FIVE ON THE BLACK HAND SIDE: THE BASQUIAT STILL FLY @ 55 EDITION
Describing themselves as:
Team Woke
Hard Working
Let’s Get It!
The Odd Couple
"F" Up The Game (inspired by SAMO)
Ayanna & Ja'nell are the co-founders and co-curators of Basquiat: Still Fly @ 55, a project examining the artistic and cultural legacy of Haitian-Puerto Rican artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat. Shifting the focus from the popular narrative of Basquiat as an iconic drug-fueled 80s art star, Basquiat: Still Fly deeply explores Basquiat’s relationship to Jazz and Hip-Hop, Afro-Diasporic Studies, Queer Studies, and Black visual culture through a series of public conversations.
In the spirit of (re)writing the narratives of Black artists, Ayanna & Ja'nell collaborated with AfroCROWD and The Black Lunch Table to host the project's first event, a Wikipedia Edit-a-thon, at the Museum of Modern Art. They followed this event with a thought-provoking Twitter conversation between noted ethnomusicologist and professor, Fredara Mareva Hadley and legendary writer and musician, Greg Tate.
This evening, the project will host its third event, “Basquiat and Contemporary Queer Art” at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. This #veryqueer #verybasquiat #verydiasporic #veryblack conversation will feature Kimberly Drew, Juliana Huxtable, André D. Singleton, Dr. Jordana Saggese, and
Dr. David Clinton Wills. Though sold out, you can watch the conversation on livestream.
When not working on Basquiat Still Fly, Ayanna is a Master’s candidate in the Africana Studies program at New York University (NYU) and a MacCracken Fellow at the university's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Ja'nell is also a Master’s candidate in the Africana Studies program at NYU, with a concentration in Museum Studies. She also is an Adjunct Professor at The College of New Rochelle teaching courses in fashion, film, music and critical race studies.
In this edition of “Five on the Black Hand Side,” Ayanna & Ja'nell share some SAMO inspired music, the literature you need to read to “read” Basquiat, a film that captures Basquiat's early years as an artist, a piece of literary art inspired by Basquiat’s work, and a sacred space.
Music. “Basquiat Ghostwriter” by Yasiin Bey
“The use of the negative image (or should I say “x-ray image”) in this music video inspired me to choose Basquiat's silhouette as a theme in our promotional designs.” - Ja’nell
Literature.
“Dr. Jordana Moore Saggese has done some seriously thorough research in Reading Basquiat. She's kind of a big deal and also a fly girl! My kind of woman!” - Ja’nell
Film. Downtown 81
“ I chose this film because I love me some Glenn O'Brien (writer & producer of the film); he is always reinventing himself. Plus, I used to be an intern at Interview magazine, where he was a former Editor.”
::some random thoughts on GB::
“I think he was my uncle in my past life. I am awaiting his invitation for me to appear on his Apple TV show, Tea at The Beatrice.” - Ja’nell
Art. The poem, “& Later” by Adrian Matejka inspired by Basquiat’s 1984 painting, Trumpet
“I picked this poem because my friend is on a listserv to receive a daily poem and sent this one to me. I was enamored by the author's words and the fact that an academic professor was writing poetry on the side. So, I reached out to Matejka and found out what he teaches; it really inspired me to think about the ways in which higher education can incorporate more art into the classroom.” - Ayanna
Space. Basquiat’s Gravesite
“I picked Basquiat's grave because for me graves are a space of peace and rest. If there is one person I could speak to dead or alive, it would be Jean-Michel. Therefore, his grave is an important space for me.
In Caribbean culture, those who came before stay with us. Basquiat's spirit is still alive and walking through African Diasporic communities across the globe.” - Ayanna
...and this concludes “Five on the Black Hand Side: The Basquiat Still Fly @ 55 Edition”...
Photo Credit. Terrence Jennings
