To Repel Ghosts (1986), by Jean-Michel Basquiat

Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks is an intriguing exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum that features a collection of notebooks by Jean-Michel Basquiat. These creative pieces consist of sketches, poetry fragments, and notes associated with everyday life, culture, and society. This exhibition is on view from April 3 to August 23, 2015.

One of the pieces from Basquiat that is interesting was To Repel Ghosts (1986), which is made with oil on canvas. The canvas is completely washed with a Prussian Blue-like color and the words “to repel ghosts” are sloppily written in thick, uppercase letters with white paint–and these words lean towards the middle-left of the canvas. On top of the words, the artist smudged black paint (slightly contaminated by white paint from the words) horizontally. The words are partially smudged, so that the audience is able to read the words from close. Finally, a wooden frame snugly hugs the canvas around its perimeter.

When I first looked at this piece, I initially thought that the artist attempted to use the words “to repel ghosts” to depict a message about social issues. Basquiat has produced a number of critiques about racism and injustice in society though his sketches and poems. Relating to society, the “ghosts” may represent figures who are a threat to the community, such as those who cause problems like injustice and racism. The process of trying to “repel” may mean to rebel against such threats in society. These possible theories came from the way the words were painted on the artwork–since the smudges of contaminated paint may have represented the desire to eliminate threats like ghosts.

Overall, I would say that To Repel Ghosts is a successful piece. Despite the simplicity of the piece itself, it manages to catch the eye of the audience. The smudging of the words possibly made the artwork more interesting to look at, because viewers may be naturally curious to find out what is behind the obscured words.

In addition, To Repel Ghosts is a piece that perfectly unifies with the other pieces in this exhibition. Some of the other artworks in the exhibition include torn, yellowed notebook papers that consist of sketches, poems, grocery lists, notes and phone numbers. The writings and drawings on some these lined notebook papers are carelessly or quickly sketched with blue, red or black ink. As the viewers carefully read the writings on some of these pieces, they will notice that these notes and poetry fragments deal with issues about society–such as topics concerning the rights of Native Americans and Africans Americans. Similarly to To Repel Ghosts, most of the pieces exhibited in this collection express ideas about the problems present in society, and they all unite together to form one large theme about the community.

Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks will be on view at the Brooklyn Museum  April 3–August 23, 2015.