After a long year of research, we tracked down countless insights into the Tiffany blue question and other great inspirations of Jean-Michel Basquiat's greatest works. What we found was truly surprising, and inspiring.
[Legal Disclaimer: This is a fictional, satirical story – made-up on the 1 year anniversary of outrage over the misconnection and misconceptions around Basquiat’s use of the Panatone 1837 color known as Tiffany Blue or robin’s egg blue in his 1982 painting Equals Pi. The Basquiat painting, purchased by Tiffany’s art-addicted chairman for $15-20 million somewhere around 2018 or 2019, became the center-piece of celebrating love in a new commercial campaign featuring Jay-Z and Beyonce, two iconic figures in 21st century American culture, and only their love for each other is stronger than their brands, persona and image. But in the process of creating the campaign, analyzing the public response, and digging in a bit more to the details – we learned there is so much more to the controversy and backstory. I will happily and respectfully take this down at the request of any of Basquiat’s circle, those who truly know the history. But not from Tiffany’s or any art gallery critic, bloated commercial savage picking at the bones of a young artist, whose life and works were filled with genius. Whose story is getting commercially skewed and that is a shame.]
One year ago, the crown jewel of the global luxury goods and jewelry empire, Tiffany’s kicked off their About Love campaign. Today on that campaign’s first birthday, its worth revisiting. Brands become iconic when their logo, their colors, speak without saying a word, when their image, power and persona reach far beyond any product or service that they represent. These iconic brands become such based on their value, stickiness, following by their customers, not their marketing, flashy colors and slogans. But at some point all of that gets mixed up and history writes itself, with work needed to right history many times.
The About Love campaign from August 23rd of last year is putting a first birthday candle on their cake today, and in just one year the campaign has made a lot of noise for the iconic brand Tiffany. Trademarked in 1998, you can be sued for using the iconic blue color that Tiffany lays sole claim to, Pantone number 1837 (cataloged after the year of the brand’s founding). I guess if Basquiat were to paint Equals Pi today and attempt to sell the work, Tiffany lawyers would be hounding him and likely sue for damages, require him to change the tone of the work. Kind of awkward to own a color, almost as awkward as relating that color in a great work of art to a commercial brand. Interesting isn’t it when all the controversy over the About Love campaign started when Tiffany used the Basquiat work as its centerpiece, not a massive yellow jewel or a relationship between two strong African American icons, but a painting from 40 years earlier. Much noise was made over how Basquiat may have felt with the use of his work in such a way, or the fact that a billionaire and his brand have proposed that Tiffany in fact was connected to the work originally.
Those who knew Basquiat (I did not, but feel close to him after all of this research) thought this was yet another horrific commercialization exploitation at its worst and lauded Tiffany’s for their audacity in associating Basquiat’s work with their brand. At first I applauded Basquiat’s confidants for speaking up, calling out the Tiffany’s sell-out strategy for what it was. But then I learned the truth, and everything turned upside down.
Basquiat sought stardom from an early age, and knew he would achieve it as certain as he knew it would not last. What we didn’t know and likely still don’t is why. The most important question, the most difficult question to answer. Why did he seek fame? Did he even seek fame at all?
We also don’t know why he used a robin’s egg shade in his 1982 work Equals Pi, crafted at the height of his creative genius. Could he have been inspired by Tiffany, or are the facts being skewed as we so do to revise history for commercial exploitation?
I sought out many of Basquiat’s inner circle from the early 1980s to get to the bottom of this, putting on the investigative journalist hat and using social media to its fullest. I zoomed, snapchatted, instagrammed and Twitter twattered the likes of Al Diaz (graffiti partner in crime of early Basquiat SAMO fame), Basquiat’s assistant at the time of his greatest works in 1982 Stephen Torton, Basquiat’s flatmate and crashmates, love flings from the times of freedom (Suzanne Mallouk, Alexis Adler), I even sought insights from fellow artists of the time – the Keith Haring estate was another great resource. Here is what I learned about Basquiat’s many famous works and their inspiration.
