Basquiat: The Artist and his New York Scene

Instead, the book focuses on the art scene within which the young artist moved. We see in a rich selection of archival images, with raw enlargements on thick, unruly uncoated paper, the world in which he made his graffiti, the dingy streets of Brooklyn and the then still prostitution- and drug-dealing environment of Times Square. Against that raw outer world is a warm inner world of friendship, images of his girlfriend, his flat and himself, crafting, on his way to a show, working, dabbling, performing, appearing on a TV show. The mix of the desolation of New York of those years and the warmth and intimacy of the artists' gang, the unregulated scene of artists, performers, gallery owners among whom Basquiat moved, is almost cinematically portrayed with an infectious immediacy and vitality. Supporting colours green and red have been used for both text and images. Quotes have been placed on smaller pages. What is particularly striking is the strong, jazzy rhythm of texts, images, use of colour, contrasting papers and typography. It takes you along as if you were spending a day with the young artist whose short life is about to explode, in a legendary time and place 'where art was life and life was art'. Strong yet sensitive. Raw and tight. Completely convincing.

The book Basquiat: The Artist and his New York Scene was nominated for the Best Dutch Book Designs 2019 and presented at an exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam that year.