Celebrity Graveland

December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988

Jean-Michel Basquiat was a significant neo-expressionist artist in the late-70s/early-80s New York City pop-cultural scene. Rising to notoriety as a street artist (he comprised half of the graffiti-art duo, SAMO), Basquiat eventually found a following in various galleries in Manhattan. His work consisted of both image and text, highly influenced by juxtaposition and dichotomy. Basquiat also created experimental music with his band, Gray (a nod to Gray’s Anatomy, the reference book that heavily influenced his work throughout his life – not the ABC television show that debuted 17 years after he died.) Through his art and music, he spoke out against institutionalized racism and power structures and made commentary on issues such as class struggle and heritage. Professionally, he collaborated with musicians like David Bowie and artists such as Andy Warhol. His relationship with Warhol was particularly important and when Warhol died in 1987, Basquiat – who was already deep into a herioin addiciton – spiraled into a depression that he never recovered from. He died of an overdose the following year at the age of 27.

Burial

Green-Wood Cemetery – Brooklyn, NY

Specific Location

Section 176; Off of Sassafras Avenue in the cemetery’s Southern portion, Jean-Michel is buried in a double row of modest graves designated as “Lot 44603.” As you walk from Sassafras Ave. his grave is in the left row about 60 graves in (he is in grave 342).

This entry was posted on January 23, 2017 at 2:11 pm and is filed under Green-Wood Cemetery with tags Forever27, Green-Wood Cemetery, Painters. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.