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Video-Premiere: Samuel Hope - Carried Away Live

Video-Premiere: Samuel Hope – Carried Away Live

Zur Veröffentlichung seines Debütalbums „Other Man“ bringt uns Samuel Hope eine wunderschöne Live-Session von Carried Away. Aufgenommen im Studio X, Berlin.

Das Debütalbum des New Yorker Singer-Songwriters Samuel Hope „Other Man“ ist eines dieser seltenen Werke, die einen nicht loslassen. Mit seiner Stimme verleiht er großen…

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Rätselhafte Ansteckung trotz PrEP

Rätselhafte Ansteckung trotz PrEP

Eine Amsterdamer Arbeitsgruppe berichtet vom Fall einer HIV-Infektion mit einem Virus ohne Resistenzen gegen die PrEP-Pille und einem eigenartigen Muster der Antikörperbildung bei wohl dauerhaft guter Einnahmetreue. Der 50-jährige schwule Mann nahm seit acht Monaten eine tägliche PrEP. Er berichtete über zahlreiche Sexkontakte, davon häufig mit aufnehmendem, kondomlosen Analverkehr. Auch…

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Most ancient Roman cities had at least one, if not many. Baths were a very common place for men to meet each other and were extremely important part of their culture. These institutions were centers for socializating as well as public bathing and and the men usually stayed there for several hours each day. Wealthier Romans were accompanied by one or more slaves. After paying a fee, they would walk around naked wearing only sandals to protect their feet from heated floors. The slaves carried their masters‘ towels and got them drinks. Before bathing, the patrons exercised, maybe with some running, weight-lifting, oil wrestling, or swimming. Fast forward to the concept of today‘s gay saunas and not much has changed through the centuries in this for men only sanctuary.

Treat your self to a nice hot bath

However, in reality this ritualistic act has mostly been replaced with the convenience of a daily shower in most people‘s busy schedule. They start their day with jumping out of bed, take a quick shower, gulp down some coffee with breakfast, run off to work for the day, later driving to the gym for a quick set, then meet some friends fo happy hour or a dinner, then finally go home to get some sleep, and repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Rarely does one take the time, or even allow the time to relax and meditate in a hot bath as they did back then. This new age hectic kind of lifestyle will eventually take it‘s toll on anyone, both physically and mentally. It‘s time to slow things down some and enjoy life a bit more.

Boner presents Venezuelan born painter Jean Carlos Puerto to show you how this is done. These selected Hombre Bañeras paintings from Puerto visualise this ritual of bathing from the viewpoint of a voyeur. In these paintings, his sensual bather is shown in a series of poses that evoke a sense of both intimacy and solitude. Puerto expertly creates an elegant and very detailed environment but at the same time the elements in the composition are kept to a bare minimum. This deliberate minimalism prevents each work from giving us more clues as to what is actually happening with each equally meditative and haunting pose. Is this a historical depiction of a situation or a scene from the present day? Are these intimate self portraits? Is the subject alone here or turning his face away from someone who is in the room with him? After viewing these seductive paintings of the mysterious nude and wet latino and imagining so many different outcomes from these seemimgly innocent portraits, I am left with lots of questions. What am I looking at here?

After studying these Hombre Bañeras, my conclusion here is that the artist has succeeded in creating a mood of serenity and solitude with his paintings but also leaves each open to other interpretations. They engage the viewer and draw them into a steamy room to explore the possibiities that are waiting to be experienced.

Go ahead treat your self to a nice hot bath either to relax and meditate in solitude, or have a splash of a good time with a few fun seeking partners as the Romans did. (bb)

instagram.com/jeanpuertoart

Getting Yourself All Wet Most ancient Roman cities had at least one, if not many. Baths were a very common place for men to meet each other and were extremely important part of their culture.

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A contemporary multimedia performance. At least that’s what I thought I’d be getting myself into when I went to the premiere of Aids Follies at the Sophiensäle in Berlin-Mitte. But it was far from the eclectic musical exploration I had expected. AIDS Follies is about the history of the HI-Virus and how it connects humanity on a deeper level. 

