Hi
Towards the end of the film there's a scene in an art gallery where an elderly lady appears, very casually dressed, and asks in quite a strong London accent whether the gallery is still open. Its seems quite a strange scene with the actress used her clothes and the accent I wondered if there was a hidden meaning here?
R
the scence where basquiat is changinging art agents or something? that one? i was too focused on him to even really bother with her.
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i watched it again this morning and i see no hidden meaning. what did you see?
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Thanks for the reply.
It is just the moment when the lady in question appears asks the question then leaves. The scene just seemed weird. To me it was as though a member of the public just wondered onto the set (mistaking it for a real art gallery?). The actress just seemed out of character to the rest of the cast. As I said before, due to her age, dress and strong London (Cockney) accent. I wondered if she was one of the cast or crews mum? Do you not feel this very brief moment in the film seems strange?
R
I just saw the movie today, and I did notice that the old lady was just out of place in the movie and it did feel as if she did not belong there, but maybe its just a simple distraction. She was simply out of place in the film for me.
share
Saw it last night...I think the old lady is there to show Mary Boone (Parker Posey) reacting awkwardly for the first time in the movie...she spends the whole movie being such a hard and tough "art world maven" , but Basquiat by the end has become so powerful, then plunged into such disarray, that even she gets disconcerted when he comes around (or "crawls out of the wreckage", as she puts it) after a considerable absence , and demands come by his studio. He's obviously a wreck, a loose cannon, and over the edge, and I think the lady asking "is the gallery open?" in an overt manner can be seen like foreshadowing of Basquiat's end, much like the footage of the surfer on the wave in the sky wiping out, then disappearing. Mary Boone pauses, stumbles, and says the gallery is closed. For Basquiat, who has just overwhelmed even her concentration, the gallery is, indeed, closed.
D.
D.
dude, where were you in my lit class in college???
i never see hidden meanings. and all that stuff actually made sense. you could be totally wrong but it sounds like you are right.
this is why Julian needs to do a commentary to his films, both of them.
luv ya,
kdf
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shareto me, the scene is about mary's greed and carelessness. basquiat was trying to talk to her, was visibly a wreck and in need of human contact, and all she wanted to do was get him out of there. when the old lady walks in and asks if the gallery is open, mary, kind of disheveled from the encounter, says yes, pauses, realizes (well, assumes based on appearance) the old lady is most likely going to look around and not buy anything, and says it's closed.
shareMary Boone's gallery was originally in Soho, and once Soho became trendy she was dismayed by the number of "tourists" that were browsing her gallery without buying anything. As such, she moved her gallery to fifth avenue, right below the corner of central park, to target serious art purchasers. Considering this, I think that the British tourist scene - where Boone's gallery is visited by a woman who very obviously will not purchase any work - was Schnabel's way of further portraying Boone as the ultimate art business person.
Boone has since re-opened a gallery in Soho.
Towards the end of Basquiat's life he had a lot of "main stream", high end and european success. This may also be a factor in this scene. The woman who requested to view his art was not the type of woman he intended to entertain, and would up working for in the end. In the beginning of the film, we have drunk addicts and derelicts looking at his art - at the end a polite while, english woman. Though I agree it was to show Mary Boone's frustration ,and Basquiats inability to continue.
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