Jean-Michel Basquiet

We are all familiar with the various forms of graffiti art. For the most part, graffiti is viewed as destructive art by applying spray paint to important buildings, monuments, etc. In 2019 the Nathaniel Greene Monument was vandalized by graffiti in Savannah, Georgia that left a question as to why go after a monument that has no political importance as opposed to the several monuments that could easily have been targeted such as those referencing the Confederacy? Often bad art is also found in bad graffiti.

Not all graffiti is bad by a long shot. Many artists started out as graffiti artists, in fact one of the most famous living today is Banksy, a British artist who remains anonymous so he will not be put into jail. In the 1960’s, in New York City, graffiti art was everywhere. Every subway car became a canvas for spray paint inside and out. The culture was strongly into drugs, and anti generational. The Vietnam war was at its peak. The hippie movement (a revolt of the norms of society and its values in America) was at its peak, so was graffiti.

One of those New York City graffiti artists was named Jean-Michel Basquiat. He started out as a great graffiti poet and then added images that spoke of everyday life. He treated images as symbols that had hidden meanings behind them and yet he also used everyday objects, as well as numbers, signs and symbols to become as musical notes that forced us to see art differently, almost as if you were a child just learning about the world. When you view a Basquiat your first instinct is to say, “Anyone can draw or paint that way!” This is simply not true. Is at this place that you need to look deeper, feel deeper and not think so much as to simply experience the art as if you had been blind all your life and you are just now seeing for the first time.

Who Was Jean-Michel Basquiat?

Jean-Michel Basquiat was born on December 22, 1960, in Brooklyn, New York. He first attracted attention for his graffiti under the name "SAMO" in New York City. He sold sweatshirts and postcards featuring his artwork on the streets before his painting career took off. He collaborated with Andy Warhol in the mid-1980s, which resulted in a show of their work. Basquiat died on August 12, 1988, in New York City of a drug overdose.

Jean-Michel Basquiat first attracted attention for his graffiti under the name "SAMO" in New York City. He sold sweatshirts and postcards featuring his artwork on the streets before his painting career took off. He collaborated with Andy Warhol in the mid-1980s, which resulted in a show of their work. Basquiat died on August 12, 1988, in New York City.

Early Life

Born to a Haitian-American father and a Puerto Rican mother, Basquiat's diverse cultural heritage was one of his many sources of inspiration.

A self-taught artist, Basquiat began drawing at an early age on sheets of paper his father, an accountant, brought home from the office. As he delved deeper into his creative side, his mother strongly encouraged him to pursue his artistic talents.

Basquiat first attracted attention for his graffiti in New York City in the late 1970s, under the name "SAMO." Working with a close friend, he tagged subway trains and Manhattan buildings with cryptic aphorisms.

In 1977 Basquiat quit high school a year before he was slated to graduate. To make ends meet, he sold sweatshirts and postcards featuring his artwork on the streets of his native New York.

Crown Motif

In his earlier works, Basquiat was known for using a crown motif, which was his way of celebrating Black people as majestic royalty or deeming them as saints. Describing the crown itself in further detail, artist Francesco Clemente posited: "Jean-Michel’s crown has three peaks, for his three royal lineages: the poet, the musician, the great boxing champion. Jean measured his skill against all he deemed strong, without prejudice as to their taste or age."

Paintings

Three years of struggle gave way to fame in 1980 when Basquiat's work was featured in a group show. His work and style received critical acclaim for the fusion of words, symbols, stick figures, and animals. Soon, his paintings came to be adored by an art-loving public that had no problem paying as much as $50,000 for a Basquiat original.

Basquiat and Warhol

In the mid-1980s, Basquiat collaborated with famed pop artist Warhol, which resulted in a show of their work that featured a series of corporate logos and cartoon characters.

On his own, Basquiat continued to exhibit around the country and the world. In 1986, he traveled to Africa for a show in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. That same year, the 25-year-old exhibited nearly 60 paintings at the Kestner-Gesellschaft Gallery in Hanover, Germany — becoming the youngest artist to ever showcase his work there.

Personal Problems

As his popularity soared, so did Basquiat's personal problems. By the mid-1980s, friends became increasingly concerned by his excessive drug use. He became paranoid and isolated himself from the world around him for long stretches. Desperate to kick a heroin addiction, he left New York for Hawaii in 1988, returning a few months later and claiming to be sober.

Sadly, he wasn't. Basquiat died of a drug overdose on August 12, 1988, in New York City. He was 27 years old. Although his art career was brief, Basquiat has been credited with bringing the African American and Latino experience into the elite art world.

Discovering the Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat