Big Sun 1984

Jean-Michel Basquiat made this painting, Big Sun, sometime in his short but blazing life, and it just sings with process. The orange ground feels scrubbed, almost like a fresco, then he comes in with these sharp, graphic marks. Look at the square containing a circle labelled "Equator." It's like he's diagramming the world, but with this raw, almost childlike energy. The texture is key. You can almost feel the grit of the pigment and see the speed of his hand. It's not about hiding the process, it's about laying it bare. That scribbled line that cuts across the bottom feels almost like a dare. Basquiat reminds me of Cy Twombly, another artist who wasn't afraid to let the messiness of thought become part of the work. Ultimately, this painting is about how seeing is always a form of thinking, and how art thrives in the space of uncertainty, not in the realm of answers.