Poison Oasis,

1981

Basquiat drew on wide-ranging influences—graffiti, Picasso, break dancing, rap music, and African and Greek cultures—to create new forms of figuration and abstraction. This work centers on a full-length male that evokes the image of Christ but is also considered Basquiat’s first major self-portrait. With a crown of thorns, he stands in a vague landscape between a coiled snake and a seemingly decomposing cow. Hints of sky and tonal variation create an atmospheric space while the strident red, orange, and yellow fields allude to upheaval. Interspersed among arrows are the Greek letters alpha and omega. In the New Testament, these symbolize “the beginning and the ending”—and the belief that Jesus has existed for all eternity. Basquiat’s figure, however, appears deeply aware of his own mortality.