Basquiat Stripped

(J-MB in Deep Thought, by DWats)

Take a moment to recall when you saw your first nude Black male whether in real life, in a painting, a photograph, sculpture, or any other medium. I’ve seen a number of unclothed men in private but never paid attention to them in the art form. That all changed when I had the opportunity to be up front and center with rare candid photos of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Reclining Nude, taken by Paige Powell, the ex-girlfriend of the Haitian-American artist. (see images nine paragraphs down)

The series of Basquiat's black & white 35mm, stark-naked portraits adorned the white walls of Suzanne Geiss Co. – an art gallery located on Grand Street in NYC. At first glance, my mouth dropped to the floor because Basquiat average body type was spread eagle from ceiling to floor, corner to corner. "Is that his scrotum? All-righty then," I thought to myself. I didn't go to the art gallery to judge and examine Basquiat's package, I was actually there for the panel discussion — Looking at the Black Male Nude in Art.

The panel was quite impressive.

Shout out to Jay Z: Stick with Barneys!

  

After word got out that a 19 year-old Black American man filed a $5 million claim against high-end retailer Barneys because he was racially profiled and retained in NYPD’s custody after purchasing a $350 belt, the news feeds of social media sites got flooded with rage. Turns out that Twitter and Facebook fans of Jay Z, aka Shawn Carter, wants the Brooklyn, N.Y.-born rapper to end his partnership with Barneys over the matter.

To be honest, I really think everyone is overreacting. Why is it that every time that something goes down in Black American communities Black celebrities have to be scrutinized in the process?