A high school dropout, a beggar, not a real person, but a legend. From sleeping on park benches to becoming a featured artist at renowned art galleries, Jean Michel Basquiat managed to accomplish more in his short 8-year career than most artists realize. do during their lives. His works explore themes of race, social injustice and commercialism. Although he led a life full of tragic events, Jean Michel Basquiat left a permanent mark on the world of contemporary art with his incomparable style. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why violent video games should not be banned'?Get an original essay Remarkably fluent in English, Spanish and French, Jean Michel Basquiat was a brilliant and gifted child. Born in 1960, he was the son of a Haitian immigrant father and a Puerto Rican mother. He was introduced to art and museums at a very young age by his mother. At the age of 4, he was enrolled in a youth art program where he was recognized by art teachers as a gifted student. Unfortunately, tragedy struck at the age of 8, when he was hit by a car and was forced to spend much of his time in the hospital recovering. The same year, his parents separated and it was decided that his father, Gérard, would raise all the children. After leaving the United States and spending a few years in Puerto Rico with his family, Basquiat returned to New York, where he later had to witness his mother's struggle with mental health issues and frequent stays in psychiatric establishments. To make matters even more problematic, his disobedient behavior and need to express himself could no longer be contained by his father. After dropping out of high school in June 1978, Basquiat left home for good with the intention of becoming famous. Now homeless, Jean Michel Basquiat threw himself into the New York party scene and formed relationships with graffiti artists and interested parties. in music. In 1977, Basquiat and his friend Al Diaz created a character named SAMO, short for "Same Old Shit", who made his living selling false religion. Between 1977 and 1980, the duo used SAMO as their graffiti tag name and it began appearing on the Lower East Side of Manhattan during the popular street art movement. The tag was frequently associated with humorous, satirical and thought-provoking content. After a falling out with his friend Al Diaz, Basquiat ended the project with a simple message that the character was dead. Still living on the streets of New York, he made money selling merchandise with his artwork scrawled on it, selling drugs, and begging. Whether on a t-shirt or postcard, his works display a combination of graffiti and abstract expressionism. Being a young black man from a multicultural background puts him in a vulnerable state, in terms of discrimination and as an artist. in a whitewashed art scene. These struggles eventually became themes depicted in his paintings. As a graffiti artist, issues related to poverty and social status were central to his work. The racial divide influenced several of Basquiat's paintings such as The Death of Michael Stewart, informally known as Defacement, which depicts two terrorizing police officers raising their batons at a smaller, isolated black figure. It was created following the death of 25-year-old artist Michael Stewart, who was racially profiled and brutally beaten by police. He later died from his injuries. While/