The Head―The Mind: A New Book on One of Basquiat's Most Iconic Subjects
Few images appear more often in Jean-Michel Basquiat's work than the human head. Colorful, crowned, unsettling — sometimes all at once. It's one of the most recognizable motifs in his entire body of work, and now it's the subject of a new book that takes a closer look at what he was actually doing with it.
The Head―The Mind frames these portraits as more than recurring imagery. Jean-Michel's approach to the face was always visceral — raw, gestural lines that pull at the tension between what's felt on the inside and what shows on the outside. There's something skeletal underneath all of it, a reminder of the skull beneath the skin. A memento mori — unmistakably his.
What makes this book different is its editorial structure. The portraits are paired with quotes drawn directly from Jean-Michel's own interviews and primary sources, letting him speak to the logic behind the color, the symbolism, the energy. It doesn't interpret the work so much as sit with it — and let him do some of the talking.
The introduction is written by Sophia Heriveaux, Jean-Michel's niece. It brings something to the book that scholarship alone can't provide — a perspective rooted in family.
The physical book itself is worth noting. Faux leather cover, tipped-in image, black endpapers, ribbon bookmark — made to be held and kept.
For anyone serious about Basquiat's work, The Head―The Mind is an essential addition to the shelf.
