Jean-Michel Basquiat: Teenage Years and Influences

At work in the Lower East Side of Manhattan of New York, Jean-Michel Basquiat created a series of graffiti and street art that later brought him fame. Image: Howl! Happening

ART NEWS

A new exhibition in New York and a new film examine the late teenage years of Jean-Michel Basquiat, his friends, and other artists, writers, filmmakers, and musicians that influenced his artistic career.

BY ARTCENTRON

NEW YORK, NY – The sale of one of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s paintings for over $100 million early this year has brought new attention to this great American artist who died at a very young age. Since the record auction sale, major exhibitions and talks focused on the artist’s career have been held across the globe.  It is in the spirit of that resurgence of interest in the work and life of  Jean-Michel Basquiat that a group exhibition will open on May 13, 2018, at the Howl! Happening in New York.

Titled  Zeitgeist: The Art Scene of Teenage Basquiat,  the show focuses on the artist and the scene around his teen-aged and pre-fame years. Curated by Howl! Happening: An Arturo Vega Project, Sara Driver, Carlo McCormick, and Mary-Ann Monforton, Zeitgeist, the exhibition brings particular context to an important aspect of the artist’s life that is not known to many. It looks at his teenage years and some of the people that influenced his approach to art and thinking.

Teenage Jean-Michel Basquiat

In addition to the exhibition, Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat, a film by Sara Drivers will also be released.  The film takes a deep dive into the life of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s pre-fame. It investigates how the times, the people and the movements around him informed his artistic career.  Using never-before-seen works, writings, and photographs Sara Drivers weaves a compelling story that brings to life an amazing aspect of the life of the artist as he grew up in the streets of New York.

Before the rise of the 80s art and real estate juggernaut in New York, the creative art scene was dominated by young spirited artists and writers. Their main concern was with their craft and nothing else. For them, money was not the measurement for artistic success: to be a penniless published poet or a musician gigging at CBS was the height of success. For the film,  Sara Drivers collaborated with her friends and other artists who emerged from that scene. They include  Nan Goldin, Jim Jarmusch, James Nares, Fab Five Freddy, Lee Quinones, Luc Sante and many others.

ARTS AUCTION| READ ALSO: New Video Shows How a Basquiat Sold for $110.5 Million

The exhibition and the film illuminate the growth and factors that influenced Jean-Michel Basquiat ‘s career. From his early work to peers, and creative community in gritty, the film allows a look at a period when decay, drugs, and dissolution fueled a boom in creativity. Using raw footage, the film examines the growth of street art and graffiti in New York.  There is a focus on cross-pollination of styles, disciplines, and influences that characterized an era that propelled a younger generation of creative minds to search for authenticity, closeness, and community.

Other events for the All About Basquiat event in New York includes a panel discussion featuring Alexis Adler, Felice Rosser, Lee Quiñones, Al Diaz, and more. There will also be a screening of Howard Brookner’s 1983 documentary Burroughs: The Movie from the Criterion Collection.

Basquiat’s Band and Music

Additionally, there will be an evening of films featuring an experimental film by Basquiat’s bandmate Michael Holman, with a soundtrack by Gray, the band he and Basquiat formed. David Schmidlapp’s film of Walter Steding playing beneath the Brooklyn Bridge will also be presented to art lovers. Also, Paul Tschinkel’s film about New York/New Wave that was part of curator Diego Cortez’s groundbreaking exhibition at PS1 in 1981 will be presented to the viewers during the evening of films.  There will also be a performance by Felice Rosser.

Zeitgeist: The Art Scene of Teenage Basquiat, the release of the Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat and other special events slated for the All About Basquiat event in New York not only illuminates Basquiat artistic career but also his friends and other artists, writers, filmmakers, and musicians who emerged from that scene. They include Alexis Adler, Philippe Bordas, Jane Dickson, Richard Hambleton, Nan Goldin among many others.

Jean-Michel Basquiat is no doubt one of the most celebrated American artists. What do you think about the new attention to his work and artistic career? Share your comments. Follow Us: Facebook– Twitter–Instagram