Evelyn's Reviews > Basquiat: A Quick Killing in Art

This is one of those biographies based on recounting rather than reflecting. There's almost no discussion of Basquiat's vision or technique. The biographer describes what Basquiat did on myriad occasions and quotes members of his circle extensively but the man himself is left a blank. There are almost no photographs of his work. I read it after watching a number of excellent documentaries and so it was an especially frustrating read. The one insight I did get was how troubled his home life was- there was less discussion of this in the documentaries. Although the lack of empathy and insight here made me second guess some of what the biographer had to say on this score. I don't think Hoban really empathized with what it meant to be a child whose mother had mental illness (and was forced out of his childhood home), whose father beat him, who for whatever reason was compelled to live on the streets at such an early age (fifteen!). She doesn't seem to have a sense that Basquiat spent a lot of time reading and visiting museums, although I believe that is documented by other observers of his life/oeuvre. There's some lip service on his experience as a Black man but it's very superficial, and there's practically nothing about his first generation status and Haitian identity. She states on multiple occasions Basquiat was exploited and discriminated against as a Black man (and gives some specific instances) but there's very little depth in her pursuit of this aspect of his life or what the type of bias he faced tells us about the culture at the time. I had the sense she did not empathize with him, either as a child or as an exploited genius. She doesn't seem that interested in his work or in what drove his astonishing level of productivity. At points she quotes Robert Hughes' dismissive reviews of Basquiat's work, which I found shockingly off base to quote without commenting on (does she agree with Hughes?). A biographer who catalogues addiction and greedy excess (the dealers and collectors, and the upheaval in the 80s art world) but shows minimal interest in the subject's vision, character, significance, etc., is not a biographer I can really trust. I'm on the lookout for other works about Jean-Michel Basquiat. Most of all I want more opportunities to see Basquiat's work in person.