getting its deserved moment on a physical stage after over 20 years of germinating, circulating and boiling into what has conceived to be and testament to tenacity and dedication regarding bringing a piece of art to eyes and ears of creativity.
I hope The Paintings of Lov-ve not only tells a great story about a creative's journey into what ones art can do to ones soul when its compromised and commercialized, but as to how all of us becomes affected by our talents as it relates to who we love, who we desire, who we lust and who we would live for.
-Ma'at Atkins
Director, The Paintings of Lov-ve
May 2025
ADMINISTRATION
ARTISTSIC STAFF....MAATOLOGY PRODUCTIONS
Founder and Producing Director Ma'at Atkins
Production Manager Jaron Hicks
Co-Director Andrea (Jacobs) Carlton
Production Assistant Brea McCormick
Production Notes Coordinator Tondra Mosely
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
Accountant Manager Leanne Joshua
CAST
Gregor Haley William Gene Stratford Kenwood (June 7 and 15 performances)
Tanya Neely Sharon Kenwood
Allison Turek Robyn Masters
Nathaniel Paul Culpepper Guy Forman Kenwood
Mike Billips The Art Patron/Juror
'Alif Bland William Gene Stratford Kenwood
JUNE 8, 13, and 14 performances
PLEASE GIVE US A REVEIW OF OUR SHOW AT
IT WILL DEFINITELY HELP US IN AWARDS CONSIDERATION!
PRODUCTION
Director Maat Atkins
Scenic Design Maat Atkins
Lighting/Sound Zachary Lewis
Stage Assistant Brea McCormick
SERVICES: THEATER PRODUCER...PHOTOGRAPHY...EVENT PRODUCER
PRODUCTION IMAGES
IMAGES PROVIDED BY MICAH BIJON CONTACT EMAIL: BIJONMICAH@GMAIL.COM
THANKS
ARTEGO (GOD)
Micah Bijon
Cast of Paintings of Lovve
Michael Casey
Pam Eberhardt]
Sidney Edwards
Stephanie Feury and Staff
Frankie Galora
Jataun Gilbert
Andrea (Jacobs) Carlton
Matthew Quinn
Kenny Johnston
Brea McCormick
CJ Merriman
Jonathan Tipton Meyers
Tondra Mosely
Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Samuels
Office Depot (Jocelyn, Vine Street Location)
Andy Prescott
Zander Raphael
Bertha Rodriguez
Robin Schultz
Chris Smith
Jack Zullo
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