Producer

Artwork: Vanity Struck Me in My Tooth, 1983, acrylic on Cibachrome print, 80 x 48 inches. Lee Jaffe in collaboration with Jean-Michel Basquiat. Film: Animation by Jamal Sullivan with sounds by Pharoah Sanders, including the pouring rain heard faintly through the windows of herbal doctor Russell Harrison’s ground floor office on Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles.

The book "Jean-Michel Basquiat: Crossroads" is a rare and poignant compilation of photography and written anecdotes by American photographer and artist Lee Jaffe that captures his close friendship, collaboration, and travels with the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat as they traversed Japan, Thailand, and Switzerland in 1983. Jaffe had a connection to Basquiat, and their time spent together resulted in an archive of imagery that captured one of the art world’s true legends through an unfiltered and authentic lens.

This beautiful volume presents snapshots of Basquiat: from the artist smiling on a bullet train to Kyoto and behind-the-scenes documentation of Basquiat creating artwork in St. Moritz, to poignant portraits that mirror his undeniable magnetism. These rare depictions of Basquiat come to life with Jaffe’s unforgettable experiences detailed in private written memories and anecdotes. This insightful and moving illustrated volume captures the soul of the unedited, ambitious, young artist during the height of his short yet unprecedented artistic career.