The stage is an 80s-Tron-style matrix with TVs, a movie screen, several props and a baby orchestra. Four attractive actors take you through the many aspects of the life of the virus. It starts and ends with Gaëtan Duga, the Canadian flight attendant once widely regarded as “patient zero” or the primary case for AIDS in the United States. “He was made a monster, he was a hero” is the brazen statement we hear from the stage. A direct attack on the then media coverage and a direct attempt to open your mind to the fear within you. Gaëtan, the face of AIDS, becomes a metaphor for our survival instinct. He is the bush drum inside your mind that makes you put on a condom for a one night stand. We have failed him as all the others like him. And we are still failing them. 

Travelling in 4-D, back and forth through time and space, Aids Follies investigates instead of lecturing. It entertains instead of showcasing. Sound clippings of German commercials and American news of that era, original TV footage and quirky yet daunting compositions in French, English and German language heighten your senses and take you on a crazy trip through stigma wonderland. Half way through it I realise it must be the boldest approach to HIV since Lady Di. It makes me question why and when and what. And it makes fun of me somehow. Three theories that highlight the human desire to find any explanation are brought to life in haunting vocal performances. Did the Pentagon fund a biological weapon project gone wrong? Did the aliens of Roswell mess with our DNA to annihilate our species? Was it African witchcraft to seek revenge for slavery? The seductive angel of death, sung by Valerie Renay, makes you both smile and despair as facing your own demise never seemed more glamorous. Mixing scientific lectures with absurd conspiracy theories helps craft this particular virological evolution with ease and nonchalance.

Photography: Benjamin Krieg

Photography: Benjamin Krieg

Photography: Benjamin Krieg

Putting reason before doubt and science before mystery, Aids Follies goes further into the matter than anything I’ve ever seen. Scientists seem to agree that the HIV genomes all shared a common ancestor that existed no more than a hundred years ago. It probably began as a virus affecting chimpanzees in Cameroon, West Central Africa, in the early 1900s. At some point it jumped species, maybe because people ate infected bushmeat. In the 1920s, the nearby city of Kinshasa – then known as Leopoldville – became a very attractive destination for young working men, and therefore also for sex workers. Here the virus spread quickly through the population. Being one of the best connected cities in Africa it then travelled to cities as far as 1500 kilometres away in just twenty years. Add incubation times and increased health monitoring, all was set for a world wide outbreak in the 1960s. Just in time for the age of sexual liberation. It’s a long story told with such commitment and carefulness that you can’t help but feeling part of the problem. 

But it is real intimacy issues, a conscience for sexual health and the abandonment of shame what Aids Follies ultimately leads up to. In a white bed on wheels the actors find tender closeness free from fear. Chanting “PrEP works“ and “They are closer to finding a vaccine than ever before“ is a bold look into the future, interrupted only by the key message: To forget the history of HIV means to lose the grip on the current reality of it. Or as director Johannes Müller puts it: “To listen to what everyone has to say about it is my way of making clear that the problem is not solved yet.“ Aids follies should be touring the world. To entertain, to add to the debate and – most importantly – to remember that we are all equally vulnerable.

Photography: Benjamin Krieg

Art as AIDS A contemporary multimedia performance. At least that’s what I thought I’d be getting myself into when I went to the premiere of Aids Follies at the…

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11. Diversity Ball Wien - Fotostrecke

11. Diversity Ball Wien – Fotostrecke

Wir waren am 11. Diversity-Ball im Kursalon Hübner und haben dort die interessantesten Impressionen eingefangen.

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VIDEO: "Lead Me On" - Samuel Hope

VIDEO: “Lead Me On” – Samuel Hope

„Lead Me On“ ist ein Song über eine Beziehung auf Abwegen, von der man sich trotz jedweder Versuche einfach nicht loslösen kann. Wen trifft die Schuld: Denjenigen, der einen Fehler gemacht hat oder den, der es soweit hat kommen lassen? Samuel Hopes Stimme projiziert den Schmerz der durch Synthesizer Beats vertieft und seinen verzweifelten Worten Ausdruck verleiht.

