Basquiat, the Blue Ribbon Paintings, and the Art of Reproduction

A fascinating look at the role of printmaking in the art of Jean-Michel Basquiat

The “Blue Ribbon paintings” represent a pivotal moment in Jean-Michel Basquiat’s career. Created in 1984 during a period of intense experimentation by the artist, the mixed-media compositions combine the vibrancy of acrylic paint and oil stick with the reproducibility of silkscreen, blurring the lines between painting and printmaking. Taking these richly textured canvases as a point of departure, this book sheds critical light on Basquiat’s radical engagements with replication and reproductive media, situating his work within postmodern concepts of the 1980s—authorship, appropriation, and the blurred boundaries between original and reproduction. Additionally, the volume places Basquiat in conversation with artists who profoundly influenced his visual practice, including Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol, and with pioneering Black printmakers such as Robert Blackburn. Featuring nearly all of Basquiat’s known print projects, the book focuses a lens on Basquiat as a conceptual artist, exploring identity, reproduction, and visibility in an increasingly commercialized art world.

Distributed for the Princeton University Art Museum