''The Death of Michael Stewart'', known as ''Defacement'', is a painting created by American artist

Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved fame as part of the graffiti duo SAMO, alongside Al ...

in 1983. The artwork is Basquiat's response to anti-black racism and

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

. It memorializes the death of Michael Stewart at the hands of

New York City Transit Police The New York City Transit Police Department was a law enforcement agency in New York City that existed from 1953 (with the creation of the New York City Transit Authority) to 1995, and is currently part of the NYPD. The roots of this organizat ...

for writing graffiti in the subway.

Background

Aspiring artist and model Michael Stewart was arrested by transit police for writing graffiti in the First Avenue station of the

New York subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...

on September 15, 1983. He was brought to

Bellevue Hospital Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States b ...

hogtied and in critical condition. After thirteen days in a coma, Stewart died from his injuries on September 28, 1983. His death sparked outrage concerning police brutality. Jean-Michel Basquiat was deeply affected by the story and said to friends that "it could have been me." He had started off as a street artist writing graffiti as

SAMO Samo (–) founded the first recorded political union of Slavic tribes, known as Samo's Empire (''realm'', ''kingdom'', or ''tribal union''), stretching from Silesia to present-day Slovakia, ruling from 623 until his death in 658. According to ...

. Basquiat was not close to Stewart, but they shared a circle of friends. At the time of his death, Stewart was dating Basquiat's former girlfriend,

Suzanne Mallouk Suzanne Mallouk (born September 10, 1960) is a Canadian-born painter, psychiatrist, and psychoanalyst based in New York City. She is best known for being amongst a core of East Village creatives in the 1980s and for her relationship with artis ...

. Basquiat painted ''Defacement'' on the wall of artist

Keith Haring Keith Allen Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual language". Much of his wor ...

NoHo NoHo, short for North of Houston Street (as contrasted with SoHo), is a primarily residential neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is bounded by Mercer Street to the west and the Bowery to the east, ...

studio days after Stewart's death. Haring cut the artwork out of the

drywall Drywall (also called plasterboard, dry lining, wallboard, sheet rock, gypsum board, buster board, custard board, and gypsum panel) is a panel made of calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum), with or without additives, typically extruded between thick ...

when he moved out in 1985. He had

Sam Havadtoy Sam Havadtoy (born August 4, 1952) is a British born Hungarian-American interior designer, contemporary painter and owner of Gallery 56. Early life Havadtoy was born in London from a Romanian-born ethnic Hungarian father and a Hungarian moth ...

add an ornate frame a year after Basquiat's death in 1989. It was hanging above Haring's bed at the time of his death in 1990.

Analysis

''Defacement'' depicts two pink-faced policemen in blue uniform, one with sharp predator teeth, with batons clobbering a black silhouette. The word "¿DEFACEMENT©?" is written above them. The shadowy figure is Stewart, but it could also represent any black man who has been brutalized by the police. The tags of graffiti artists Daze and

Zephyr In European tradition, a zephyr is a light wind or a west wind, named after Zephyrus, the Greek god or personification of the west wind. Zephyr may also refer to: Arts and media Fiction Fiction media * ''Zephyr'' (film), a 2010 Turkish ...

are on the artwork. While Stewart was still in a coma, artist

David Wojnarowicz David Michael Wojnarowicz ( (September 14, 1954 – July 22, 1992) was an American painter, photographer, writer, filmmaker, performance artist, songwriter/recording artist, and AIDS activist prominent in the East Village art scene. He incorp ...

created a flyer for a rally protesting Stewart's then "near-murder" in

Union Square Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

on September 26, 1983. The flyer portrays the officers with skeletal faces beating a handcuffed black man with batons. It was taped all around downtown which may have inspired Basquiat's ''Defacement'' painting. In the years since ''Defacement'' was created, it has taken critical resonance with the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

movement.

Exhibitions

''Defacement'' was never sold and has seldom been displayed in public. It is owned by Nina Clemente, Keith Haring's goddaughter and daughter of the Italian painter Francesco Clement. In 2016, Chaédria LaBouvier, an independent curator, partnered with her alma mater

Williams College Museum of Art The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) is a college-affiliated art museum in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is located on the campus of Williams College, and is close to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) and the Clark Ar ...

in Massachusetts to bring the painting to the campus. It hung in the Reading Room, which is part of the college's first library. In 2019, LaBouvier organized ''Basquiat's 'Defacement': The Untold Story'' at the

Guggenheim Museum The Guggenheim Museums are a group of museums in different parts of the world established (or proposed to be established) by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Museums in this group include: Locations Americas * The Solomon R. Guggenhei ...

in New York. The exhibit centered around the painting and the reaction of the downtown community to the death of Michael Stewart. Artwork by Stewart was displayed for the first time.

Background

Analysis

Exhibitions

See also

References

Further reading