[Luxus+ Magazine] Warhol and Basquiat: friendship stories (also) can end badly


Editor’s note: This article was first published in the print edition of the Fall/Winter 2022-23 issue of Luxus+ magazine. Click here to view the full issue.
Once upon a time, there was a crazy and terrible story of friendship between the pope of pop art of the 80s and the child king of the underground. Between the street and the celebrity, there is sometimes only one step. But between brotherly love and hate, there can also be only a tiny step.
This is the story of a meeting between two artists-painters that everything opposes. One is a patron of the arts, a video artist, a painter and a music producer. The other is at the beginning a street artist. Before becoming, at the end of the XXth century, a true prodigy of painting, exhibited in all the art galleries of the Big Apple. Their culture, their environment, their childhood, their influences, their lifestyle, their ethnicity, everything distinguished them and made them, a priori, two incompatible personalities. And yet. As we often say, opposites attract. And it is indeed that which made the strength of their artistic and friendly union.
So what was the secret of this almost improbable affair? We will never know. Both knew they would become artists, but not how. Warhol took his destiny into his own hands, while Basquiat took his destiny into his own hands.
Both were born to immigrant parents and had fairly normal childhoods. Andy Warhol, whose real name was Andrew Warhola, was born in Pittsburgh (Pensylvania) in the 1920s to Slovakian parents. Jean-Michel Basquiat was born in Brooklyn in the 1960s to Haitian and Puerto Rican parents. Neither good nor bad at school, they both cultivated the same passion for art, drawing and painting. Feeling unappreciated during their youth, they found in a simple object, a companion that would follow them throughout their lives and until their death: the paintbrush.
“Daddy one day, I will be famous”.
Basquiat dreams of recognition and fame. Not knowing what to do with his life, he wanders the streets of New York, takes drugs, scribbles postcards and paints on T-shirts to make some money.
(After finishing school, Andy Warhol arrived in the Big Apple where he began to make a name for himself as a designer for fashion magazines such as Glamour and Vogue before setting up his first exhibition.
Warhol’s pragmatism is felt throughout his work. In 1962, at the age of 44, he exhibited his first works. At the time, Basquiat was only two years old and did not yet know that his future would be both as dark as the darkness and as bright as the splashes of color he would bring to his paintings. Every artist adopts an assumed name, an alias, a signature that becomes an identity in its own right for many of them. In his early days, Jean Michel Basquiat covered the walls of New York with an inscription: SAMO (for Same Old Shit). This became his signature.
Click here to read the full article on Luxus Plus Magazine.
Featured photo : © Presse
What's Your Reaction?

[EN] CLAIRE DOMERGUE, A SPECIALIST IN COMMUNICATION IN THE LUXURY SECTOR, HAS SURROUNDED HERSELF WITH EXPERTS TO CREATE THE FIRST MEDIA DEDICATED TO THE ECONOMIC NEWS OF LUXURY AND FASHION. THE LATTER DRAWS THE ATTENTION OF ITS READERS TO ALL THE MAJOR PLAYERS IN THESE SECTORS WHO SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES, VISIONS AND KNOW-HOW. MORE THAN A SPECIALIZED WEBZINE, LUXUS PLUS IS A MULTI-SECTOR INFORMATION SYSTEM, WHICH HAS BECOME THE REFERENCE MONITORING TOOL FOR LUXURY AND FASHION PROFESSIONALS. OUR NEWSLETTERS CONTRIBUTE TO MAKE OUR READERS AWARE OF THE CHANGES AFFECTING THE LUXURY INDUSTRIES. THANKS TO AN INCREASED WATCH AND AN EXCELLENT KNOWLEDGE OF THE SECTOR, WE ARE INTERESTED IN THE MAIN ECONOMIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL STAKES OF FASHION, FINE WATCHMAKING, JEWELRY, GASTRONOMY, COSMETICS, PERFUMES, HOTELS, PRESTIGIOUS REAL ESTATE...********[FR] Claire Domergue, spécialiste de la communication dans le secteur du luxe, s’est entourée d’experts pour créer le premier média consacré à l’actualité économique du Luxe et de la mode. Ce dernier attire tout particulièrement l’attention de ses lecteurs sur l’ensemble des acteurs majeurs de ces secteurs qui y partagent leurs expériences, visions et savoir-faire. Plus qu’un webzine spécialisé, Luxus Plus est un système d’information multi-sectoriel, devenu l’outil de veille de référence pour les professionnels du luxe et de la mode. Nos newsletters de veille contribuent en effet à sensibiliser nos lecteurs aux mutations qui touchent les industries du luxe. Grâce à une veille accrue et à une excellente connaissance du secteur, nous nous intéressons aux principaux enjeux économiques et technologiques de la mode, la haute horlogerie, la joaillerie, la gastronomie, des cosmétiques, parfums, de l’hôtellerie, l’immobilier de prestige…