In spite of many who claim that Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) was but a flash in the pan, a faddish personality whose work won't survive, today there are many different presentations of his art published. This TASCHEN overview by Leonhard Emmerling, however, might be the best introduction for those who have never come across this great figure. Basquiat's art speaks to this reviewer who encountered the painter only years after the time in which he lived and worked, and Emmerling's book explains just what's so special about him.
I come to like this TASCHEN series. None of its titles meant to provide exhaustive coverage of a painter's oeuvre. Instead, they give a brief biography with examples of outstanding work from each period. And this one on Basquiat is no different. In the prose portion of the work, Emmerling tracks Basquiat from his humble beginnings as a grafitti artist through his discovery and brief fame, and ultimately to his death from a heroin overdose on August 12, 1988. Especially attention is paid to his relationship with Andy Warhol, and the rather misguided partnerships he had with Warhol and Francesco Clemente. A coda discusses views of Basquiat after his death, with savage words against Schnabel's film. Throughout, Emmerling portrays Basquiat as a conflicted figure, half in the art scene and half sick of the commercialism, and unsure of whether to embrace his African heritage or assimilate to upper-class white values.
The selected paintings are presented here in glorious colour. I was very pleased to see that Emmerling features Basquiat's "Pegasus", a massive and intensely-detailed pencil work which I believe is his masterpiece. His "Angel" gets a full-page spread (as well as the cover), and his fascinating "Baptism" an entire page. Many of Basquiat's sly jabs against commercialism, for example by painting a dollar sign on the work, are featured.