| Basquiat, Jean-Michel (1960-1988) , American painter, whose work first appeared as graffiti on the streets and subways of New York City. He was the most successful of a number of so-called street artists, whose work crossed over into New York City's gallery scene in the early 1980s. His works mix imagery from African, Caribbean, European, and popular art. The son of a Haitian father and a mother of Puerto Rican descent, Basquiat grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He had no formal art training beyond high school, but on his own he energetically explored a wide range of imagery and influences, ranging from comic books to Egyptian hieroglyphics, from the works of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso to children's art. Basquiat began his career in the late 1970s, collaborating with his high school classmate Al Diaz on illicit works of graffiti on New York City subways and streets. By 1979 his collaboration with Diaz ended, and Basquiat began to associate with artists and musicians on Manhattan's lower east side. He also began to create paintings. The start of Basquiat's swift and emotionally troubling rise to art-world stardom came in 1980, when he was selected by Colab, an artist's cooperative, for their Times Square Show. He painted a large interior wall for the exhibit, using both spray cans and brushes. Basquiat was adored by the wealthy downtown art establishment, which promoted what it believed was primitive genius, though some critics believed he was exploited. New York artists such as Keith Haring and Kenny Sharf, both of whom were keenly interested in integrating so-called street art influences into their work, also admired Basquiat. In 1983 and 1984 Basquiat collaborated with American artist Andy Warhol and Italian artist Francesco Clemente on several paintings. Basquiat's large, colorful works combine the painting style of American abstract expressionism with diverse imagery. Cartoonish skeletons and dogs abound amid writing and thick swaths of color. His imagery of the early 1980s ranges from the lushly-painted skulls in Untitled (Skull) (1981, Eli and Edythe Broad Collection, Los Angeles, California) to more delicate tributes to sports and jazz heroes—sometimes little more than scrawled names, as in Discography (1983, Galerie Bruno Bischofberger, Zürich, Switzerland). Initially feverishly productive, Basquiat grew increasingly undependable under the stresses of fame. Although he tried to overcome a heroin habit, he died of a drug overdose in his Manhattan loft when he was just 27. |
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