„Either way I can’t let go,…

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LIGA-Party "Rococo" Wien - Fotogallerie

LIGA-Party “Rococo” Wien – Fotogallerie

Hier unsere Eindrücke von der LIGA-Party am 5. Mai 2018 in der Ottakringer Brauerei.

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Back in summer of 2016, I wrote about a new photographer on the scene who has been working hard to make a name for himself. After a series of exhibitions and also a hardcover portfolio that was published of his work, he will be opening his first solo exhibition in Hamburg later this month.

ECHO PARK – a new group of original work by the Berlin artist Florian Hetz was created in this winter during his artist residency at the Tom of Finland Foundation house. Escaping the winter here for three months, he was invited to be their guest artist in Los Angeles. There, Hetz emersed himself in the life and sexuality of gay men in the Echo Park district and documented the locals doing what they do best.

I am personally excited and curious to see these photos as I used to live just down the street from the Tom of Finland House in nearby Silverlake before moving to Berlin. It will be interesting to compare Florian’s experiences in Los Angeles to those of my own there in LA-LA Land.

Florian Hetz photographed his Echo Park models in sessions that lasted several hours each. He took hundreds of photographs during those intimate meetings and the extract of those will now be on view in Germany for the first time at the Frappant Galerie in Hamburg. Hetz deconstructs, dissects and sexualizes the bodies of his models. He zooms in on body fragments and details such as muscles, hair, faces, and of course their bulging bootys and genitals which completely fill up his photo frames. A few close ups of flying dildos and palm trees round out this particular group of images to give it a geographical point of reference.

Overall, his work provides us with a profound view of a splintered community – a community that has been repeatedly fragmented by the negative forces of discrimination, violence, and HIV. These new images here portray the artist’s view of a community of gay men that do not let anyone take away their yearning for beauty, closeness, fun, and fight for the right for a self-determined and joyful life. (bb)

ECHO PARK – a solo exhibition by Florian Hetz

Frappant Galerie

Zeiseweg 9, 22765 Hamburg Germany

http://frappant.org

Vernissage: Friday, May 18th 7pm

Artist Talk: Sunday, June 10th 4pm

Wanna find out more? Check our previous feature on Florian Hetz below!

https://bonermagazine.com/the-juicy-and-meaty-images-of-florian-hetz/

A Berliner’s View of the Boys in Los Angeles Back in summer of 2016, I wrote about a new photographer on the scene who has been working hard to make a name for himself.

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Lovelesson

Bender & Schillinger setzen mit der dritten Single „Lovelesson“ aus ihrem Album „Dear Balance“ ein weiteres markantes Zeichen und zeigen, dass Musik und politische Haltung harmonisch zusammengehören können.

Der Song erzählt die Coming-out Geschichte eines jungen Mannes, der in einem konservativen, streng christlichen Umfeld in Amerika aufwächst. Die “Liebeslektionen” des Vaters bestehen aus…

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Lärm der Zeit

Yoshua macht keinen Hehl daraus, dass er nicht verstanden wird von der Welt dort draußen. Er steht zu seinen Gefühlen, zu seinen leidvollen Erfahrungen. Seine musikalischen Einflüsse reichen dabei von Janis Joplin über Michael Jackson bis hin zu Amy Winehouse und den Cranberries. In diesen Zeiten von Gewalt, Mobbing und Seelentod des Individuums durch neoliberale Ansprüche und Gehässigkeiten…

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Durch Wissenschaft zur Gerechtigkeit

Durch Wissenschaft zur Gerechtigkeit

Die Bundesstiftung Magnus Hirschfeld (BMH) gedenkt am 14. Mai 2018 zum 150. Geburtstag ihres Namensgebers der Lebensleistungen von Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld und seiner Mitkämpfer_innen in einem Festakt im Berliner Haus der Kulturen der Welt und damit an historischer Stelle. Dort stand einst das von Hirschfeld 1919 gegründete und von den Nationalsozialisten 1933 zerstörte weltberühmte Institut für…

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When I first heard of the title “50 Shades of Grey”, I just thought it was another book about living in Berlin because of the omnipresent greyness of the weather here. Being a recent transplant to Berlin from sunny Los Angeles, hopefully you can relate to my assumption there. My mistake.

