Jean Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s. He has been regarded as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he was part of the Neo-expressionism movement.
Basquiat's art focused on divisions such as wealth versus poverty, integration versus segregation, and inner versus outer experience. He appropriated poetry, drawing, and painting, and married text and image, abstraction, figuration, and historical information mixed with contemporary critique.
He used social commentary in his paintings as a tool for introspection and for identifying with his experiences in the black community of his time, as well as attacks on power structures and systems of racism. His visual poetics were acutely political and direct in their criticism of colonialism and support for class struggle.
He used social commentary in his paintings as a tool for introspection and for identifying with his experiences in the black community of his time, as well as attacks on power structures and systems of racism. His visual poetics were acutely political and direct in their criticism of colonialism and support for class struggle.
A prominent theme in Basquiat's work is the portrayal of historically prominent black figures, who were identified as heroes and saints. His early works often featured the iconographic depiction of crowns and halos to distinguish heroes and saints in his specially chosen pantheon.
Jean Michel recognizes the majesty of his heroes: ground-breaking athletes, musicians and writers. Inspired by their accomplishments, Basquiat believed he was continuing the work of this noble lineage: he often depicts himself wearing the same crown in his self-portraits.
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Heads and skulls are seen as significant focal points of many of Basquiat's most influential later pieces of work.
A major reference source used by Basquiat throughout his career was the book Gray's Anatomy, which his mother had given him while he was in the hospital aged seven. It remained influential in his depictions of the human anatomy, and in its mixture of image and text as seen in Flesh and Spirit.
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