Jean
Michel Basquiat
Basquiat's
Upbringing
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Born December 22, 1960 in
Brooklyn, New York to Matilda A. and Gerard Basquiat
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He was a gifted child who
picked up the concepts of writing and drawing at an early age due to his
mothers encouragement. She often found the time to take him to the New York
Museum. by the time he was 6, he was a junior member of the Brooklyn Museum
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His mom was of Puerto
Rican descent and his father was Haitian, a mix that attributed to him fluently
speaking and writing in French, Spanish, and English
•
Basquiat's upbringing
became flawed as he was hit by a car when he was 8, he mourned the loss of his
brother Max, his parents divorced, which was a contributing factor into his mom
being institutionalized
Growing
up, he made claims that his father physically and mentally abused him, which
led him to run away, and latter move in with a friend of his. His troubles
didn't stop there as he dropped out of Edward Murrow High School in the 10th
grade when he was 15
Introduction
into the Art world
•
In 1972 with the company
of his friend Al Diaz, the two started spray painting buildings in Lower
Manhattan under the street name SAMO meaning "Same Old Shit"
•
In 1978 the
anti-establishment, anti-religion, anti-politics graffiti was praised by the
Village Voice
•
The following year,
Basquiat and Diaz parted ways. Their split was seen written on buildings with
the phrase 'SAMO is dead". Later this year Jean started to make a name for
himself by getting booked on public access t.v. shows, which he continued to
appear on for the next 5 years
•
When cash became an issue,
he began selling drugs and shopping around homemade t-shirts and postcards in
an attempt to get off of the streets
In 1980
he was included in a Times Square art show, which prepped him for his first
solo art show in SoHo in 1982
Basquiat's
Style
•
Basquiat's fame sprouted
during the German Non-Expressionist movement. During this time period, he often
drew on the sidewalk in addition to his former graffiti technique
•
This movement marked the
return of painting and brought back the minimalistic concepts of the human
figure
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The “African Diaspora” and
“Americana” were two works that gave him critical acclaim in the mid 1980s
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Throughout the '80s,
Basquait continued on his rise to fame becoming the youngest artist to showcase
6 major art shows worldwide. He also became well known overseas landing a spot
in Germany's Documenta art show which took place every 5 years
•
In the successful part of
his career, he created about 200 paintings and crafted a crown outlined in
black as his signature
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From 1984-1986 Basquiat
teamed up with the equally famous Andy Warhol and collaborated on a series of
paintings such as “Ten Punching Bags”. It is said that Warhol would paint the
canvas first and Basquiat would add on to his work
Though being praised
by New York Times magazine, Basquiat started to withdrawal himself from the art
world, especially after Warhol's death in 1987, which was around the time his
drug addiction became the topic of discussion amongst the art world
Legacy
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Basquiat died on August
12, 1987 at the young age of 27 due to a drug overdose
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Along with Warhol, he
became known for doing Pop Art pieces of work as well as Minimalistic pieces of
artwork
•
Basquiat's story and art
work continue to serve as an example of what could possible happen if artists
choose to take on the fame and give in to their bad habits as opposed to
portraying their emotions into their artwork
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Over the years, his
artwork has been put on display in the Whitney Museum (1990) and the Brooklyn Museum
(2005)
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His lifestyle has been
depicted in numerous biographies
•
He is heavily praised in
literature as well as biopics and his influences can still be bragged about in
the hip-hop culture and amongst many A-list celebrities. His work sells for
well over $115 million with some pieces being sold for $12-16 million
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