Well, you have to also admit that the story described in the pages of that book could very well have happend here in this city, because for whatever reason, Berlin does seem to attract more than its share of sexual adventurers – of all varieties.

This month Boner Magazine presents the work of Daniel Marin Medina, a recent newbie to Berlin from New York City. Daniel creates his sexually charged portraits in stark black and white using a ball point pen as his weapon of choice. This medium is notoriously unforgiving to the novice as the moment that the pen is put to the paper, the ink is permanent. Daniel recalled a statement from one of his art professors who said, “drawing with pencil is for pussies, if you want your drawings to mean something, draw your lines in ink.” This well meant but demeaning and misogynic moment stuck with him over the years, but as you can see in his artwork, he has mastered the technique. Another point of interest here is almost all of his figures are nude except for their white Nike socks which happen to be the artist’s personal favorite clothing item. Anyone else sense a sock fetish here?

Take a moment

Luna

LaBemba

Jack

Flying

Daniel’s drawings are a diary of experiences in his new home of Berlin, drawing his portraits as visual memories of his encounters and at times further enhances them with his very personal thoughts when he posts them to his Instagram like this example here:

“You once said my ridiculous romanticism had shipwrecked us. In a certain way, I think we’re all drowning, scraping at the walls for anything to help pull us up. Everything I do these days seems so utterly senseless. I wear all my favorite things hoping you’ll notice and take them off. I surrender, shouldn’t that be enough? If blissful suffering is all you can offer then ration my servings and starve me into submission.”

We know that looking for meaningful connections in any new location can be tough, but because Berlin is what it is, this city comes with its own unique set of challenges, very different than many other places and that can make it both trying and sometimes even exhausting. This is exactly what feeds the fire for Daniel’s art, resulting in images of sexy men posed in haunting semi-abstract scenarios, paired with dark and moody poetic verse. What else could you ask for? This is pure Berlin at its best. (bb)

You can keep up with Daniel’s adventures in Berlin on his Instagram here: @danielmarinmedina

Black, White and Every Shade of Grey In Between When I first heard of the title “50 Shades of Grey”, I just thought it was another book about living in Berlin because of the omnipresent greyness of the weather here.

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Granteln am Glockenbach

Im Mai ist es wieder soweit: Im Münchener Glockenbachviertel wird das Rosa Stangerl aufgestellt. Der schwule Maibaum am Karl-Heinrich-Ulrichs-Platz blickt bereits auf eine zehnjährige Geschichte zurück und gehört mittlerweile zu den wichtigsten schwulen Aktionen im öffentlichen Raum. Ein kurzes Gespräch mit Organisator Michael Baumgartner.

Der schwule Maibaum steht für Selbst­bewusstsein und…

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The world moves on: one minute it’s a video, then a CD and finally that writhing mass of performing flesh is online. The gay porn industry has always moved with the times. This year the Prowler European Porn Awards (PEPA) joins the race for a wider audience with the very welcome arrival of European gay porn talent into London.

