A high school dropout, a beggar, not a real person, but a legend. From sleeping on park benches, to becoming a prominent artist of renowned art galleries, Jean Michel Basquiat managed to achieve more in his short 8-year career than most artists achieve in a lifetime. His artwork explores themes of race, social injustice, and commercialism. Despite leading a life full of tragic events, Jean Michel Basquiat has left an indelible mark on the world of contemporary art with his unmistakable style. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Remarkably fluent in English, Spanish, and French, Jean Michel Basquiat was a brilliant and gifted child. Born in 1960, he was the son of a Haitian immigrant father and a Puerto Rican mother. He was introduced to art and museums at an early age by his mother. At age 4, he was enrolled in a youth art program where he was recognized by art instructors as a gifted student. Unfortunately, tragedy struck at the age of 8, when he was hit by a car and was forced to spend much of his time recovering in hospital. In the same year his parents separated and it was decided that his father, Gerard, would raise all the children. After moving from the United States and spending a few years in Puerto Rico with his family, Basquiat returned to New York, where he witnessed his mother's struggle with mental health issues and frequent stints in and out of mental institutions. To make matters even more problematic, his disobedient behavior and need to express himself could no longer be contained by his father. After dropping out of high school in June 1978, Basquiat left home for good, with the intention of becoming famous. Now homeless, Jean Michel Basquiat broke into the New York party scene and formed relationships with graffiti artists and people with a strong interest in music. In 1977, Basquiat and his friend Al Diaz, created a character called SAMO, which is short for "Same Old Shit", who made his living selling false religion. Between 1977 and 1980, the duo used SAMO as a name for graffiti and began appearing in Manhattan's Lower East Side during the highly popular street art movement. The tag was often associated with humorous, satirical and thought-provoking content. After an argument with friend Al Diaz, Basquiat ended the project with a simple message indicating that the character was dead. Still living on the streets of New York, he made money selling merchandise with his artwork scribbled on it, selling drugs, and panhandling. Whether on a t-shirt or a postcard, his artwork displayed a combination of graffiti and abstract expressionism. Being a young black man with a multicultural background placed him in a vulnerable state, in terms of being subject to discrimination and being an artist. in a whitewashed art scene. These struggles eventually became themes portrayed in his paintings. As a graffiti artist, issues related to poverty and social status were the main focus of his work. The racial divide influenced many of Basquiat's paintings such as The Death of Michael Stewart, informally known as Defacement, which depicts two terrified police officers raising their batons over a smaller, isolated black figure. It was created following the death of 25-year-old artist Michael Stewart, who was racially profiled and brutally beaten by police. He later died from his injuries. As he continued to create, in the end/