Why are Jean Michel Basquiat paintings so important?
Jean-Michel Basquiat is iconic for two reasons which amount to the same thing: he was a black artist and he painted in a way that recognised and popularised black heritage in art. Part of the 1970s-80s Neo-Expressionist art movement, Basquiat’s paintings are full of frenetic but also very directed energy and vivid simple colours.
When did Jean Michel Basquiat work with Andy Warhol?
He collaborated with Andy Warhol in the mid-1980s, which resulted in a show of their work. Basquiat died on August 12, 1988, in New York City. Basquiat was born in Brooklyn, New York, on December 22, 1960. With a Haitian-American father and a Puerto Rican mother, Basquiat’s diverse cultural heritage was one of his many sources of inspiration.
Why was Jean Michel Basquiat pigeon holed as a black artist?
Basquiat’s use of imagery and motifs suggestive of African art made it easy to stereotype him as a black artist but he was keen to be known simply as an artist. This antagonism between how he wanted to present himself and how he was pigeon-holed by others is documented through his work.
What kind of parents did Jean Michel Basquiat have?
His mother was of Puerto Rican heritage, and his father a Haitian immigrant, the combination of which eventually led to the young Jean-Michel’s fluency in French, Spanish, and English (indeed, early readings of French symbolist poetry would come to influence Basquiat’s later work).
Where does Jean Michel Basquiat live in Brooklyn?
The Basquiats live in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Sister, Lisane, is born in Brooklyn. At an early age, Basquiat shows an affinity for drawing, often using paper his father brings home from the accounting firm where he works to make drawings inspired by television cartoons.
Who is Nora Fitzpatrick in Jean Michel Basquiat?
Nora Fitzpatrick begins residing with Gerard Basquiat. She becomes a maternal figure, and friend, to the younger Basquiat. At Diaz’s graduation from the City-as-School in June, Basquiat, on a dare, prepares a box full of shaving cream, and while the principal is speaking he runs up to the podium and dumps the box on his head.