August 2008, Friends of Basquiat Reunion

By PIERRE FRANCILLION, AUG, 2008

On the 12th of August 25 years ago a great artist and good friend died . His name was Jean Michel Basquiat. My personal nickname for him was “German Shepherd”. He always thought that it would be a great title for a self portrait. When he died I went through a death also, it seems to be a common thread amongst those he was close too. He was a presence with an incredible synchronicity, it surprised those who did not know him how he seemed to get things right at the wrong moments. Personally, it was a thrill to me whenever these events occurred. We shared this in common. Here are a few pics from the get together amongst those were close to him, all were some of his closest friends.

 
 He was a special person and we saw his talent from the
 very start...Twenty Years? -Maripol and Patricia Fields


 "He was a great artist, but a bad boyfriend." - Jennifer Goode


 "I take my hat off to you Jean Michel"
 - DJ High Priest/Nick Taylor


 "New York and the world of art was never the same...He
 wrote on my jacket 'Kick Me'" - Hubert Kretchmer


 "I still think of him and miss him, I took a moment earlier
 to contemplate it all." - Susanne Mallouk


 "He was a close friend..I think of him from time to time."
 - Glenn O'Brien


 "I think that Jean's generosity is greatly underrated.
 Although he could be cruel, aloof but he was also cool. He
 was a great teacher and shared aesthetic and made the
 unseen beautiful. There is a real generosity with this and not
 many artists share the same way."
 - Michael Holman and David Herskovitz