Emily Garcia
Journal 4
English D394 (Prof. Scanlan)
September 30, 2015
Favorite Photo – Journal 4
The photograph that attracted my attention the best was “Home of Gerard Basquiat,” taken by Dinanda H. Nooney during the 1970’s. The following photo depicts a décor of an older, but not as simple time in the U.S. As we can see, styles were more exaggerated back then (i.e., the drapes with the hanging plant pots in between, the choice of color on the walls, the paintings, and the huge bulb on the ceiling). The photo itself shows Gerard Basquiat and his partner, Nora Fitzpatrick, who interestingly enough, were an interracial couple during the 70’s. This is an is an exciting view, because during that time, the idea of interracial couples was still new, for much oppression and hatred for colored folks was still around. What makes this image even more eye catching, is the fact that this particular home in Brooklyn was actually home to Jean-Michel Basquiat, a young and peculiar artist of his time. He worked with other known artists, such as Andy Warhol and was famous for his graffiti and strange ways of art. The empty chair on the other side of the table, amusingly enough, was probably for him, who ran away from home at the age of 18 before the photo was captured. This makes the photo all the more exciting for me and therefore, my favorite photograph, for not only does this photo capture a home in Park Slope, Brooklyn, but a huge piece of history and a fascinating story along with it.
Sincerely,
Emily Garcia
Hey Emily!
How are you doing? I hope you’re doing fine. I really like the excerption and your research that you did on this picture and pointed out facts and the important content in the picture. I actually also liked this pic because of the interesting view and contents in this picture. It makes me feel happy when I look at this picture because it is nice watching a family enjoying their dinner. But that empty chair points out a main interesting facts to know about. I really liked your work done on this and they way you described it.
The photo does sort of bring us as viewers back in time to a simpler period where the issues of today weren’t prominent in the past. It also shows a crack in the mold of society during this time, like you said, where interracial couples were a rarity.