Born in 1960, Jean-Michel Basquiat was a Neo-Expressionist Afro-American artist whose fame skyrocketed by 1981—a time when he was still sleeping on the streets on cardboard boxes. The biographical film Basquiat (1996) depicts his personality purely as he struggled with fame, drugs, and his own identity.
The reason I love this movie so much, despite its somewhat brief and loosely structured sequence of events, is that it allows someone newly familiar with Jean-Michel to easily grasp his genuine artistic reality and legacy. In addition being unlike other Hollywood films that always fall within certain conventions, molds, the power of the film lies in its powerful climax, which connects beautifully back to the beginning—a connection I will explain at the end.
A Longing Beyond New York
Firstly, rather than using a repetitive, poetic cinematic language focused solely on Basquiat’s African-American roots, the film adopts a wider perspective that deeply penetrates the mind. For instance, from start to finish, Jean-Michel repeats that he wants to buy an island, wishing to live there writing poems and playing music, far away from everyone else. However, throughout the movie, he remains stuck in New York—born into capitalism and ultimately dying within that same reckless capitalist system. This nuanced longing immediately reminds me of Anton Chekhov, whose characters always long for somewhere else but can never truly escape.
The Warhol Dynamic
Secondly, demonstrating Basquiat’s genius almost entirely through Andy Warhol’s delicate astonishment of him is another perfect choice. This is especially true considering that while the media and certain racist forces belittled Basquiat—claiming he was nothing without Warhol acting as his guardian—Andy didn’t care about the noise.
Being 32 years older than Jean-Michel, Warhol acted as a father figure to him. As the more experienced artist, he constantly and strictly tried to deter Basquiat from using drugs. As we see in the film, Andy even lets Basquiat “destroy” and paint over his own artworks, showing ultimate creative trust.
The Prince in the Tower
When Andy Warhol dies, we finally see Basquiat watching old footage of them together on an island, or a similarly peaceful place—a stark contrast to the uproar of New York. That same night, he tries to visit the mental hospital where his mother is staying. The next morning, we see that he has slept on the street.
After waking up, he meets a friend and narrates a story his mother once told him, though he isn’t sure if it came from her or from a dream. The story goes like this:
“A young prince trapped in a tower begins to bang his crown and head against a grate, hoping someone will hear him and rescue him. However, because the sound is so beautiful, no one stops to wonder where it is coming from, and so the prince never escapes.”
Right after, he suggests they go to Ireland on holiday.
As his biography shows, Basquiat tried to transmit his true self to others throughout his entire career. But because no one truly understood him, he could never escape his inner demons. Jean-Michel Basquiat died of a heroin overdose in 1988.
The Final Legacy
Following his death, alongside an immense body of work, his final painting, Riding with Death, left us a massive source of inspiration and heritage. Perhaps Basquiat’s signature crown was not present in that painting, but his bare body—which was inextricably linked to his mind—was very close to placing a real crown on his head. He possessed a genius that knew death was closing in.
To SAMO, to Basquiat… To the man whose crown is now placed upon the most vital and worthwhile pieces of my own world!
—Furqan
Visiting The Avant-Garde by Furqan
Basquiat’s Crown On Kings’ Heads by Furqan
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