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PHOTO: © LIZZIE HIMMEL ARTWORK: © THE ESTATE OF JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT
How does a couch-surfing club kid go from selling postcards and t-shirts on Broadway to becoming one of the most sought-after, copied, and recognized artists of our time?
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s work has been collected by David Bowie, Lenny Kravitz, Madonna, and Beyonce. JP Morgan Chase sponsored a national tour of his work. His pieces have sold for tens of millions of dollars at Christie’s and Sotheby’s.
What changed? And how can we use it to our advantage?
Today’s Strategy
If you haven’t found your big business idea yet, work on smaller projects while getting user feedback.
In 1979, Basquiat stopped couch surfing for six months. He moved to Manhattan’s Lower East Side, which was slowly becoming the center of New York’s up-and-coming art scene. Street art, graffiti, and punk were being popularized by the growing population of people who were partying, painting, skateboarding, experimenting, clubbing. This was the place to be if you wanted to be surrounded by creative people doing creative things.
How did he become the most successful of them all? Basquiat worked around the clock, experimenting with different art forms before committing to the thing he was going to be known for - painting.
He shared an apartment with another club kid; they had no money and no furniture. This setup would be terrible for most of us, but it was perfect for an ambitious artist. Basquiat treated their home like an art gallery and workspace rolled into one.
Sculpture, painting, poetry - their home was filled with these art forms all at once. He pulled garbage off the street, like boxes and briefcases and old tvs and made them into sculptures. He wrote poetry inspired by science books his roommate brought home from school. He invited people to view his work, creating a feedback loop and building a community around his art.
The important thing here is that Basquiat wasn’t focused on mastering a single art form. He wasn’t focused on efficiency or profit or networking with people while drinking overpriced drinks on underwhelming rooftops. Basquiat was doing the work - testing new ideas, getting them in front of people, and building his capacity to work long hours.
Til next,
LaToya
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