Despite His Battle With Heroin And Depression, Jean-Michel Basquiat Was A Phenomenal Painter Known For His Graffiti-inspired Art

For years drugs and art have gone hand in hand, drugs being either the spike in an artist’s creativity or the demise in their career. Many youthful artists, still in their prime, have died too soon at the hands of drug and alcohol abuse. Whether it be lyrical genius’ such as Mac Miller or amazing actors such as River Phoenix, drugs and alcohol have taken the lives of many young artists while they were still learning to cope and express themselves through their work. The sacrifices made by these young stars are what adds value to their crafts.

This and the fact that an artist only reaches his true value once he’s dead. Redirecting from speaking of alcoholism, drug use in the art reml is commonly known for giving artists the creative bursts used to create their masterpieces; but at what cost? The answer to that question can be found when looking through the life of a well known New York artist by the name of Jean-Michel Basquiat, before and after the fame. Despite his battle with heroin and depression, Basquiat was a phenomenal painter and inspired and influenced the art community until his death in 1988. Known for his graffiti inspired art, some of Basquiat’s most influential pieces are SAMO Graffiti and two Untitled (Skulls) created between the years 1980 and 1982.

In his early life, Jean-Michel Basquiat was raised in a loving two parent home. According to the book Jean-Michel Basquiat: A Biography, by Eric Fretz, his father worked as an accountant in the city of New York. Though it is unclear what his mother’s occupation was, it is said that she had a strong eye for fashion design and sketching, and she would frequently draw with Basquiat. Basquiat’s mother [Matilide] was a big influence on his early stages of artistic creativity. The two would visit local art museums often and she would always explain to him how important it was to have a solid education, Basquiat even took it as far to say, “I’d say my mother gave me all the primary things.

The art came from her” (Basquiat) 2. With such a close relationship with his mother growing up, it’s no surprise that he started to act out once his parents split up at the age of seven. His father moved himself and his children, including Jean-Michel, to Puerto Rico for a job opportunity; this is when Jean-Michel’s life starts to take a turn. In the words of his father, ”Jean-Michel did not like obedience. He gave me a lot of trouble’ (Gerard Basquiat) 4. He says this after Jean-Michel runs away from their home for the first time in 1975 at the age of 15, but it wouldn’t be his last time pulling a stunt like this.

In the year of 1976 Jean-Michel and his family move back to the states where they built a new life in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. Once again, Jean-Michel runs away from home, but this time in his leave of absence he experiments with the psychedelic drug lysergic acid diethylamide, also known as LSD. LSD is an illegal, but common, drug sold off of the market and is known for its hallucinated side effects. According to the official drugs website, “LSD is a mind-altering drug. It is thought LSD causes it’s characteristic hallucinogenic effects via interaction with the serotonin receptors in the brain. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps control your behavior and mood, governs your senses, and moderates you thoughts.”

As Jean-Michel reflects on his experience with running away from home and trying the drug for the first time, he says, “I left home at 15, and went to Washington Square Park. I just sat there dropping acid …. Now that all seems boring; it eats your mind up” (Basquiat) 6. It seems as though acid wasn’t something that he would try again, he seemed rather bored with the entire experience. It’s no surprise that he wasn’t a fan of a drug that controlled his mind and roboted him because Jean-Michel was a very liberated young man. He was never one for dictation, and he could be described as a free thinker. His lesson was learned after his father found him two weeks later, and though he left the acid alone that wasn’t the end of his rebel phase.

During his high school years Jean-Michel dipped into his creative side and joined a drama group known as Family Life Theater. The group welcomed Jean-Michel with open arms, one group member in particular being Al Diaz. Basquiat and Diaz were two peas in a pod, and they were known for their mischievous, but artistic, after school festivities. The two would often tag the D train in lower Manhattan as a way of “blowing off steam.” This stage of Basquiat’s life is where SAMO (Say-MO) was born, SAMO being a personification for Same Old Shit. SAMO was known for an abundance of things, one of them being a political figure known for some, and a fake religion to the public for others; something for people to believe in. In a scholarly essay written by Henry A. Flint Jr. he explains the time period when SAMO was created he writes,

In 1978, a wave of graffiti appeared in downtown Manhattan—each one a statement about SAMO© or a statement signed by SAMO©. 1 When comprehended as a sequence, in their public locations on buildings, the graffiti expressed a substantial cultural message.2 Areas in which the graffiti appeared included SoHo, the new art quarter of New York, and the Lower East Side, an ethnic neighborhood which was also the site of New York’s bohemian ferment. Inhabitants of these neighborhoods automatically became the graffiti’s viewers. (Flint 1)

SAMO was for those like Basquiat and Diaz who needed an outlet from the political world. During the seventies, many young adults were in a position of feeling like their voices were going unheard, SAMO gave those people a voice and with perfect timing. In 1967 graffiti gave it’s official debut and since then it’s been ongoing controversy surrounding the intent and influence it has had on our youth. Politicians may argue that graffiti is brainwashing children into thinking that vandalism is the only way to get attention, but according to artist and muralist, Lady Pink, graffiti is “young, cool, creative, – let it happen.”

In The NY Times opinion pages, Pink gave her share on graffiti and its place in the world, she says, “If graffiti is inspiring, it’s because it’s fun, cool and does not take formal training. Young kids who paint on the walls are screaming to be heard and, yes, we all started that way. My husband and I have to clean graffiti off of my property from time to time, but I see it as the price we all pay for urban living. A bit of rebellion is something we should champion as a society. Somebody has to question the status quo – or we’ll grow stagnant.” Growing stagnant is exactly what Basquiat was fighting against, this is why he and Diaz took charge and became the voices for the new world.

