Fine art has always been present in our modern consumerist society, with iconic paintings such as da Vinci’s Mona Lisa (1503) or van Gogh’s Starry Night (1889) being plastered on various clothing items, accessories, and other products. A more modern artist whose works have also joined store shelves in recent years is Jean-Michel Basquiat, a neo-expressionist artist from the 1980s.[1] We can find his paintings on shirts, phone cases, purses, and shoes, to name a few. However, many fans of Basquiat believe that the late artist would have wanted his work to only be displayed in museums and not widely produced and sold. In this essay, I argue that the mass production of Basquiat’s art goes against the very ideas they promote and ignores what the artist originally intended. The two works of his I will be analyzing are Pez Dispenser (1984), one of his most popularly used paintings, and Equals Pi (1982), which was recently featured in a Tiffany & Co. ad campaign. These two paintings, and many of his others, contain important messages that many people are unaware of, and it is a shame that they are often used as cheap designs.
           
When looking at products that have used Basquiat’s art, his 1984 Pez Dispenser (fig. 1) is one of the more common choices by designers, with the crowned dinosaur adorning many products from clothing items to accessories for technology (fig. 2-4). The image of the crown is a symbol Basquiat uses throughout many of his works, and while there is no fixed meaning, it often denotes positions of power and things that the artist himself believed were great.[2] The dinosaur in the painting could represent an actual Pez candy dispenser, which often depicts heads of famous characters or other popular culture figures. Basquiat’s art is very figurative and abstract, often leading viewers to interpret his work differently. Jordana Saggese writes in her article that his style has, “been interpreted as postmodernist -- that is, as an attack on hierarchies of modernism or on the division between art and popular culture.”[3] With that in mind, we could interpret the dinosaur wearing a crown in Pez Dispenser as Basquiat critiquing consumer culture and social inequalities created by the elite class. It symbolizes the divide rich celebrities create between themselves and their fans or the lower class. It is ironic then that this is one of his most widely used pieces by famous designers and corporations for their products. When brands such as Dr. Martens or Coach use this painting for their products that cost somewhere in the hundreds, even thousands, it goes against the very ideals Basquiat originally had when creating the piece.

Basquiat was known for not wanting his art to be monetized and found the practice absurd. He has felt “deeply offended by the stupidity of the art world” and sometimes criticizes himself in his paintings for participating in that culture.[4] The constant monetization of his work disregards the artist’s original desires and disrespects him instead of paying homage to him. Slapping Basquiat’s works on products disrespect his ideals towards capitalism, as well as his anti-racist rhetoric and hard work towards exemplifying black culture. Some of his works focus on representing the black body and reinventing what it means to be black in today’s society. Basquiat has painted black bodies as dismembered parts brought about by violent acts[5] -- perhaps lynchings or beatings -- and has painted the body inside out as a way to “unmask” blackness.[6] Viewers of his paintings are forced to consider how black bodies have been treated, are still being treated, and how this can affect the black community and their identity. It also shows how the art world tends to steal from black talent and then exclude them entirely. Works like these can not so easily be placed on tote bags and mugs, especially by brands like Urban Outfitters who are known for being problematic and creating offensive products.[7] Presenting Basquiat’s works for profit without acknowledging its critical messages is a tremendous mockery towards the artist and his efforts in making the art world more inclusive for the black community.

Another example of Basquiat’s art being appropriated and used for profit is the appearance of his Equals Pi (1982) (fig. 5) in a recent ad campaign for Tiffany & Co. The ad features famous couple and music artists Beyonce and Jay-Z showcasing their relationship and donning elegant jewelry with the painting in the background (fig. 6). Since his death, many of Basquiat’s paintings have remained in private collections with minimal access[8], including Equals Pi. The Tiffany ad was the first time the painting was seen in several decades. Executive vice president of Tiffany & Co., Alexandre Arnault, believes the painting was possibly created as an homage to the company since the blue Basquiat used is similar to the iconic “Tiffany blue.”[9] Friends of Basquiat, however, are deeply offended and feel that the inclusion of his painting in the ad is an insult to the artist. In an Insider article, Alexis Adler, who once lived with the artist, said, “I’d seen the ad a couple days ago and I was horrified… the commercialization and commodification of Jean and his art at this point -- it’s really not what Jean was about.”[10] As mentioned earlier, Basquiat was openly anti-capitalist and most likely would not have agreed to have his art displayed this way in an ad.

Regarding Tiffany & Co., a former assistant of Basquiat, Stephen Torton, claimed that Tiffany would probably not have allowed the artist to enter one of their stores or buy their jewelry.[11] Torton also refutes Arnault’s claim that Basquiat did not have the brand in mind when choosing the blue color for the painting.[12] Adler and Torton are not the only ones outraged by the use of Equals Pi in the Tiffany ad, and many agree that this is not what Basquiat would have wanted. It is distasteful of Tiffany to take a painting that was hidden from the public for over thirty years, only to feature it in an ad instead of letting it be displayed in a museum. 

Many people today have a complete disregard for Basquiat and his art, appreciating it as cool designs for a t-shirt but not for the important meanings they carry. Through his paintings, Basquiat wanted to improve inclusion for the black community within the art world, better represent the black body, and display the trauma and experiences that he and many other African-Americans have faced in their lives. Many brands claim to honor the late artist while ignoring his original wishes and using his works for profit. The treatment of Basquiat is one of many examples of just how easily black excellence has been appropriated by our society.