Friends of the late artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat are displeased with Beyoncé and Jay-latest Z’s ad for Tiffany & Co. as several close friends and partners of the late artist have come out against the ad, according to the Daily Beast.
However, the painting in question which is Equals Pi, is set to be permanently displayed in Tiffany’s Fifth Avenue flagship shop.
Alexis Adler, who lived with Basquiat in 1979 to 1980, said:
“I’d seen the ad a couple days ago and I was horrified. The commercialization and commodification of Jean and his art at this point—it’s really not what Jean was about.”
Alexis went on to say that if Basquiat were living today, he would have wanted his paintings to be easily accessible to the public through museums.
She goes on to say: “Unfortunately, the museums came to Jean’s art late, so most of his art is in private hands and people don’t get to see that art except for the shows. Why show it as a prop to an ad?”
“Loan it out to a museum. In a time where there were very few Black artists represented in Western museums, that was his goal: to get to a museum.”
Al Diaz, a then-teenager who collaborated with Basquiat on SAMO, blasted Tiffany for attributing Basquiat’s obsession with luxury for exploiting his paintings.
“People think that his association with luxury was because he was impressed with that sh*t, but he couldn’t care less,” Diaz said. “It’s not just about wearing an Armani suit. If he wore it, it’s because he could buy it and f*ck it up, it wasn’t because the stitches were fabulous or well-made.”
Stephen Torton, Basquiat’s former assistant, believes Tiffany stores would not have allowed Basquiat in when he was alive, saying:
“They wouldn’t have let Jean-Michel into a Tiffany’s if he wanted to use the bathroom, or, if he went to buy an engagement ring and pulled a wad of cash out of his pocket. We couldn’t even get a cab.”
Tiffany’s executive VP of products and communications asserted in a statement that the luxury brand believes that the color palette in the painting “has to be some kind of homage” to their brand.
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