Time Decorated: The Musical Influences of Jean-Michel Basquiat is a three-part video series dedicated to the artist’s lifelong interest in music. Hosted by The Broad, a Los Angeles contemporary art museum that is home to an extensive collection of Basquiat’s paintings, the series will include the segments “Jazz and Bebop“, “Punk and No Wave,” and “Bebop to Hip-Hop via Basquiat.” The museum’s founding director Joanne Heyler explains:
“The Broad’s new series, Time Decorated, offers nuanced insights from commentators whose expertise and knowledge in jazz and bebop, hip hop, and afro-punk illuminate music’s bedrock role in Basquiat’s life and art. The series explores the wealth of music references in his paintings, and the themes of justice and resistance inseparable from those references. As the museum with the deepest representation of Basquiat’s work in the United States, the Broad strives to present programming to bring to our audience a clear understanding of his achievements.”
“Jazz and Bebop” is the first in the series. Produced, co-directed, and written by Alyssa Lein Smith of Quincy Jones Productions, with input from Jones himself, the first segment is hosted by the three-time GRAMMY-nominated artist/producer/multi-instrumentalist Terrace Martin. Martin delves into Basquiat’s interest in jazz, especially his love for bebop and the musician’s Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Using the paintings Horn Players, Untitled 1981, and With Strings II, three of thirteen pieces from the museum’s collection now on display, Martin shows the vital interplay between these musical interests and Basquiat’s visual art.
You can watch “Jazz and Bebop” below. Additionally, stay tuned for “Punk and No Wave,” hosted by tattoo artist, illustrator, and filmmaker James Spooner set to air on January 28th. During the temporary closure of The Broad due to COVID-19, the museum has introduced new ways to present its unparalleled collection to the public, including Talks & Conversations, Artist Spotlights, and Family Art Workshops.
