Basquiat - Boom for Real

 The Haitian American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat was born in Brooklyn in 1960. He invented the writing poetic graffiti SAMO© which captured the city's attention. Basquiat was interested in various of things like music, poetry, paintings,performances and books that influenced him as an artist. In his art he often responses to diverse topics and expresses his point of view.

When it comes to his art Basquiat says “I don't know how to describe my work, it's like asking Miles, how does your horn sound?”. He also explains that he never attended art school but he learned about it by looking at things. That shows that he captured moments which impressed him.

I was fascinated by his artworks when I visited the exhibition. In my opinion is Basquiat an extraordinary man who ran through a tough time to become successful in the end. He seems not to care about his success but only about him showing his point of view in his art. Basquiat captures different things and responses to them in his artworks which has an unique handwriting.

Furthermore I am impressed by his confidence and conviction about his own artworks.

The Untitled painting from 1981 conveys the down town countercultural scene of the time and visualizes the energy of New as well as No Wave music.

This painting has an unique touch. It shows dark coloured buildings that are hidden behind black paint which has he effect of feeling darkness. At the same time it shows a sun and a car which expresses good vibes.

The graffiti SAMO© captured the attention of the burgeoning art world around SoHo and the Lower East Side. Different artists response to the violent crime that increased in New York during that time by using statements involving SAMO©. I am impressed by Basquiat's confidence and courage to protest through his art. He started a kind of rebellion when he invented SAMO© “ a play on the phrase 'the same old shit'.

Additionally he and some of his friends designed different postcards that were inspired by newspaper headlines, cigarettes butts and advertisements. Afterwards they sold them for a dollar each on the street even though those postcards had powerful meanings.

Basquiat was assured from his art and point of view which impresses me a lot. For me it is hard to believe that he went from nothing to everything.

Another part of the exhibition that I enjoyed was the “Self-Portrait” section. Basquiat was inspired by creative possibilities of identity as shown in that collection. It is incredible how he reflects himself using different paint techniques and colours.

All in one Basquiat is an amazing artist who became famous because of his courage to stand up and go against racism using unique methods and various material. His artworks show his anger about segregation. Furthermore He reflects his point of view in his artworks and shows his different perception of the world which impressed me a lot. I am also fascinated about him responding to famous painters like Pablo Picasso. I also liked that he got inspired and venerated black people who protested against racism.