Jean - Michel Basquiat was an American painter; he was born in New York on December 22, 1960. He spent his life in New York until he died in 1988 from a heroin overdose at the age of 27. Jean - Michel Basquiat started his career as a graffiti artist; eventually his art career took off. His work normally explored his heritage, which was American, Latin, and African. Most of his graffiti work was abstract and included logos or
iconography that had deep historical meaning. His word is skillfully and purposefully put together in spite of the different styles and traditions within his pieces. The styles that are the most common within is work are punk, graffiti and counter-cultural. Art movement wise, Jean - Michel Basquiat is apart of the Expressionism group, being considered both a Neo-Expressionist and an Abstract Expressionist.
Many of Basquiat’s works include personal messages or his personal feelings in them. The painting, Riding with Death, expresses Basquiat’s feelings towards the racist, classist, and corrupt nature of America which surrounded him. This painting has been analyzed in a few ways; 1) as a statement on the repression and destruction of African societies by colonial powers and the inequalities or 2) Basquiat’s own drug addiction leading him to death. Regardless of the intended message, the work shows how technically sophisticated Basquiat was.
This connects to class because his artwork shows his personality but also his mental state. Personality is affected by how you grew up, the emotions you are feeling, and whether or not you are intoxicated. We can see how life and being addicted to drugs effected his personality and how he views the world. We can see the differences between Untitled (Skull) and Riding with Death.
Sources :
https://www.theartstory.org/artist/basquiat-jean-michel/
https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/the-creative-pinnacle-of-basquiats-career
https://laurentomlinfcp.home.blog/2018/11/08/creative-process-jean-michel-basquiat/
Jean-Michal Basquiat is a talented artist who has a really sad story. His art is able to portray great emotion. It causes his audience to think and evaluate what Basquiat was going through when he created the art and it causes the viewer to reflect on their own emotions. Basquiat's mental state is represented throughout most of his work as well. Each artwork depicts how he is feeling about himself or the culture he is living in. I wonder if Basquiat's altered state due to drugs was helpful in his artwork because it can be for most individuals.
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