Photographers and assistants from Warhol’s studio where he and Basquiat partnered in the mid-to-late 1980s also helped with this expose’. They were so key pointing out the obvious, for Basquiat’s admiration of Warhol was only about the big box brands. When evaluating the work from their collaboration the truth begins to show itself. Known for years is Warhol’s unique ability to highlight iconic brands – Campbell’s soup as the exhibit A – as his subject matter. But working with Basquiat, they brought to life unique pieces inspired by General Electric, Puma, Paramount, Arm & Hammer, Chanel among others in countless paintings. Warhol was overcome with genius in his unique ability to transform everyday logos and advertisements into colorful, moving pieces of art, he imparted this on Basquiat and it was forever a key to his style. This was something he shared with Basquiat, but turns out, was part of Basquiat’s strategy all along (more to come there). Known as a painter of powerful expression, Basquiat truly wanted to be a marketing or advertising executive, which is seen in the color palate and meaning behind countless Basquiat works. Anybody who wanted to be anybody in advertising back in the 1980s – New York is where you flocked to. Tiffany was in fact 100% correct when they surmised the connection and inspiration behind Equals Pi being their blue hue and brand. That has been confirmed, but now we find countless other connections tying famous Basquiat works to brands we all know and love. And when you get to the bottom of this, you can’t unsee it.
I even went to the Material Girl herself, she was so gracious to help. Basquiat’s ex Madonna was instrumental in this, and I think her for the great insights provided. She was clear and resolute that from the first moment she met Basquiat, from the first gazing look into his creative eyes, she knew he longed with every bone in his body to become a commercial empire, inspired by branding and marketing, nothing else. Their first date, you guessed it, was at a McDonalds in the East Village, for Basquiat raved about the golden arches, the quality, service, the American dream. Madonna snickered, “I ordered the Big Mac, and it was the last time I ate one of those disgusting things they try to pass off as food. You get what you pay for. But even then, I will never forget how Jean-Michel’s presence made even a Big Mac feel elevated, he was special in so many ways, he had that secret sauce so to speak.”
The golden arches also served as the inspiration for a painting Ernok Basquiat gifted to his assistant Stephen Torton in 1982 (the Basquiat estate has since debated the intent of this painting and has refused to let this one get away from their clutches and into the hands of Torton). A tort way of handling the situation if you ask me, one that brings about no King Pleasure, and the estate of Basquiat should rectify this immediately (for the Basquiat sisters capitalizing mercilessly off of their brother can surely return a gift that was intended for someone who helped to create the pile they sit so high and mighty on top of today). Look closely at the hand in Ernok and you can see the golden arches right before your eyes. Case closed. We found that Burger King, yep you guessed it, that was the key behind the crown that appears in so many of Basquiat's works. Flame-broiled burgers are unbeatable.
Ernok came up in my lengthy interviews with the heads of the Basquiat commercial empire. Over 40 days and 40 nights I was granted exclusive round-the-clock access to the Basquiat sisters at the head of the estate (for a reasonable price of $35 a day, the same as it costs to see the beauty of King Pleasure). To get the truth, you go to the source - I spoke to the family, Basquiat’s sisters Lisane and Jeanine about all of this in an HBOSports 24-7 mode that was fascinating. They were truly relieved that someone finally shed light on the Basquiat truth – that all the criticism about their greed and ruthless commercialization and bastardization of their brother’s life work, was actually in alignment with his wishes – its all about capitalism he often said. And they further demonstrated this singular fact in the explanations behind Basquiat’s work, they also shared a chuckle with me about the endless deep, dark interpretations of his works, wrong for so many years. Now we can all slap out knees in laughter and have closure with the truth exposed. There was no fiery burning desire to transcend or elevate, point out societal wrongs in Basquiat’s works – he was just enamored by America’s biggest brands - like so many of us, that's great advertising and marketing at its core. Lisane unequivocally recounted the story of Basquiat painting Equals Pi after a trip to Tiffany's in Manhattan. The Equals Pi part of this, the mathematical part was more about how you needed an advanced math or astrophysics degree to understand the astronomical pricing of their products. Jean-Michel returned from Tiffany’s having to trade 6 paintings for a single silver dinner fork as he didn’t have enough money to secure the purchase. So yes Tiffany’s has a few more paintings up their sleeves for future campaigns – can’t wait to see those.
