Short Essay

      ANDY WARHOL AND JEAN- MICHEL BASQUIAT

                                                            An Artistic Friendship

    Andy Warhol and Jean Michael Basquiat were both very talented artists. Their work signifies many different aspects of their lives. Warhol and Basquiat were an unlikely pair. They were two aesthetic pioneers from different generations, two iconic creative minds of an era, but also two good friends. Andy’s work represents who he is and where he comes from, as so does Michel’s work. Both artists were born in an era that was not understanding of their work. Andy Warhol was one of America's arts, film directors, and producers of visual arts. His work explored the relationships between artistic expression and culture. Both artists were extraordinary at their work. Both born into two completely different lives became great icons in the art industry. Warhol was born on august 6th 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to immigrants’ parents from Miko, Austria-Hungary. Being the youngest out of his siblings, Warhol was a bit on the dramatic side when it came to himself. Andy became very attached to his mother, which enable him to live on his own. It was when he was homesick and taught at home when he discovered his passion for art and his crazy obsession with celebrities. Jean- Michel Basquiat was an American Graffiti Artist born December 22nd, 1960 to Puerto Rican and Haitian parents. Basquiat was a precocious child who learned how to read and write by the age of four and was a gifted artist. From a young age, Basquiat showed signs of his talented skills. As he delved deeper into his creative side, his mother strongly encouraged him to pursue his artistic talents. At the age of seven, Basquiat suffered an accident that left him with internal injuries. There are no doubts that Basquiat had a rough childhood, from being in and out of a mental hospital to be on his own at the age of fifteen. “A people or a class which is cut off from its own past is far less free to choose and to act as a people or class than one that has been able to situate itself in history.” ( Ways of Seeing, Berger). This quote reflects  Basquiat because growing up he did not have the best life. His life was hard, but it did not stop him from pursuing his dreams. Andy Warhol designed Pop art and Modern art in his work that inspired his drawings, paintings, films, music, and videos. As a commercial illustrator in the 1950s, Warhol worked in the fashion and advertising industries as well, designing layouts and making stylized drawings by hand. On the other hand, Basquiat’s designs expressed many themes that showed his culture and background. As a result of his shift in focus, his canvas artwork explores the themes of mortality, race, self-identity, and religion. Basquiat’s art styles were Neo-expressionism, Primitivism, and Contemporary art. A common theme in all of Basquiat’s works is the ideas finding one’s self and defining individual values while breaking social conventions. By the several different versions of self-portraits that Basquiat has of himself and the use of people of color in his artwork, it is clear to see that he was on a search for self-discovery and understanding his race.
     Warhol and Basquiat came from large families and grew up in a generation that made it hard for them to be themselves. As the friendship between the two artists developed, both socially and creatively, the pair began creating collaborative work. They became great close friends, that occasionally would hand their projects to other artists and go on manicures dates (Crummy2019) Warhol took interest in upcoming artists such as Jasper Johns which inspired him to expand his own artistic skills. Warhol created a series of images of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor and proceeded to create installations into galleries. Both Warhol’s and Basquiat’s art are synonymous with each other because both artists express their life experiences and passions into pieces of art. Basquiat used acrylic paint, oil paint sticks, and spray paint on canvas, linen, metal, and paper. His skills for graffiti painting were getting better that allowed him to open to different ways of creating art. While Basquiat expressed himself with paint, Warhol used acrylic paint, watercolors, on a silk screening. Warhol altered the images himself to create his paintings. Both artists work clearly expresses different themes and have a different meaning that relates to their personal lives and the life of others. In the book Ways of Seeing, Berger stated “We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves”. This quote relates to both artists because their work reflects their lives and the lives of others. After years of creating artwork and mesmerizing many people’s lives with his work, Warhol passed away in such a tragic way, leaving behind his work to remember him by. Warhol was shot which brought to a cardiac arrest in the hospital. Basquiat’s died very young at the hands of drugs. As much as he had so much fame, his drug addiction got the best of him. Two great artists gave the world a glimpse of their mind, body, and soul through their artwork, that to this day are mentioned to be the bests. 

 Reference: 

Berger, John. Ways of Seeing: Penguin, 2008. 

 Finkelstein, Joanne. The Art of Self Invention: Image and Identity in Popular Visual Culture. Tauris, 2007. 

 Crummy, colin” Lessons from Mr. Andy Warhol And Mr. Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Friendship’’ (June 2019)

 Benjamin, Mark (RAIN) An Analysis of Basquiat x Warhol (September 2020)