Book Description
"Provides a good overview of Basquiat's life and work."--Library Journal ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Collection of pieces with interviews and retrospective essays
This collection of works by Jean-Michel Basquiat was prepared for an exhibition of the painter's works at the Museo Revoltella in Trieste in 1999.

The paintings are presented in a nicely large size, better than the paperback Basquiat books that are easier to find, and the colours are vivid. In addition to the works, the book also contains a great deal of textual material, presented in English and Italian translation. Retrospective essays are provided by Keith Haring, Francisco Clemente, and Keith Haring, and Basquiat's major supporter Bruno Bischofberger contributes a fascinating reflection on the painter's collaborations with Clemente and Warhol. There are also four interviews that allow Basquiat to speak in his own words.

My only real complaints about the word are that the typesetting is poor, with the text difficult to read, and my own favourite work of Basquiat, "Pegasus" was not included. Still, if you are a fan of one of America's greatest painters, this collection is worth a look.

OUTFITTED PLAYERS
Pzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...slang for "hey girl, how can I get wit chu? "
(Out fitted players on the cover)
Basquiat's pallette is overwelming. This book has many previously unpubllished works by the late artist. Most of the drawings are exceptional...The paintings on the other hand are mostly unresolved. It would have been nice if the images were in FOCUS! But the over all production is good. Leaves me wondering when the rest of his unpublished drawings will see light of day.

Some poor reproductions.
Some of the drawings are disappointingly un-sharp reproductions and/or are too small. Basquiat's drawings are extremely delicate and detailed and more beautiful than his paintings. They must be reproduced with high quality sharpness and at a proper size to be fully enjoyed and appreciated.

Royalty, Heroism, and the Streets
This book (the one with "PZ" on the cover, since Amazon has decided to not seperate certain reviews to certain books...) is another great treat for any basquiat fan. It has some very intelligent writings byKeith Haring, Francesco Clemente and others. Also, it contains someinformative interviews with the late artist that contain some of his famousquotes. One thing that is most exciting about this book is that it showsalmost all of the Basquiat/Warhol and Basquiat/Warhol/Clementecollaborations! Also, the photographs and art reproductions are amazinglydone. If you love Basquiat, or even mildly admire him (or Haring, Clemente,or Warhol for that matter) you NEED this book.Matt

If there areany other Basquiat fans out there looking for someone to talk to about artlike I am, then please e-mail me.

Awesome...an absolutely awesome book!
What an incredible artist! Jean Michel Basquiat's talent, his use of tone, colour and composition were unparalleled in the modern art world. He was a true prodigy; a prophet of creativity; a tragic poet. This book is a mustfor anybody interested in neo-abstract expressionism. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

you should buy this book
this book is brilliant.. just buy it, the image quality / size / amount of images/ presentation -- everything is perfect. Jean Michel Basquiats work is beyond incredible, and this book is MUCH better quality and more comprehensive (artwork wise) than some of the other (slighlty cheaper)ones. I actually havent read it yet, but im sure i wont be dissapointed when i do- plus its worth 5 stars for the images alone.... honestly, you will be stoked that you bought this!

A premature death
Like many great artists, Basquiat died very soon. Living reality for an artist is a permanent anguish. This book shows a young giant that lost the battle against the drugs. It's a very nice book that shows instants of his creative process. The pictures are very clarifying about his works. ... Read more

Book Description
In 1981 Jean-Michel Basquiat made the momentous transition from the street to the studio. He had attracted considerable attention with his Times Square Show the summer before, and reinforced that nascent notoriety with a wall of phenomenal works in Diego Cortez's New York/New Wave at P.S. 1, which opened the following winter. A few months later, the dealer Annina Nosei offered Basquiat an independent space in which to prepare work for her September group show, Public Address. He was only 20. Between the world of spray-painted poetry and what critic Peter Schjeldahl called "New York big-painting aesthetics" lies a fantastic coming-of-age: Jean-Michel Basquiat: 1981: The Studio of the Street includes paintings and drawings on everything from note cards to sheet metal to a leather jacket and conventional canvas. In them, as throughout his career, Basquiat married an exuberant spontaneity and art-brut sensibility with a firm command of not only art materials but art history. He would go on to define the 80s Neo-Expressionist idiom, and to remain its most compelling representative. The Studio of the Street examines this charged point of contact in works that show the artist's progression from text to text-and-image, from found materials to traditional canvasses, and from pure drawing to his uniquely evocative hybrid of drawing and painting. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

