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A review by aimeedarsreads
Jean-Michel Basquiat by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara
4.0
Self-taught graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquait created bright, passionate, and energetic art that championed social justice and celebrated a diversity of experience. He gained fame at a young age, dating a then-unknown Madonna and befriending Andy Warhol, but struggles with drug addiction ultimately led to his untimely death at twenty-seven.
In the eight years he was active, Basquait was incredibly prolific, and he left an enduring legacy with his body of work, uniquely identifiable with its signature brush strokes, bold color, and inclusion of words and phrases.
The bestselling Little People, BIG DREAMS written by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara never disappoints me. Jean-Michel Basquait, illustrated by Luciano Lozano, tells Basquait’s life story in an abbreviated form and in language appropriate for children aged four to seven. An illustrated timeline and a short biography for adults follows the text. I loved the illustrations depicting Brooklyn of the 1960s, and Basquait and Warhol on a dance floor under a disco ball is priceless.
I do think the brief segment on Baquait’s teen years are a little confusing. At thirteen, his mother began a process of entering and leaving mental institutions, and he ran away from home at fifteen, though was back in his father’s care within a week. When seventeen, he dropped out of high school, and his father turned him out of the house. After that, Basquait found City-As-School, an alternative school. Much of this is included in the biography at the back of the book, but in the main text, the order of events is ambiguous, and it sounds like he dropped out of high school before he ran away. It might also have been instructive to include, at least in the biography, the fact that in May 2017, a Basquait painting sold for $110.5 million, the highest price commanded thus far by an American or black artist.
As in the other books in the series, Basquait came from unlikely beginnings to make a significant cultural impact. Not only is his story inspiring, it is too little known. This is a great introduction to his life and work, and I would certainly recommend it for anyone with young readers.
In the eight years he was active, Basquait was incredibly prolific, and he left an enduring legacy with his body of work, uniquely identifiable with its signature brush strokes, bold color, and inclusion of words and phrases.
The bestselling Little People, BIG DREAMS written by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara never disappoints me. Jean-Michel Basquait, illustrated by Luciano Lozano, tells Basquait’s life story in an abbreviated form and in language appropriate for children aged four to seven. An illustrated timeline and a short biography for adults follows the text. I loved the illustrations depicting Brooklyn of the 1960s, and Basquait and Warhol on a dance floor under a disco ball is priceless.
I do think the brief segment on Baquait’s teen years are a little confusing. At thirteen, his mother began a process of entering and leaving mental institutions, and he ran away from home at fifteen, though was back in his father’s care within a week. When seventeen, he dropped out of high school, and his father turned him out of the house. After that, Basquait found City-As-School, an alternative school. Much of this is included in the biography at the back of the book, but in the main text, the order of events is ambiguous, and it sounds like he dropped out of high school before he ran away. It might also have been instructive to include, at least in the biography, the fact that in May 2017, a Basquait painting sold for $110.5 million, the highest price commanded thus far by an American or black artist.
As in the other books in the series, Basquait came from unlikely beginnings to make a significant cultural impact. Not only is his story inspiring, it is too little known. This is a great introduction to his life and work, and I would certainly recommend it for anyone with young readers.