The Life of Jean Michel Basquiat
...d “The Radiant Child”, and was published in Artforum Magazine. This article catapulted Basquiat’s career. By 1983 Jean Michel was doing multiple large canvas pieces while living, and working in a loft in New York, The loft was provided by his first art dealer Anina Nosei. His home only had two pieces of furniture. There was a mattress with no box spring, and a small television. The floor was littered with art supplies, books, expensive clothes splattered with paint, and wads of cash. In 1983 Basquiat had a one-man exhibition at the art gallery of Anina Nosei, and he also showed his work at The Whitney Museum of American Art. At his first one man show Basquiat showed up late, high, and listening to a tape on his Walkman. By this time Basquiat’s friends had become very concerned about his drug use. He was often disheveled, and almost always paranoid. Many times his paranoia was correct. I wasn’t always just the heavy drug use that fueled his concerns. Many times people would steal pieces of unfinished work from his studio. He was very weary about the people surrounding him; he was convinced that they were all using him. In 1984 Basquiat befriended Andy Warhol. Their relationship sparked controversy concerning the white control of black art. Over the course of their friendship Basquiat a Warhol collaborated on many art works, none of which attracted the attention of the art world. None the less their relationship continued to flourish. In 1985 Basquiat appeared on the cover of The New York Times Magazine. The article he posed for was titled “New Art New Money: The Marketing of an American Artist.” Later that year Jean Michel had his second one-man show. This show depicted his work in an Afro-American context. This was the first time his work had been discussed this way. Many of his paintings represented reflections of urban black culture, and black history, which mirrored some aspects of Basquiats own identity. His work celebrated black knowledge, and literacy, and rejected racial stereotypes. Especially in Hollywood where African Americans were often cast in slave, or house keeping roles. In contrast to what most people think Basquiat did not consider himself a graffiti artist. Basquiat once hung up on a journalist who continued to refer to his part in the Graffiti Movement. Jean Michel had always thought of himself as a fine arts artist. That is why he dropped the name SAMO as soon as his career took off. Basquiat’s artistic influences did not include any grafitti artists. His influences ranged front Leonardo DaVinci to Cy Twambly. Critics have said that there are traces of these influences in his pieces. But the more memorab...