no. should i have?
really. huh. too bad.
rene's been telling me about your work.
is this finished yet?
when's your show?
i haven't decided yet. rene, you wanna come over to the studio tomorrow. i wanna make a painting of you.
see you at your opening. thanks.
this is rene ricard.
hey, jean, i'd like you to meet my wife. and my parents. mom, dad, this is jean michel basquiat.
you finish it.
go on, take it.
i like the one with the dragon's heads a lot. but the black one's filled up with too many heads.  i'd take some of them out. i think you're painting too fast. i wouldn't put in so many heads. let it breathe a bit.
you're right. it's your version. you should come over to the studio sometime.
no, i wanted to make a painting of you.
hey jean! it'll never fit.
you better take a look. why's your door so small? the ceilings are sixteen feet and your door's the size of a mouse hole!
you doing anything right now?
let's get out of here.
this is painted on a backdrop from the kabuki theater in japan. i painted it after joseph beuys died. a rebirth painting. i felt like he could've painted it, or maybe someone else was painting it instead of me. the chinese calligraphers used to change their name mid-career so they could start over as someone else.
of what?
no. it's one of the few times i feel good. i used to have to go to work and cook every
you're asking me this because of the 'lapdog' remark. i read that. the person that wrote that has the compassion of a housefly. that's your enemy, not your audience. your audience hasn't even been born yet. it's a lie that art is popular. the only thing popular about it is that it's written about in newspapers. i'm surprised when anybody comes to my openings. there're about ten people on the planet who know anything about painting, and andy's one of them.
as long as i've known andy, he's never asked me for anything except to speak to you about getting off drugs. he's painted my picture, we've eaten dinner in god knows how many places together. but he doesn't care about me. he cares about you. you're the only person he cares about. he's your friend. fuck that article. you want a toasted bagel with cream cheese?
alright. i'll be right up.
where's jean?