BOOM FOR REAL
This book satisfies a great need for an authentic, raw, yet sensitive collection about Jean Michel Basquiat, as a person and an artist. I value this book for more than its appearance, which is so well done. It's quality helps to preserve the legacy of his life and work. The collaborators did a fantastic job. ... Read more

Book Description
A stunningly designed landmark publication celebrating the astonishing work of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988), whose meteoric and often controversial career lasted for only eight years until his death at the age of twenty-seven. Basquiat features spectacular reproductions of Basquiat's work, including many rarely exhibited pieces from private collections and offers fresh new perspectives on Basquiat's achievements, explored in the contexts of the key influences on his work, including Picasso, Matisse and Twombly; the development of hip-hop culture; and the emergence of a multicultural society. Explores many of Basquiat's individual works in detail, with particular reference to his working methods and techniques and accompanies a major travelling exhibition. This is an indispensable book that will appeal to anyone interested in contemporary art. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Is he really great?
This is the catalogue for an exhibition held at the Brooklyn museum which benefited from many loans from private collections. The artist's brief career is shown here with many of his best paintings from the pivotal year 1982. The quality of the images is excellent. Now this book has not lifted my doubts whether Basquiat is really a great artist in the line of Twombly and Dubuffet whose influences he acknowledged. Seeing his oeuvre in a retrospective as complete as this one, I can't help but noticing a weakening in the "late years", that is after 1984, when he started inserting xerox collages on his canvases (many of these works appear in the book), or when the repetition of his main themes and characters becomes a bit boring. As for the book itself, if you like Basquiat, it is a must-have. If you don't like him, well...

Good Value
This is an excellent art book for the price.It contains a large number of color plates of Basquiat's best works, along with some good scholarly essays.The color plates are fairly small, however, with many of the paintings only taking up a half or a third of the page. Full page reproductions would be much more satisfying, but the book is still worth its price.I was pleased that the curators of this exhibition omitted the dreadful Warhol collaborative works, as those are such a down note for Basquiat books to end on.This collection manages to present the very best of his final works, rather than demonstrating, as many works on this subject do, that Basquiat's talent waned and failed.

A retrospective important for any modern art library collection.
Jean-Michel Basquiat was born in 1960 in New York and never reached age 30, but his short and controversial career created a distinct and influential style in modern art and here is celebrated in BASQUIAT, a full-color display of his graffiti-inspired street art. From religious symbolism to inner city influences, BASQUIAT gathers and examines all the works of his eight-year career under one cover in a retrospective important for any modern art library collection.

great book
shows the progression of his work over the years, a great insight into his evolution as an artist.

Extremely Good Book
I love this book! Full of great colorful plates and information about Basquiat's life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A rather badly organized collection of interviews and art
KING FOR A DECADE is a combination of the art of Jean-Michael Basquiat together with interviews with people close to him, compiled by Taka Kawachi. Among those interviewed are colleagues in the noise band Gray, the musician and actor John Lurie, the writer and columnist Glenn O'Brien, and the gallery owners Mary Boone and Bruno Bischofberger. Some of the art highlights include the design for a record, and his "Odalisque". As an appendix Kawachi's essay on the issue of race in Basquiat's works is included.

Unfortunately, this is all presented in a manner that cannot claim to be a serious work of reference. There is no table of contents or index, and the page layout is difficult to read. The publishers apparently wanted the work to be a work of art in its own right. Still, there is art by Basquiat here, and so fans may wish to check it out.

a must have for basquiat fans!
As a big fan of Basqiat, I am always glad to find new books on his work and insight to his life.This book offers both.Each year has its own chapter with corresponding work with interviews mixed in to give insight toartist life. His noise band Gray, Mary Boone, Annina Nosei, Paige Powelland others give comments and insights to his life and work.Some prettycool grab shots of Jean-Michel mixed in with tons of quality colorreproductions make this book a treasure trove of images.All in all agreat book and a must have if you consider yourself a Basquiat fan! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

FAST FORGET TUPA KNOWS
I am not convinced that this is the BEST Jean Michel Basquiat retrospective catalogue to date...but the work selected for this publication is certainly consistently better than most others published before or after this one. Basquiats peak of productivity was from1981-83 and much of thatwork is catalogued here..But the dissapointment is that many of his last works (circa 1988) will not be found here....but in the more extensive Basquiat catalogue published by the Tony Shafrazi Gallery.
There are also a few images here that will make you wonder why they were selected and some of the text seems to over emphesize 
the fact that Basquiat died of a DRUG OVERDOSE.
You can skip the text or consider it ....it's the work that counts in the end!

