Honestly, one of my absolute favorite artists ever. My break away from a fauvist style was solely dependent on him. Almost everything I do now is totally based off of his ideas, technique and style and I would be willing to say that other than Matisse, who is responsible for me being a painter altogether, Basquiat is my greatest influence. And the more life goes on, the more I see him as being even more important than Matisse to how I see art as a whole.
He broke out on the art scene around age twenty after living on the streets of New York, occasionally selling small collages and growing a reputation as one of New York's most interesting and unique graffiti artists. Once he took part in his first show, he became an immediate success, selling all of his work on the first night. From there, he meteorically rose to the forefront of the art scene, becoming friends with Andy Warhol and even dating Madonna for a time. But, as fame comes the demons of your life can arise as well. He struggled with drugs throughout his life, and when galleries were no longer clambering over his artwork, added with Warhol surprisingly died of a surgery complication, his life started to spiral. Jean Michel Basquiat died on August 12, 1988 of an apparent overdose on a mixture of cocaine and heroin.
If I could give you any advice as an artist, it would be to learn about its history and most of all, the people that influence you. If you are interested in Basquiat, take a look at some of his work and even more, I suggest the documentary "The Radiant Child" and the movie "Basquiat." He truly was a visionary and one that was taken far to early, proven by the fact that his art still manages to stimulate artists today. R.I.P.
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