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Original fine art, trash art Untitled (Louis Armstrong), created by the American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1985. It is a drawing made with ballpoint pen and pencil on paper.
Artwork Details
Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960–1988)
Title: Untitled (Louis Armstrong) (also known simply as Sans titre (Louis Armstrong))
Year: 1985
Medium: Ballpoint pen and pencil on paper
Dimensions: Approximately 30.3 x 22.6 cm (12 x 9 inches)
Context and Themes
The artwork makes specific reference to the legendary jazz musician Louis Armstrong, whose name is repeated multiple times on the lower left of the drawing. Basquiat frequently incorporated text, symbols, and references to Black cultural figures and histories in his work, exploring themes of race, identity, and social commentary. He was a great admirer of jazz musicians like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Armstrong, and music was a constant presence in his life and art.
The drawing features Basquiat's characteristic style of raw, expressive lines and anatomical diagrams, including a reference to the "Pectoralis T" muscle, a common motif in his works that often relates to his interest in anatomy and mortality. The crossed-out words are also a deliberate technique used by the artist to make the viewer notice them more. |
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