Customer Reviews

Basquiat: A Quick Killing in Art

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

It took me three years to finally had the courage to read this book. I was afraid it was another hype about Basquiat. I was there during the 70s when he was known as Samo. When he sold his painted sweat shirts in Patricia Fields, I was selling my silkscreen anckle socks in Capezio, @ just a minute down the block. I recall his half shaven head dancing in Reggae parties back in the days and I also remember talking to him one day in 1983, not having an idea of how famous he had gotten.

Reading Ms Hoban's book I finally had a realistic glance at this dude we had the impression to know. It was an eye opener. I understood not only the man, ( being a Puerto Rican artist myself) but the color artist in the midst of that up-coming yuppy world of "radical chic" ( as Samo used to write on walls) This book is a social revelation about the 80s. What we learn about Basquiat should be enough for us to draw conclusions about the Artist. A typical "minority" freak stepping out of the 70s, influenced by Bill Burrough's evil and deceptive aura and encouraged by irresponsible upper middle class people without ethics or love for human kind. The book is clear and truly authentic. Filled with good faith for future generations to know the truth.

I know that's a contradicition however one gets the feeling that the author was not a fan of Jean-Michele Basquait. His art or his work.

She seems to take an almost preverse pleasure in sharing the more "scandalous" aspects of his behavior.

There is much more time devoted to his alleged "drug abuse, whoremongering and venereal disease sharing" than his art work.

Overall, I learned some interesting information about his relationship with art dealers. The author seems particularly infatuated/intimidated with the recording artist/actress Madonna (who Basquait has a brief relationship with) and the art dealer Mary Boone.

But there is precious little about his family life, what motivated him or his connection to the Black community of which he was most assuredly. In fact, there seems to be a lack of respect for the African-American culture and the community as a whole.

I wanted to like this book, and it was very detailed,however much of it came from interviews, innuendos and third-persons accounts. Fufilling at some points, it often reads like tabloid journalism too. Some objectivity would have been nice, but maybe that's another book.

Surprisingly, I would recommend it to the Basquait fan, (for informational purposes) just check it out from the library or used stack.

This book is great fiction...I knew Jean Michel Basquiat in the early 80s'. He was not a simple person and this book envelopes him into a character that is easy fiction. I would suggest "Widow Basquiat" by Jennifer Clement, for a closer study of the artist.

For those expecting a true biography, this one may disappoint. Basquiat's childhood is dispensed with in a scant 10 or so pages, and before the obvious questions are addressed, the author begins dropping names of all the people Basquiat either did drugs, had sex or lived with. The author is a journalist, and the book reads like journalism - a little sensationalist (with just the right amount of mock apology to keep it legit) and fast and loose with the historical record. There is precious little attention given to the cultural background of the late seventies and eighties that led to the appearance of artists like Basquiat and Haring and Scharf. Ms. Hoban does lay bare, almost unwittingly, the pathos of Basquiat's mind, but I kept wanting to know more of where that pathos came from. She did not dig deep enough,something a good historian would have surely done.

Don't look to this work for any information about Basquiat as an artist. This is a book about fame. It took Ms. Hoban 7 years to write about an artist whose career wasn't even that long. This is a book about the eighties, fame, and excess. You will not learn much about Jean-Michel by reading this book. You will learn about the climate of the eighties art world and the ever-present parasites that the enormous speculation over great artists can create(Braghoomian for instance). The photographs of Jean-Michel are interesting, but because of the ownership of the artist's works, none are present to look at while reading this work. Buy a book of Basquiat's work if you are interested in the artist. If you are interested in the vacuum of New York 1980's culture, check this out at the library--it's not worth purchasing.

Unfortunately I agreed to be interviewed for this book and I would just like to warn readers that this is a total distortion of the life, spirit, work, and importance of J.M.Basquiat. If you want to read rumors, innuendo, and about MONEY and GOSSIP, read this.

The best thing about this book was the last chapter when someone must have realized, "Wow, I guess we should talk a little about his art and creative process." A lot of the rest of the book is about girlfriends, drug experiences, etc. I think a lot of this could have been edited out. There was also a lot about the 80's art business and dealers and I thought that was pretty interesting. But I was looking for more of what it's really all about for me - the art and the process. One thing I took from it is that Basquiat worked hard before his last couple years; he was constantly drawing and painting and processing. Regardless as to whether he was on drugs or not, he did the work. And no one can take that away from him. And I think his work kicks ass.

I have had a hard time putting down the book--it is very well researched w/ many anecdoates about the artist, and also about the 80s art world, including its various characters. A good read, in that way. I was disappointed I didn't really get a feel for who Baquiat really was--what he felt, what he thought, his philosophy toward his art, etc. It was a lot of "he did this" and "he did that", but I can't say I got a feel for who he was other than that he was tortured, *always* high, outrageous, a total glutton, and likely a brilliant artist. I would have appreciated insight into who he was--I'm still curious--though, as I said, it was interesting otherwise.

i was overjoyed to see a biography on basquiat finally in print. however i was sorely disappointed in the product itself. ms. hoban talks around basquiat through the majority of the book as opposed to talking about him. also there is a great deal of condescension directed at the subject by the author. ms. hoban seems to have researched her subject thoroughly. but her account has glaring inconsistencies with previously published biographical material. which she neglects to even address. let alone clear up.

This book is an amazing view into the world that Jean-Michel lived in... It shows all his glories and his pitfalls and it shows how both equally "made" and "broke" him as an artist as a person. A few places were a little dry, but for the most part, the book was amazing and i was sad to see it end. Jean-Michel lived the "good" life and Hoban portrays all that he saw and did - almost from his eyes... A great read... even if you aren't a fan of Basquit.