Forget Brexit – there will be more than just Brits coming this year! Who says the gay porn industry isn’t what it used to be? The web has certainly changed the dynamic and it’s less profitable than it used to be but who can deny that online hasn’t exposed even more of European cream to our eyes? When the Prowler Porn Awards kicked off in London five years ago it was an all-Brit affair. Yes, a few Continental performers slipped in through the backdoor and stood up for Europe but the real thrust came from the Brits and boy, did they go at it hard! Last year’s event took place in Vauxhall, still the pride of the South London gay scene, with Mr.Pam hosting the raucous awards and still managing to appeal to an audience that consisted of performers, admirers, studio bosses, talent scouts, supporters and a lot of envious older guys. It was hard to believe that there could be a porn recession; hard to believe there were those saying things were not the same on Planet Gay Porn and they would come to a sticky end. Well as the 2017 awards ceremony did come to a close, the idea of that sticky end certainly made itself known in what turned out to be an utterly compelling and sex-fueld after-party that ran on until the early hours. The gay porn world is adaptive and flexible – a bit like the sort of action we like to see on screen – and in May 2018 at Fire in London the PEPA will show what Europe has to offer as a host of established and new continental performers slip into London. Technology moves on but the action stays the same: fucking is fucking and there will always be an audience, as there was until the early hours of last year’s awards despite the lack of cameras. This year ChiChi LaRue will be hosting the evening’s ceremonies and playing music at the after-party to accompany the live sex shows and performances.

Host La Voix

mr.Pam and the boys

The real winners on the night will not be the performers or the studios from Manchester, Berlin, Prague, Amsterdam or Paris, although many of them will walk away with one or more of the nights prestigious awards. The recipients of the real prizes will be any one of us interested and fascinated in equal measure by the gay porn industry who get to meet the very people who bring fantasies into their lives. Ignore the tales of doom about how the internet is killing the business. Talk to people like Apply To Model or any of the major studios such as Bel Ami, Staxus or Cazzo; there are more than enough applications, jock and twinks, daddies and femboys to ensure the cream will rise to the top to entertain audiences for generations to come. When the doors opened in 2017 more than an hour before anyone even walked onto the stage at the Prowler Porn Awards, the line to get into the event was halfway round the block and under the railway arches. London barely raises an eye when twinks in full fuck-me; micro-shorts and glittery tops wobble down the road from the tube station or step off a London bus. Awards ceremonies are not new and yet success is wholly dependant on mood, atmosphere and that all-important guest list. With Prowler it is more a case of getting the right people to cum …… at the right time! If we’re looking at the gay porn world and asking what’s the next big thing, then London might well be the place you’ll find it. Having the cream of European gay porn at the PEPA will mean there is still a close relationship with mainland Europe. If you want to test that theory then maybe you need to come to – and at – the after-party at this year’s Prowler European Porn Awards. This is not the time to pull out…..

Click here to cast your VOTE !

  There’s’ no pulling out in Europe The world moves on: one minute it's a video, then a CD and finally that writhing mass of performing flesh is online.

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In einem Interview von 2016 sagte Drangsal dem Musikmagazin Noisey, dass die Produktion seines ersten Albums Harieschaim „aalglatt“ verlaufen sei. Im Gegensatz dazu gibt er sich ansonsten erfrischend kantig, rau und ehrlich. Am Telefon erzählt er von seinem zweiten Album Zores, dass am 27. April 2018 erscheint.

Wie weißt du, wann ein Song fertig ist? Wenn er rausgekommen ist. Als Künstler ist man immer unzufrieden, zumindest geht es mir so. Ich würde immer gerne wieder etwas ändern. Ich höre den Song eine Woche nicht, dann höre ich ihn wieder und denke: Das hätte man anders machen können. 

Streitest du dich mit deinem Produzenten? Ja, immer, über ganz kleine, unwichtige Dinge, die im Endeffekt niemanden betreffen außer mich selbst. Wir hatten uns zum Beispiel über drei Töne in einer Bassline, die ich hätte weglassen sollen, gestritten. Mit mir muss man schon über Dinge krass diskutieren, bis ich sie mache. Das heißt auch gar nicht, dass ich sie nicht machen will – ich habe halt immer das Gefühl, dass ich mich erst wehren muss, bevor ich „Ja“ sagen kann. 

Ist es nicht schwer, einen Song in einer Fremd­­sprache wie Englisch zu schreiben? Ich bin größtenteils zweisprachig aufgewachsen, für mich fühlt sich also das nicht viel schwieriger an. Ich entscheide mich nicht vorher, ob es deutsch oder englisch werden soll. Bei meiner neuen Platte ist es aber viel weniger Englisch, weil ich glaube, das hat sich bei mir ein bisschen auserzählt. Ich habe ja die ersten Jahre, wo ich Musik gemacht habe, fast ausschließlich auf Englisch geschrieben, und irgendwann hatte ich das Gefühl, mir fällt nichts mehr ein. Ich lese aber viel auf Englisch, damit ich meine Idee von der Sprache erhalte. 

