Austin Short Essay #1 Basquiat & Warhol

Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol are two iconic artists who have contributed to the world through their art. Jean-Michel Basquiat was born in Brooklyn New York on December 22, 1960 to parents who are Hatian and Puerto Rican. Andy Warhol was born in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania on August 6th, 1928. Two different artists born in two different era’s come together to make a powerful friendship. Basquiat has always been a creative person and discovered his passion for art through a tragic car accident where he suffered internal injuries at the age of 8. While recovering in the hospital his mother gave him a copy of grey's anatomy book which was filled with drawings of our anatomy and from there Basquiat became inspired to be an artist. After his parents divorced due to financial issues, Basquiat's life became unstable. He moved in with his abusive father who hurt him so bad that he had to walk with a cane also, he’s been to five schools. Basquiet’s artwork touches on a variety of themes such race, identity, social injustice and even religion. Andy Warhol who became a close friend and mentor of Basquiat is also an iconic artist who has made his impact already. Warhol is the pioneer of pop art and gathered idea’s from pop culture and incorporated it into his pieces. 

Basquiat was a fresh face in the art industry and made his name after having a get together for his art and having made over $200,000 because of his paintings. Fame played a big role in his life and he has gotten many opportunities because of it. As his name began to grow he began to get more attention and even dated madonna. Andy Warhol had so many highs in his careers, he worked with so many high fashion magazines that put him on the map. It was alleged that Warhol became friends with Basquiat because his career was starting to die off and they profited off of eachother. Andy started off with abstract illustration and used things that he loved to inspire his paintings. For example he loved campbell soup so he put it in his painting and it is now considered one of his iconic pieces. Basquiat’s art was unique based on graffiti, it was trendy and conveyed deep messages.  

“The compositional unity of a painting contributes fundamentally to the power of its image, it is reasonable to consider a painting’s composition. But here the composition is written about as though it were in itself the emotional charge of the painting.” (Berger 13). I believe that this quote is saying that the composition of a painting makes it more powerful. I believe that Basquiat used emotion in his painting when talking about different issues that he believes in. After Basquiat passed from a heroin overdose they released many of his paintings that he created moment’s before his death. A Lot of them were very dark and depressing when explaining the emotional state that he was in. “ In this way, popular culture is like a rapid and continual series of switch- ing points where mass-mediated images and messages become ab- sorbed into everyday habits and then, at other times, are displaced and sidelined.” (Finkelstein 16). Popularity is the upbringing and downfall of many people in the public. Basquiat enjoyed his fame and all of the perks that came with it however, it also was a part of his downfall in a way. There was a time when his art was not selling like they used to and he turned to drugs to get through it. Andy Warhol used popularity and pop culture as an advantage to get people engaged in his art so I believe it helped him as well. “The uniqueness of every painting was once part of the uniqueness of the place where it resided. Sometimes the painting was transportable. But it could never be seen in two places at the same time. When the camera reproduces a painting, it destroys the uniqueness of its image.” (Berger 8). Basquiat was a very spontaneous artist and created using anything and everything. His artistry was unique and definitely reflected his state of being, his paintings are so unique and would be hard to see its true value through a camera lens. Andy Warhol's art was not just illustrations but they were an experience that had to be seen in person in order to grasp the full concept. “Images were first made to conjure up the appearances of