Another Man's Treasure
Such a tragedy for a talented fellow like Basquiat to succumb to the temptations of drugs at such an early age. His paintings are so raw and fresh. I feel as though he used canvasses as giant doodle pads which he displayed to the world. Many of our own doodle pads (next to our phones, on our office desks, etc.) end up in the [bin] but Basquiat's ended up in the galleries and museums of the world. Some think of his work as [bad] but I view it as a treasure. Fine art, cartoons, grafitti and doodling...the best things in life. This book is the best collection I've seen of his work. The reproductions are well done and the essays are enlightening. For the art afficianado, this book needs to join the collection.

Basquiat at its Best
If you are looking for a wonderful combination of Basquiat's work and biography, this is the book to own.This book is full of many beautiful color plates of his work, as well as the story of his short, successful, but tragic life as an artist who had his brief moment in the sun before succumbing to the drugs.

Exceptional Catalogue
This is by far the best catalogue of Basquiat's work as it was shown at the Whitney.By far, this book superseed others as it relates to quality and quantity of plates.Strongly recomend.

basquiat comes to life in vivid color
Basquiat is one of my favorite artists.I was first captivated by his works that were used in conjunction with Mya Angelou's poem Life Don't Frigten Me None.I was entranced by his art!I looked all over for a book that would give me a retrospective of his art.I found it.This book is wonderful.Great color great art work.Check it out.You'll Dig it too. ... Read more

Product Description
Spiral Bound Lined Blank Journal. 8 1/2" x 6 1/4". ... Read more

Book Description
Starting as an enigmatic street graffiti artist in New York in the late 1970s, Jean-Michel Basquiat went on to become the shooting star of the art world before succumbing to a drug overdose in 1988. This is his story. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Complete Intro and overview - not an easy painter-
My Profile- No qualifications whatsoever as art critic

This refers to the spanish Taschen edition

Back in the 80's I was into art mainly by helping my late father-in-law (may God have him in his glory)who was a well known merchant here in Caracas.

I began knowing of JMB thorugh the works that were auditioned in the Sothebys and Chrity's galleries... his prices were rising like bubbles of champagne... his art is not easy, and sometimes its hard to tell the mundane from the sublime.. though I always remeber a painting called "Everything must go" that somehow revealed what he was trying to accomplish..

Again its not an easy travel but this book is a good and objective guide

Concise and friendly, an ideal introduction
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.

Getting the Respect He Deserves
The myth of Jean Michel Basquiat has taken on the status of an "art cautionary tale". Born to a middle class family in Brooklyn's Park Slope, Basquiat first made a name for himself as a graffiti artist and punk musician in ate 70s Soho before reinventing himself as a painter. His work rode the painting boom of the early 80s where, along with Julian Schnabel and Europeans George Baselitz and Francesco Clemente he was associated with the Neo-Expressionist movement in art. Basquiat's studied primitive canvases, which mixed text, symbol, primitive figuration and abstract techniques became the rage in the burgeoning "art market" of the 80s, looked upon as much for "investment" purposes as for the intrinsic value of the work. Basquiat's meteoric rise to fame and romantic origins as a street artist sold his paintings as much as the actual work on canvas. And then when he fell, he fell hard. He was dropped by the very people who had made his career only a few years earlier and died of a drug overdose in 1987, at the age of 27.

I bought this book after attending the fantastic Basquiat retrospective exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. I had not been a fan of the artist before seeing this show. Somehow, wandering through the almost 200 pieces brought a cumulative power to the work that I had never noticed when viewed singly. Basquiat's arcane use of phrases, text and esoteric symbols fascinated me and I wanted to know more. This book was just the ticket.

The book is a fast read. The highlights of Basquiat's career are present; his time on the streets, his early struggles as an artist, his lionization by Rene Ricard and Diego Cortez, his contentious relationships with his agents and promoters, the strange relationship with Warhol, and his final dissolution. But what comes through is the seriousness in Basquiat. Rather than just a drug-addled idiot savant, a characterization that is immortalized in Julian Schabel's deeply flawed bio-pic, we get the impression of Basquiat as a deeply intellectual painter who hides profound social insights under an almost child-like surface.

Emmerling takes Basquiat very seriously. He traces the main themes of the painter's work; heroism, death, and racial injustice; and decodes the hidden meanings in many of the paintings. His draws attention to Basquiat's excellence as a draughtsman, something that was often ignored during his lifetime, and to his debt to older painters. He demonstrates the influence of Cy Twombley on Basquiat but also draws deeper connections between the painter and older abstract expressionists like Clyfford Still. The artist who emerges from this book is something much more comlex and interesting than the Basquiat the myth. He is rather an accomplished painter with something profound to say about life and society who died, not in decline, but at the height of his powers.

