Basquiat documentary coming soon!

I was a bit too young to understand or appreciate Jean-Michel Basquiat; he died when I was 16 years old and living in Flint, Michigan, about as far from the neo-expressionist art scene as you can get.

But shortly after I moved to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, it was impossible to not hear stories about Basquiat, his work, and what a great scene the East Village had back in the early 80′s. The Julian Schnabel movie about him had just come out. It got my foot in the door.

After seeing some of his work up close and personal, and watching Downtown 81, I finally ”got it.” I found out he slept – homeless – in Tompkins Square Park about a block from where I live. He walked the same neighborhood streets I did, although in the early 80′s he had much more to worry about than I ever will. I felt I made some kind of connection to him, as cliched as that sounds. I retraced his steps from Downtown 81, and while most of it is unrecognizable, there are a few places that are exactly the same. There is something magical about walking out of your apartment and into the frame of a movie you just watched.

In August of 2008 I placed flowers at his apt doorstep (which is a few blocks from my apt) to mark the 20th anniversary of his death. I was the only one to do so, but it was early morning and I don’t know if anyone else did (I hope so). The more I read about him, the more I miss him. His work is just beyond belief. I can stare at his paintings for what seems like hours and never get bored. That’s art!

And now I’ve just read there is a new (long-overdue) documentary coming out shortly. Can’t wait to see it, and hope you will join me in celebrating one of the greatest artists in our modern era.

Long live Jean-Michel Basquiat!