Service95 Book Club With Dua Lipa Widow Basquiat: Jennifer Clement on Love, Art & 1980s New York
Jun 10, 2025
Jennifer Clement, author of Widow Basquiat, shares insights into Jean-Michel Basquiat and his muse, Suzanne Malouk. They discuss the explosive creativity of 1980s New York, filled with vibrant art and music. Jennifer reveals how their bond was shaped by shared trauma and exploration of identity, as well as the impact of the AIDS crisis that transformed their world. They also explore Basquiat's unique artistry, his responses to racism, and the emptiness that often accompanied his fame, shedding light on a chaotic yet beautiful love story.
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Form As Silent-Movie Storytelling
- Jennifer Clement used fragmentation and alternating voices to make a short love story feel larger and cinematic.
- She framed scenes like a silent movie to give emotional authority and rhythmic space to memory.
Suzanne's Cartoon Masked Intelligence
- Jennifer describes Suzanne as cartoonish and witty, a quality that many misunderstood as superficiality.
- Clement says Suzanne's apparent frivolity masked extraordinary intelligence that inspired artists around her.
Freedom's Brief Explosion In 1980s NYC
- The 1980s NYC art scene felt like an explosion of freedom because so many creatives came from elsewhere seeking expression.
- Jennifer says that moment's sexual and artistic liberation was abruptly curtailed by the arrival of AIDS.
