New 4K Restoration
An intimate elegy for a once-in-a-generation artistic phenomenon—Jean-Michel Basquiat.
No painter electrified the 1980s art scene like Jean-Michel Basquiat, a New York street kid whose visionary blending of expressionism, pop art, and the radical new aesthetics of hip-hop and graffiti propelled him to international fame before a tragic early demise. Julian Schnabel’s stunning debut charts Basquiat’s dizzying rise and fall with an insider’s eye for authentic details of the downtown arts demimonde as well as a fellow postmodernist’s interest in the dream-like and surreal. Jeffrey Wright’s brilliant introductory performance provides trenchant insight into the artist’s creative passions and personal demons. Cemented by David Bowie as a spot-on Andy Warhol, Basquiat’s supporting cast is a murderers’ row of Hollywood legends and art lovers (Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Benicio del Toro, Parker Posey, Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe) lending their talents to one of the high points of '90s independent cinema. [107 min; drama, biography; English]
After the screening, join Eskenazi Museum Arts Events Coordinator Jada Collins for a guided tour of the Museum's Icons & Identity program. The tour begins in the museum's Martha and David Moore Prints, Drawings, and Photographs Study, with a special viewing of a selection of Andy Warhol prints focused on portraiture. Guests are invited to stay for an optional art-making activity, creating their own Pop Art self-portraits in the Roehm Family Art-making Studio. Jada will meet anyone interested in taking the tour at the Hoagy Carmichael statue directly after the screening. From there, the group will walk to the museum and begin the tour and program.
"A stylish and interesting look at a moment in New York City's art world where everyone stopped to look at one person, who never seemed to quite fit." — Blake Davis, KFOR Channel 4 News
"Wright is brilliant." — Nell Minow, Movie Mom
"Most movies stress the agony of art ... Schnabel's exceptional film honors his friend by showing the act of creation as a natural high." — Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Any film screened at IU Cinema may contain content that viewers find sensitive or upsetting. Visit our Audience Advisories page to learn more.
