Equals Pi
ArtistJean-Michel Basquiat
Year1982
MediumAcrylic and oilstick on canvas
MovementNeo-expressionism
Dimensions182.9 cm × 182.9 cm (72.0 in × 72.0 in)
OwnerTiffany & Co.

Equals Pi is a painting created by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1982. The painting was published in GQ magazine in 1983 and W magazine in 2018.[1][2]

History

Equals Pi was executed by Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1982, which is considered his most coveted year.[3] The robin egg blue painting contains Basquiat's signature crown motif and a head alongside his characteristic scrawled text with phrases such as "AMORITE," "TEN YEN" and "DUNCE."[4] The title refers to the mathematical equations incorporated on the right side of the work. The cone refers to the pointed dunce caps depicted in the work.[5]

The painting was acquired in 1982 by Anne Dayton, who was the advertising manager of Artforum magazine.[6] She purchase it for $7,000 from Basquiat's exhibition at the Fun Gallery in the East Village.[6] At the time the painting was called Still Pi, however, when the work appeared in the March 1983 issue of GQ magazine, it was titled Knowledge of the Cone, which is written on the top of the painting.[1]

According to reports in August 2021, the luxury jewelry brand Tiffany & Co. had recently acquired the painting privately from the Sabbadini family, for a price in the range of $15 million to $20 million.[7][8] The painting, which is the brand's signature blue color, is displayed in the Tiffany & Co. Landmark store on Fifth Avenue in New York City.[9] Although initial reports claimed that the painting was never seen before, it was previously offered at auction twice and had appeared in magazines.[10][8] The work was first offered at a Sotheby's sale in London in June 1990, where it went unsold.[11] In December 1996, the Sabbadinis, a Milan-based clan behind the eponymous jewelry house, purchased it during a Sotheby's London auction for $253,000.[12][4] Mother and daughter Stefania and Micól Sabbadini posed in front of the painting in their living room for a 2018 feature in W magazine.[2]

Tiffany & Co. campaign

In 2021, luxury jewelry company Tiffany & Co. partnered with American singer Beyoncé and rapper Jay-Z to promote the company's "About Love" campaign. In the campaign, Jay-Z is seen wearing his hair much like Basquiat.[13] The campaign incorporated Equals Pi in most of its material because the painting heavily features a color close to the company's signature robin egg blue.[14]

The campaign was met with criticism from the artists former friends and colleagues.[15] Stephen Torton, a former assistant of Basquiat's posted a statement on Instagram 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."[6]

Furthermore, a curator of Basquiat's work has stated that if the use of the robins egg blue was in reference to Tiffany, it would have been intended as criticism rather than an homage or as something to be commercialized by the company.[15]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Carlsen, Peter; Smith, Philip (March 1983). "The Next Wave Art: Electrically Electric". GQ: 227.
  2. 1 2 Hoare, Philip (August 14, 2018). "Go Inside the Understated Yet Eccentric Milan Home of the Fabulous Sabbadini Family". W Magazine. Archived from the original on 2021-08-24. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  3. ↑ Gotthardt, Alexxa (2018-04-01). "What Makes 1982 Basquiat's Most Valuable Year". Artsy. Archived from the original on 2020-05-25. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  4. 1 2 Villa, Angelica (2021-08-23). "Beyoncé and Jay-Z Pose with Long-Unseen Basquiat in Tiffany Campaign". ARTnews.com. Archived from the original on 2021-08-24. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  5. ↑ Sayej, Nadja (August 23, 2021). "Beyoncé And Jay-Z Pose Alongside Rare Basquiat Painting In Jewelry Ad". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2021-09-02. Retrieved 2021-09-02.
  6. 1 2 3 Friedman, Vanessa (2021-09-01). "The Mystery of That Basquiat Painting — and Its Tiffany Blue". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-11-09. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  7. ↑ Kinsella, Eileen (August 23, 2021). "Here's the Little-Known History of the Robin's Egg Blue Basquiat Painting That Stars in Beyoncé and Jay-Z's New Tiffany Ad". Artnet News. Archived from the original on 2021-08-23. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  8. 1 2 Socha, Miles (August 23, 2021). "EXCLUSIVE: Beyoncé and Jay-Z Meet a Blue Basquiat in Tiffany's New Campaign". WWD. Archived from the original on 2021-08-24. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  9. ↑ Vadukul, Alex (2023-04-20). "The New Tiffany, Unboxed". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2023-04-27. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  10. ↑ Holmes, Helen (2021-08-23). "A Never-Before-Seen Basquiat Is the Star of Beyoncé and Jay-Z's New Tiffany's Ad". Observer. Archived from the original on 2021-08-24. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  11. ↑ Liscia, Valentina Di (August 24, 2021). "Tiffany's Wants You to Think It Inspired a Blue Basquiat Painting". Hyperallergic. Archived from the original on 2021-08-24. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
  12. ↑ Freeman, Nate (August 24, 2021). "The Curious History of the Basquiat in That Jay-Z and Beyoncé Tiffany Ad". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
  13. ↑ "Beyoncé and JAY-Z x Tiffany: About Love | Tiffany & Co". www.tiffany.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
  14. ↑ Friedman, Vanessa (2021-09-01). "The Mystery of That Basquiat Painting — and Its Tiffany Blue". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
  15. 1 2 Baker, Sinéad. "Basquiat's friends and collaborators say they are 'horrified' by Beyoncé and Jay-Z's Tiffany campaign with his art". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
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