Basquiat

1960-88 African-American artist, one of the 20th Century Painters.

He started by making graffiti with permanent markers in New York City. Also made drawings on paper, painted on t-shirts and other 'found surfaces' made assemblages out of found objects.

In the late 70's and early 80's, he made the scene at the New York Art Scene hot spots: CBGB's, the Mudd Club, The Sin Club and 'Club 57'. It was Basquiat who first inspired Keith Haring to begin his career using the format of Graffiti. As such he is considered part of Pop Art. He also became friends with Julian Schnabel and Andy Warhol.

In 1981, he was part of a show at the PS1 Gallery and it was here that he was first recognized. He was still homeless for all practical purposes, getting kicked out of one hotel after another.

In 1982, he had a one man show in the "Fun Gallery" in the East Village. This greatly spread his fame.

In 1983, he was shown in the Whitney Museum of American Art.

By 1985, he became one of the most famous and successful artists in America. He was featured on the cover of the New York Times Magazine.

In 1988, died of heroin overdose.

There was also a 1996 movie made based on his life by the same name, starring Jeffrey Wright in the title role, plus Christopher Walken, David Bowie who plays Warhol brilliantly, Dennis Hopper and Willem Dafoe.

Related Nodes:

• A Brief History of New York City's Early Graffiti
• A Short Primer on Graffiti Wildstyle Math
• techniques of modern art
• graffiti for the masses
• guerilla sidewalk art
• Close to the Knives by David Wojnarowicz
• Baird Jones on Skull Space Gallery

His work is in the permanent collection of:

• Whitney Museum of American Art
• Museum of Modern Art

Source:
Hager, Steven, "Art After Midnight: The East Village Scene", ST. Martin's Press, NY, 1986.
http://www.smartwentcrazy.com/basquiat/

Jean-Michel Basquiat was born December 22,1960 in Brooklynto a Haitian father and a Puerto Rican mother.

He took an interest in art at an early age, drawing mostly cartoons and comic book characters. When he was 7, Basquiat was hit by a car. While in the hospital, his mother gave him a copy of Gray's Anatomy which would inspire many of his works.

After Basquiat's parents separated, he chose to live on the streets with his friends. He took up spray painting, and would strategically place his "art" (signed SAMO:same old shit) in Soho and the East Village. The Village Voice published an article about the SAMO pieces in 1978, this lead to a public showing in 1980.

The pace of his career steadily increased. He booked shows in Italy and Germany in the following years and was received warmly by critics. In 1983 his work was shown in the Whitney Gallery. He collaborated with Andy Warhol on a number of projects and the two developed a close friendship.

Basquiat died in 1988 of a drug overdose, a year after Warhol's death.