Flash in Naples 1983

Jean-Michel Basquiat must have made this ‘Flash in Naples’ with acrylic, oil paint stick, and a crayon, as well as his full body, mind, and energy. The red figure to the right stands rigidly; a cartoony character with the energy logo on his chest, while the red figure to the left seems to be running so fast he’s almost disappearing. The background is a network of chartreuse lines with a few arrows pointing somewhere, or nowhere. I imagine Jean-Michel channeling his inner superhero and also his inner child. I can see him wrestling with the desire to be free and powerful and the feeling of being trapped by societal expectations. He’s made a comic, he’s made his mark, a flash, a zap, an unforgettable blast. Like Guston, he embraces the so-called lowbrow, and like Twombly, he finds poetry in scribbles. Basquiat has us look twice at everything we think we know. Bravo.