It was inspired by the one-time logo for King World Productions, which distributed Basquiat's favorite TV show, The Little Rascals. read more
He used the crowns as either a symbolic stand-in for himself or for other people he admired. After Basquiat died, Keith Haring paid tribute to his friend with the painting, A Pile of Crowns, for Jean-Michel Basquiat, which suggests Basquiat self-identified with the crowns he drew in his paintings. read more
Personally, if my opinion can matter, given the social and historical importance of Basquiat, as an artist - I find it of a good and informed taste, keeping his work as a screensaver and reinserting his work in the contemporary scenes of today. read more
Going to Japan with the Wild Bunch in 1986 presented an unexpected opportunity to see Basquiat paintings. Some of his work was part of a collection in a big Tokyo gallery, including some of his recent collaborations with Warhol. The work had a huge impact on me. I had seen primitivism in art before, but Basquiat stopped me dead. read more
After Basquiat died, Keith Haring paid tribute to his friend with the painting, A Pile of Crowns, for Jean-Michel Basquiat, which suggests Basquiat self-identified with the crowns he drew in his paintings. read more
His mother was of Puerto Rican heritage, and his father a Haitian immigrant, the combination of which eventually led to the young Jean-Michel's fluency in French, Spanish, and English (indeed, early readings of French symbolist poetry would come to influence Basquiat's later work). read more