Air Power 1984

Editor: Here we have Jean-Michel Basquiat's "Air Power," a mixed-media piece from 1984. The immediate effect is striking: it feels like a vibrant visual onslaught. How would you begin to decode this piece? Curator: One must begin with the foundational elements. Observe the dynamism created by the juxtaposition of textures, the rawness of the brushstrokes against the calculated geometry in areas, especially in the fragmented grids. Note the stark palette. Are the colours supporting or undermining any central element? Editor: That's interesting. I was caught up in trying to interpret the imagery, like the figure on the left or the face, without fully considering how the artist uses the paint itself. Is there a system? Curator: Indeed. The composition adheres to an internal logic; it's a visual architecture predicated on controlled chaos. Consider the vertical and horizontal lines, do they function merely as a skeleton to support these figures and images, or something more? Is Basquiat deconstructing representation by disassembling its basic visual elements? Editor: The 'skeleton' feels accurate, and perhaps limiting the potential of any representational aspect, even stifling. Does the scale of the figure on the left dominate the rest of the images and signs in the piece, in your opinion? Curator: It anchors the composition, undoubtedly. Its height and prominent position guide the eye. But observe the relationship of lines that bisect the frame around that figure. Do those lines act as some sort of support, constraint, or cage, considering that the figure and grid are bisected? That's where the true reading of the piece rests, in that subtle push-and-pull. Editor: It is as though the figure, no matter its placement, is caught up within a symbolic order or series of limitations, as represented by that framework. Thank you, this has really altered my initial understanding. Curator: Absolutely, and in that alteration, there comes an advancement of how one approaches viewing art, as a continuous, cyclical process.