IN HONOR OF JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT

About the show

Roger Guenveur Smith creates and performs an intimate solo work celebrating his friend and artistic collaborator Jean-Michel Basquiat. The two artists first connected in Los Angeles during the 1980s, when Basquiat was painting in a Venice studio and Smith was performing as a rapper on the club circuit. Smith's politically engaged soliloquies became incorporated into Basquiat's visual work, leading to Smith's creation of the character Smiley in Spike Lee's film Do the Right Thing, a role directly inspired by Basquiat's artistic vision. The performance is accompanied by live sound design from Marc Anthony Thompson, who has long collaborated with Smith on projects exploring the lives and legacies of influential African American figures and artists. Running approximately 60 minutes without intermission, the work honors both the artistic brilliance and the personal friendship between these two cultural figures.