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Downtown
81.
Legendary painter, graffiti artist, poet and musician Jean-Michel
Basquiat (1960-1988) was only 19 years old when he played the
lead in DOWNTOWN 81, a striking "lost" film that chronicles
the explosive early-'80s Manhattan art and music scene. Completed
and theatrically released two decades later, it's the story
of a charismatic artist who attempts to sell a painting amidst
the rappers, junkies, strippers, models and art-world matriarchs
of a pre-Giuliani Lower East Side. This vividly entertaining
slice of life is also a fabulous showcase for the music of Kid
Creole and the Coconuts, Tuxedomoon, The Plastics, DNA, The
Lounge Lizards, and Basquiat's own band, Gray. Shot on location,
DOWNTOWN 81 not only captures one of the most important and
provocative artists of the 20th-century as he is poised for
worldwide fame, but is also a vivid snapshot of a New York City
that no longer exists. |
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