The Lines of Life

The stellar artist of the 1980s, who brought poverty, power and racism to walls and galleries

An icon of 1980s New York, Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) initially made a name for himself signing graffiti as "SAMO" before setting up his studio and quickly rising to fame at the age of 20. Although his career lasted barely a decade, he is still considered a cult figure of socially engaged art and a pioneer in mediating between graffiti and gallery art.

In his work, Basquiat used diverse sources and media to create an original and urgent artistic vocabulary, which was also a scathing critique of power structures and racism. His practice fused abstraction and figuration, poetry and painting, while his influences ranged from Greek, Roman and African art to French poetry, jazz rhythms and the work of contemporary artists such as Andy Warhol and Cy Twombly. The results are vivid and visceral mixtures of words, African emblems, cartoon figures and brightly coloured blobs, among a multitude of other details.

This book presents Basquiat's brief but prolific career, his unique style and his deep involvement with such relevant issues as integration and segregation, poverty and wealth.

About the author

Leonhard Emmerling received his PhD from the University of Heidelberg with a thesis entitled "Art Theory of Jean Dubuffet". He directs the South Asia regional programme at the Goethe-Institut in New Delhi and previously curated exhibitions at various art institutions in Germany. He is also the author of the books Jean-Michel Basquiat and Jackson Pollock by TASCHEN.

Publisher: Taschen