“Ich bin ein bisexueller junger Mann – was ich aber nie zum Thema gemacht habe.”

Ist deine Musik queer? Ja, klar. Übrigens ist Boner Magazine das beste Magazin. Bei meiner ersten Platte habe ich so sehr versucht wie es ging, auf das Cover zu kommen.

Warst du also bereit dein Penis zu zeigen? Das war der Plan! Aber was nicht ist, kann ja noch werden. Ich bin auch ein bisexueller junger Mann – was ich aber nie zum Thema gemacht habe. Bei der ersten Platte war ich es so leid, das direkt gefragt zu werden. Mir war es wichtig eine private Person zu bleiben und eher die Neugier der Leute zu erwecken. Damals hatte ich auch nicht das Gefühl, dass das viel mit meiner Musik zu tun hatte. Das ist jetzt anders. Deswegen ist es vielleicht auch sinnvoll, mehr darüber zu reden. Aber ich glaube nicht, dass ich so Probleme hatte wie viele andere. Für das Musikvideo zum Song „Turmbau zu Babel“, von meinem neuen Album, haben wir vorher Klamotten anprobieren müssen. Eine junge Transgender-Frau in dem Video, eine Freundin von mir, kam zu dem Fitting und hat sich vor allen ganz selbstverständlich nackt gemacht. Das fand ich so mutig. 

Ich finde es gut, dass du manchmal öffentlich sagst, wenn du andere Bands schlecht findest. Schlagen sie manchmal zurück? Nee, die trauen sich das alle gar nicht. Aber weißt du, ich saß zwanzig Jahre in meinem Zimmer und habe mich so aufgeplustert ob meines exorbitanten Geltungsdrangs. Ich saß da und habe mich gefragt, warum sich niemand für meine Meinung interessiert. Dann, als man mir endlich ein Mikrofon hingehalten hat, bin ich explodiert. Ich werde immer sagen, was ich gut und was ich schlecht finde, aber ich würde lieber in Zukunft meine Energie darauf fokussieren, über Dinge zu reden, die mich betreffen und was ich gut finde.  Obwohl es besser ist, die Sache beim Namen zu nennen, als Negatives nur anzudeuten. Man muss nur das Echo vertragen können. Es ist krass, wie brüskiert manche Leute sind, wenn man sie scheiße findet. Seit wann gibt’s einen Zusammenhalt, nur weil beide Musik machen? Aber wie gesagt, ich will nicht, dass alle dieses Bild von mir haben. Ich werde mir größte Mühe geben, es weniger zu tun. 

Das neue Album “Zores” kann man hier vorbestellen!

Interview: Jeff Brown

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Der wütende Drang In einem Interview von 2016 sagte Drangsal dem Musikmagazin Noisey, dass die Produktion seines ersten Albums Harieschaim „aalglatt“ verlaufen sei.

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Sweet Pleasures

Everything in your local Spätkauf comes wrapped up in their glossy little packages, all ready for you to grab and go. They all have catchy names and colorfull labels that scream buy me, buy me now. Everything you can imagine is packed inside that little shop on the corner. Salty, sweet, crunchy, caffeine, alcohol – yes, everything to satisfy any one or all of your cravings of the moment.

While…

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Jean-Michel Basquiat Blooms in Germany Again

Jean-Michel Basquiat Blooms in Germany Again

If you know any recent art history, the name Jean-Michel Basquiat is very recognizable. He gained his fame running the streets of New York with the likes of Andy Warhol and Keith Haring during the late 70s and most of the 80s – where and when the hip hop, punk, and street art movements were thriving in full force. Basquiat used social commentary in his paintings as a metaphor for deeper truths…