The same audience that crucified him in the media in the ‘80s is now making millions off his work. This private collection bullshit— if you are not well off enough to be in those spaces, you wouldn’t even get to see it. It’s a betrayal to Basquiat and his community that suffered due to crime and urban decay. In 2017, his art is sold for $110 MILLION! I can’t help but wonder if that money is being funneled to help poor Black children in Brooklyn. The same “audience” that criticized him for not being “professionally trained” in art. Considering the time in New York, when most people weren’t even able to make it high school that’s a slap in the face.
His process was incredible— music blasting, TV on and books cracked open to make his art flow. After meeting Andy Warhol for lunch, just two hours later, he returned with their self- portrait, Dos Cabezas (1982). It pains me to know that the media caused a rift between these paired souls. Referring to Basquiat as Warhol’s “mascot” was incredibly damaging to their friendship. In the video that inspired this, their relationship was described as symbiotic and transactional. What makes it all even more tragic is that they both died a year apart.
I wonder— who profits from the privatization of art? Is it Basquiat’s community or family? Do the people hiding his art even understand what it stood for? In a time where he would be denied basic services like Taxis or received extensive questioning in airports simply for being Black (The Land of Artistic Beauty and Racial Inequality: A Study of US 1850). In interviews, this is even more apparent. Take Mark Miller’s reckless comment, asking if one of Basquiat’s paintings is “some sort of primal expressionism?” That stupid comment should have guaranteed a punch in the face. A comment made by an Art History professor who should’ve known better. Basquiat finally responds, “Like an ape? Like a primate?” Imagine having your art patronized by someone who thinks they know more than you. Art like his belongs to people who understand his lived experiences. “Elites” shouldn’t be allowed to hoard it and hide it away like some exclusive commodity to flaunt among their rich friends (Why Diversity and Anti-Black Systemic Racism Matter in the Art Industry).
The Exclusion of Marginalized Communities from Art Spaces
While I’ll never discourage anyone, especially minorities, from pursuing higher education, it bugs me when people look down on artists who aren’t classically trained. The beauty of art is that it can come from anyone. It’s almost as if it possesses you—taking hold of whoever is open to it. There’s no specific type of person it chooses, and the way it’s expressed will always be unique to the individual.
Basquiat’s art isn’t just a collection of vibrant images; it’s the experience of a Black man in Brooklyn, trying to gain respect in a majority-white art world (Jean-Michel Basquiat: Black. Intellectual. Historian.). Art should never be hidden away to the point that only the “elites” have access to it. The same assholes who turned their noses up at him, the same assholes who never defended him, and the same assholes who don’t understand what he went through. RETURN ART TO THE PUBLIC, where it belongs, where it can reach the audience who connects to it at heart and soul. When I look at Basquiat’s art, I see a part of myself. The frustration & struggle that crosses barriers and speaks to a variety of experiences. A beauty like that belongs to us, not the elites (Why Art is a Catalyst for Anti-Racism).
Why Art Should Belong to the Public, Not the Privileged Few