The book is lavishly illustrated with many of Basquiat's most important paintings. All are in color and most are big enough to help one appreciate the details in the work. The only paintings that don't come across well in this book are the massive text paintings such as the late Pegasus, which is dominated by a plethora of tiny, precisely laid out text items. In the gallery this work is one of the most hermetic and paradoxically profound pieces, but much of the power is lost on the small page.

Still, with this small caveat, which could be raised against any artist catalogue, this book is highly recommended for anyone who wants to gain a greater appreciation for this important and yet much misunderstood painter.

Farewell Basquiat By Salah Mahdi Abood
Farewell Basquiat! May the Lord grant you the ultimate paradise up in heaven above, Amen.
Your Friend, Salah.
Throughout the entire history of art, a major fact can be concluded which is : ART FOREVER REMAINS SUBJECTIVE NOT OBGECTIVE, AND DEPENDS ON WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT APPEALS TO YOU. Here lies the difficulty of addressing a fare evaluation and an accurate critique and review.And when it comes to Post-Modernist artist, such as Jean-Michel, the difficulty is greater because that there is a clear gap between realist and modernist aa well as an abstact expressionist art.Modern art does not apply a traditional technique or standard art theories, such as proportion, and measurement. Nevertheless, modern artist insted employs a free formula of randam imagination to capture his thoughts and express his artistic vocabularies and themes. Although I am not writing review about Basquiat's style, yet I feel the need to explore the significance of his contributions to the world of art and to our lives. His noble memory will remain ever alive in our hearts and minds. His too soon departure from our lives will remain a landmrk of an inspiration to all of us as well as to new generations, yet to be born. The book is a mastarpiece by any standard, I have read many books about Jean-michel Basquiat, larger in size than this, yet this one, the Taschen's publication is the best, for its unique produc and visual attraction. Above all, artistically documents the work and the live of one of the most controversial young artist in our time.
Jean-Michel Basquiat! wherever you are in heaven, out hearts with you.
Salah,
roxburytaxi@aol.com
Boston, MASS.
12/12/2004
IN MEMORY OF JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT(1960-1988)
Absent Friends, Salah remember Basquiat

BOOM!!An Excellente' Intro. to a "Misunderstood Genius"
Great writing, Pocket Size edition, but very informative.Breaks Jean Michele down and makes him real.Does more than "gawk at and patronize" the so-called "negro savant" of the early 80's art world.

As a fan of "the artist" and the prolific amount of "work" he was able to create in his brief time on Planet Earth, this was a much needed testament to his legacy.

Unlike "Basquait"(IMO) theall-too self-serving Schnabel film,
Jean Michelle is not "presented as the drug-riddled token-ghetto golden child."His complex relationship with his family, ethnicity, and the 80's art world who both exploited and extolled him are examined.

Jean Michele artistic influences are detailed, his original perspective and cleverness is allowed to shine, and the author has obviously spent time and research and it is much appreciated.

Originally, I was under the impression that Basquait was somewhat of a fraud (many years ago) and it's only been in the last 5-7 years that I am beginning to truly appreciate his legacy and genius.

Emmerling plants Basquait firmly in the tradition of African, Latino, and American artists, where he firmly belongs.

"Liberals" beware, This is not the book to purchase, if you're looking for the "overly hyped" sordid details of his life. He may not have been a Saint, but who is???? Time will tell if he's deserving of the "Black Picasso" moniker. ... Read more

Book Description
Controversial cult artist, enfant terrible of the art world, friend of Haring and Warhol, and both idol and a victim of the art scene of the '80s-Jean-Michel Basquiat was a legend in his own lifetime. This catalog, published in conjunction with the major retrospective at the Lugano Museum of Modern Art, provides an excellent overview of Basquiat's life and work. As an African-American painter, Basquiat hasmade a significant impact on the history of contemporary art. From his origins as a street graffiti artist, he became one of the most influential artists of his time: in 2005 his work is being celebrated in seperate exhibitions in the US and Europe. As emblems of the contemporary world, his explosive, colorful, and apparently naéf canvases have an unparalleledforce. The brief but intense artistic career of this celebratedproponent of the downtown New York art scene of the 1980s is covered through some fifty paintings and twenty works on paper drawn from prestigious private collections and museums. This book offers a new intense dialogue with the more modern expressions of twentieth-century art. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Amazing Quality
I highly recommend this book.The print quality and color of the images is top notch.And there's a ton of great info as well.There's no reason not to get this if you're interested in Jean-Michel at all. ... Read more