Another surprise came up when speaking with another of Basquiat's female companions, Alexis Adler, who shared stories of their early 1980s trips to Hawaii, a place Basquiat loved and needed. For in Hawaii he escaped from all the noise of fame, the art world pressure and the city, all the forces pulling against him, ripping him apart. Alexis and Jean-Michel sought peace and found it on the big island – and another connection to an iconic brand of inspiration, Del Monte. Driving by the fields and the big pineapple factory, Alexis and Jean-Michel imagined nothing sweeter than the green and yellow, red logo accompanying his art on the shelves of countless grocery stores. Can after can of pineapples and fruits with small images created by Basquiat and mass-printed for everyone to see. He loved the color combination of Del Monte and those sweet pineapples. Now its so appealing to see those colors adorn the King Pleasure exhibit, seemingly everywhere.”
From another friend and lover, Suzanne Mallouck, “We were young, poor, he crashed at my place not so much out of love initially, but because we needed to save money. But the relationship soon grew and we had something special, one of those cheesy young loves. We stayed in mostly, we watched a lot of boxing. I remember all those Domino’s pizza boxes in the corner of my apartment that soon-after became the inspiration for the blue and red beauties Red Rabbit, In This Case, La Hara.
Mallouck had a sparkle in her eye thinking back to simpler times. She went on, "Good times, some of the best of our lives. I also think about the painting Pollo Frito (1982), he loved Puerto Rico and especially Church’s Chicken (for Puerto Rico is unquestionably the fast food capital of America) – that was the true inspiration for Pollo Frito. That chicken is dangerously good.”
Samo partner from the late 1970s Al Diaz, “Its always the same old shit, look at his works – every one of them ties directly to the commercial machine he so much admired and wanted to be a part of. Ahhh ruthless capitalism, disregard for the truth to make a buck – it’s the American way. Some things never change, nor should they.” SAMO ©
From the Keith Haring estate – they pulled out footage from a 1986 interview by Jean-Michel and Keith for the CNBC show Shark Tank with Mark Cuban. Keith’s words and Basquiat’s immediate, unflinching nod in agreement say it all. Keith remarked to a reporter, “My drawings, they were all done with the sole purpose to get a deal with Airwalk shoes, a big skateboard brand like Powell Peralta or Santa Cruz, do a spin-off with Tony Hawk, you know so my stuff can end up in Costco. That’s what its all about. Heck I remember talking to Tony Hawk and he felt like we could do an awesome partnership around smoothies, that could be huge, like on every corner and in every subway stop huge. That's why we are here at Shark Tank - $80 grand for 10% of our business.” While Jean-Michel and Keith didn’t leave the Shark Tank with a deal that day, they crossed a major bucket list item off.
Basquiat was also able to transcend time in his connection to and inspiration from famous brands – where they inspired his works decades before the brands inception on a number of occasions. Lyft is the greatest example of this, if you look closely at his pink-hued beauty, you can see a small pink taxi cab and the logo of the rideshare-company, right there in the painting. You can also see the pink tie-in to Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robbins, two brands Basquiat was addicted to – he couldn’t get enough of Dunkin’s coffee which fueled his prolific work-ethic daily. Few know that at the height of his work, around 1986, Basquiat would have his assistant Stephen Tolson drive to Boston 2 or 3 times a week to fetch those irresistible donut holes, gallons of Dunkin’s signature coffee, and a couple gallons of Baskin Robbins vanilla ice cream (Basquiat loved the simplicity of the vanilla – a simple expression of perfection he claimed). Basquiat’s pink masterpiece Six-Fifty from 1982 has a another title backstory, according to his mother Matilde, Jean-Michel was enraged that a coffee from Dunkin Donuts could be so expensive: $6.50 for a 16 oz average joe was an outrage to him.
