Basquiat
A Quick Killing in Art
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4.2 • 18 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A New York Times Notable Book: This national bestseller is a vivid biography of the meteoric rise and tragic death of art star Jean-Michel Basquiat
Painter Jean-Michel Basquiat was the Jimi Hendrix of the art world. In less than a decade, he went from being a teenage graffiti artist to an international art star; he was dead of a drug overdose at age twenty-seven. Basquiat’s brief career spanned the giddy 1980s art boom and epitomized its outrageous excess. A legend in his own lifetime, Basquiat was a fixture of the downtown scene, a wild nexus of music, fashion, art, and drugs. Along the way, the artist got involved with many of the period’s most celebrated personalities, from his friendships with Keith Haring and Andy Warhol to his brief romantic fling with Madonna.
Nearly thirty years after his death, Basquiat’s story—and his art—continue to resonate and inspire. Posthumously, Basquiat is more successful than ever, with international retrospectives, critical acclaim, and multimillion dollar sales. Widely considered to be a major twentieth-century artist, Basquiat’s work has permeated the culture, from hip-hop shout-outs to a plethora of products. A definitive biography of this charismatic figure, Basquiat: A Quick Killing in Art is as much a portrait of the era as a portrait of the artist; an incisive exposé of the eighties art market that paints a vivid picture of the rise and fall of the graffiti movement, the East Village art scene, and the art galleries and auction houses that fueled his meteoric career. Basquiat resurrects both the painter and his time.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hoban's background as a journalist shows in the fast-paced, reportorial style with which she presents the life and times of the 1980s art world "phenom," painter Jean-Michael Basquiat. Half-Haitian, half-Puerto Rican, Basquiat grew up in Brooklyn as the son of a middle-class accountant. At constant odds with a father friends described as "strict" and "self-absorbed," he became a drug-soaked denizen of the East Village, painting the city's walls with his graffiti tag, SAMO. How he turned his skills at wordplay and fragmented imagery into a career that captivated the international art scene before dying of a heroin overdose at the age of 27 becomes the focus of this accessible, frequently entertaining book. Those who peopled that scene, from gallery owner Mary Boone to Andy Warhol and Madonna, receive ample coverage here, as do the downtown New York clubs he frequented and the upscale European suites he trashed. Throughout, Hoban makes a strong case that racism marred the life of the dreadlocked artist in paint-spattered Armani suits. What's missing is any analysis of the degree to which Basquiat's enormous drug consumption (ca. 100 bags of heroin a day at the end) contributed to his imagery, especially the gap-toothed skulls he splayed across ragged expanses of bright colors. Basquiat died intestate, which ultimately meant that his father, Gerard, became executor. Although there are eight pages of photos (not seen by PW), Hoban could not get permission to reproduce works for her unauthorized biography and the lack is sorely felt. Editor: Paul Slovak. FYI: August 12 will be the 10th anniversary of Basquiat's death.
Customer Reviews
Inconvenient Truths
JMB changed my life. I was ignorant of Contemporary Art when he was alive. I just didn’t know any better. Aside from music and film, Art wasn’t on my radar. But over time, others in his orbit like Haring and Schnabel (sp?) revealed themselves to me. And of course all roads lead to Warhol.
But JMB. Boom. I’m an artist (small “a”) because of him. What I knew about his life enthralled me. I saw the movie, I bought the Whitney book, I thought I was set after reading Widow Basquiat. Then I recalled this book mentioned somewhere (Vanity Fair?).
NO SPOILERS: I highly recommend this work for several reasons. Foremost, it is meticulously researched. It fills in the margins, alleyways and palazzo of New York City, circa ‘75 through the booming ‘80’s. The book is honest. Warts, etc.
It doesn't sugarcoat the outrageous or the mundane. It should be included when assessing the totality of his work and the much deserved and seemingly endless rise in popularity with the public.
Even if half this book is wrong, perhaps you’ll see the tree in the forest a mite better.