The Neo-Expressionist Art of Jean-Michel Basquiat
Background
Jean-Michel Basquiat was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 22 of 1960. He was of Haitian descent through his father and of Puerto Rican descent through his mother. An appreciation of and love for art was instilled in him from a very early age by his mother, especially through their trips to art museums in Manhattan. She even enrolled him into the Brooklyn Museum of Art as a junior member. A gifted child, perhaps even a genius, he learned to read and write by the age of four and by eleven was fluent in French, Spanish and English. In 1968, at the age of seven, the young Basquiat was hit by a passing car while he was playing in the street. Laid up for some time recovering from a broken arm and internal injuries, he was occupied by a copy of Gray’s Anatomy bought for him by his mother. This would go on to have substantial influence on his future artistic process.
Sadly that same year his parents ended up separating, leading to his father raising him and his sisters. Family life for Basquiat became only more tumultuous with the result he ran away from home at age fifteen, though after a week sleeping on benches he ended up being arrested and returned home. A few years later he dropped out of high school. He would soon start attracting attention for his graffiti work.