To better grasp a concept of what the two were trying to do, think of a blank wall. Now, think of that blank wall in a busy city such as New York. People pass by this wall on a daily basis, but they never stop and look at it, why? The wall has potential, but no one sees it because it’s just like every other wall they pass by every day. Nothing about it stands out, nothing is original, Basquiat and Diaz give this wall an image with a distinct message. Once the walls starts to get noticed it earns critics, and just like any other piece that has critics it gained positive and negative feedback. Philip Faflick wrote about the appearance of messages and graffiti in The Village Voice.

In this article he writes, “But when SAMO®️ came along it was like what a rush, you know? A reason to start writing again. The stuff you see on the subways now is insane. Scribbled SAMO®️ was like a refresher course because there’s some kind of statement being made. It’s not just ego graffiti. ” (Philip Faflick) 41. The legacy of SAMO did exactly what it was intended to do, grasp the public’s attention for a cause. It reached out to the lower class community and during the time when police brutality was at an all time high, SAMO was there to inform the people that their voices would not go unheard. Judith R. Blau, Peter M. Blau, and Reid M. Golden worked together to create an educated essay and in quo to their essay the abstract stated, “Art is measured by the proportion in artistic occupations, whether they involve classical, popular, or commercial art.

Economic inequality apparently promotes art, but perhaps no longer primarily through patronage but rather through the need for affluence to consume art and, particularly, through the diverse demand for art engendered by great differences in economic class.”(1985) 2. Though SAMO wasn’t used for money, in the beginning, Diaz and Basquiat were strategic with their targeted placements. They tagged lower class communities because these urban areas were prone to violence and racial profiling; the perfect spot for rebellion. It gained supporters because of relatability and the people seemed to appreciate what Basquiat and Diaz were doing.

Sadly, the public’s attention is also what lead to the downfall of Basquiat and Diaz’s friendship. The fame eventually went to his [Basquiat’s] head and in 1979 the infamous SAMO is dead tagging across the city shook the public. Referring back to the book Jean-Michel Basquiat: A Biography, by Eric Fretz. “Jean-Michel saw SAMO as a vehicle, the graffiti was an advertisement for himself. … all of a sudden he just started taking it over.” (Al Diaz) 20. In the years to come after the break up, Jean-Michel began to create a name for himself. His work began to gain attention from local museums, and people wanted to buy his work for personal use. No matter how much attention he gained from the upper class community, Jean-Michel never turned his back on his lower class family, and he continued to represent them through his art.

Mia-Ashley Guerrero of University of North Carolina Asheville wrote, “His work brought the culture of graffiti and street art into fine art galleries and elite museums around the world building opportunities for black and other minority artists that would follow him in years to come. Although Basquiat did not see himself as an activist, this paper argues that messages in his art attacked cultural appropriations by mainstream society as well as expressed the struggles of black and Latino communities. Specifically, works entitled, “Defacement (Death of Michael Stewart)” (1983) and “Irony of a Negro Policeman” (1981) addressed the issues of racial and social inequality for these same groups.”(2017). As his rise in the art industry grew rapidly, so did his urge to be high in the clouds.

It’s safe to say that Diaz and Basquiat had a close bond. The two were like brothers, so the separation anxiety may have taken a toll on Basquiat the same way the break up did for Mac Miller after him and Ariana Grande called it quits. Louisa Elderton of Sleek Magazine wrote an article about artists and their dealings with drugs, she says, “Rather than just getting high, contemporary artists are using drugs to explore the possibility of escape from todays socio political woes.” (2017). Jean-Michel struggled with a heroin addiction, which could have been triggered by many things. I tend to reflect on his life and how much pain it was filled with, and heroin was known for healing pain. According to the American Addiction Center (AAC), “The immediate effect of a powerful drug like heroin binding to those molecules is a surge of euphoria and pleasure, giving way to a feeling of supreme tranquility that can last for hours. Healthline describes it as “a warm blanket on the brain.”

Pain, meanwhile, is dulled or completely forgotten.”(2018). Jean-Michel Basquiat had finally made it where he wanted to be. His art was being recognized for it’s true worth and he was becoming something that he always wanted to be; a true artist. Sadly, he found himself more alone during this time than ever before. With a past filled with broken relationships and pain, it’s no wonder he turned to drugs. Drugs never turn their back on you. Drugs never judge you, they understand and heal you. Drugs also make the world around seem like less of a bleak place, but drugs also crave attention. The more time you give, the more time they take . Much like humans, the longer you spend in the presence of drugs, the more toxic they become. To further quote the AAC (2018),

Among the many problems of using heroin to get high is that the effect diminishes with every exposure to the drug. The more a person takes, the more the body gets used to it – a process known as tolerance. The National Institute on Drug Abuse explains that as the brain adapts to what the heroin is doing to it, it responds less and less if the same amount of heroin is used. This usually compels users to increase their doses, desperate to experience the same sensation that got them hooked in the first place. It may take a number of hits of a higher dose to feel that; but by that point, the tolerance level has already increased, so users simply take more heroin. In the process, they become increasingly dependent on heroin for pleasure and even for the anticipation of pleasure. Nothing else in life matches up to what the heroin does, even as more and more heroin is needed to recapture the feeling of that first dose.

It was said that Basquiat to have purchased up to 100 bags of heroin on some days. “In the field of the arts, it’s far too common for our beloved actors, musicians, artists and writers to suffer the destruction of addiction to drugs or alcohol. It happens to successful, prosperous creative people, new arrivals to the scene and those who never make it off the ground. When we enjoy their art, we hate to learn that they have long been suffering as they created pieces of entertainment or culture that we have been enjoying” (Birkenshaw) 2017.