Touché Tiffanys – you were right all along. And we are all now blue in the face. Really, which is less believable, the stories here or the thought that Tiffany blue ever entered for a second into the realm of inspirational genius for Jean-Michel Basquiat?
To get more into the real story, you have to dig into the dirt, go to the source, not just fish on the surface hoping for a lucky strike. To learn the recipe behind a truly tasteless pi – u have to do so much more than list the ingredients.
Some other tidbits:
Alexandre Arnault, Tiffany executive vice president of products and communications, makes the case there may be some connection: “The color is so specific that it has to be some kind of homage,”
A pompous statement only a silver or robin egg spoon upbringing could provide (the son of the chairman, probably truly believes this statement).
Bernard Arnault, one of the top contemporary art collectors in the world, staged a widely lauded retrospective of Basquiat’s work at his Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris in late 2019.
Specifically, WWD reported that he said: “We don’t have any literature that says he made the painting for Tiffany. But we know a little bit about Basquiat. We know his family.”
A bigger question – does Basquiat’s family know Jean-Michel Basquiat any more, or just what they want to leverage? Do they even remember him, sure looks like they are blinded by the dollars vs. staying true to his ideals.
It started with a man called Stephen Torton, who identified himself as a former assistant of Basquiat’s and posted an Instagram statement saying, “I designed and built stretchers, painted backgrounds, glued drawings down on canvas, chauffeured, traveled extensively, spoke freely about many topics and worked endless hours side by side in silence. The idea that this blue background, which I mixed and applied was in any way related to Tiffany Blue is so absurd that at first I chose not to comment. But this very perverse appropriation of the artist’s inspiration is too much.”
Another excerpt from the articles about the Tiffany campaign:
“At no moment whatsoever was there any connection between ‘Equal Pi’ and Tiffany’s blue box,” she (the original owner of the work) wrote in an email. “It is blasphemy to even consider it. Basquiat’s raw, visceral and subversive power was the antithesis of the traditional classicalism of the Tiffany standard.”
Though he could not recall this painting and said he had never heard of Mr. Torton, Mr. Gagosian said on a phone call that Mr. Basquiat painted “well over 50” canvases when they were together and he used to watch the artist at work.
[My comment to this statement by Gagosian: Way to big-time someone who did more than take lines with young women at his Venice crash pad watching greatness during those years Basquiat worked in his studio. Gagosian was likely one of those who fed Basquiat drugs in the hopes of tragedy to enhance the value of Basquiat’s paintings – a horrible, dark part of the Basquiat story that has worked out flawlessly yet again for the art world. Everything comes at a cost they say.]
Comments from the general public on the Tiffany story in 2021:
The arrogance of Tiffany to think that Basquiat was paying tribute to them indicates that they, and also the Carters, have no true understanding of his art, or the era during which he was making it.
Basquiat suffered from bouts of depression and blue is a color of sadness. I'm certain that the paintings with a lot of blue were painted during his periods of intense sadness. It could have been his way to release his depression. He also may have had Bipolar Disorder, which causes periods of high energy and grandiose thinking alternating with deep depression and even suicidal ideation.
Jay Why
Upper Wild WestSept. 1, 2021
It’s not uncommon. I learned that my beloved Dogs Playing Poker on velvet was inspired by the artist’s unusual but perfervid fetish for his smoking jacket.
Related/unrelated, it's fascinating that a color can become such a powerful extension of a brand... Ferrari Red... Coca Cola Red / Pepsi Red+Blue... Apple White... Tiffany Blue... Veuve Clicquot Yellow... New Zealand All Blacks... all the ivy league + big sport schools... etc, etc.