The documentary of the late painter will be showing at select theaters in NYC through August 3rd. If you're in the area, check it out! Basquiat's style, art and his unique perspective of color and life continue to inspire creative minds globally and through this, his legacy lives on.
Check out my previous post on Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Born in Brooklyn, New York to a Puerto Rican mother and a Haitian father, Jean-Michel Basquiat was already speaking in three languages before age 11. He started off as a political- poetic graffiti writer in New York City selling punk inspired postcards in the streets of SoHo. He started spray painting his art on the buildings of lower-Manhattan under the signature "SAMO" (pronounced Same-Oh). He quickly evolved his urban style art and tinged it with African artistic structuring and style, writing and collage - In the 1980s, his work became a part of the Neo-expressionist movement.
His success quickly soared - he was also cited to be the first painter of African decent to become an international art star. However, as his fame mounted, he became increasingly isolated and overwhelmed by drug-use and depression. On August 22, 1988, Basquiat died of a heroin overdose in his New York City studio at the age of 27.
"I start a picture and I finish it. I don't think about art while I work. I try to think about life." - Jean-Michel Basquiat
