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A review by caoilo
Basquiat: A Graphic Novel by Paolo Parisi
5.0
This graphic novel was about the young artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Though it gives some back story to his early life we mainly explore his rise to fame.
Parisi uses the voices of those who knew Basquiat to narrate the story. This gives the graphic novel a feeling of closeness between the reader and Basquiat. Parisi was not afraid to broach such topics as drug use or Basquiat's relationships.
The use of only a few bold colours manages to give the work a POP art feel yet still convey emotion. Parisi manages to balance this well with the use of text, neither one overriding the other. The drawing style was realistic enough to keep the story grounded yet it left enough blankness for the reader to be able to imprint on it. For instance, the picture of Warhol and Basquiat in their side-by-side boxing glove pose was so recognisable to me that it didn't matter that their faces were absent in the graphic novel, I saw them anyway.
Parisi took a big risk with the opening scene in the book. Personally, I already knew how it would end having just studied Basquiat's work at college. However, I think this was a good hook for the rest of the book and I would probably surprise people that Basquiat was not close to his father.
I was equally taken with the end of the Novel. How Parisi tied Basquiat's childhood accident with his death. How Parisi used the heart from Gray's Anatomy to explain his death, beautiful in a morbid way. The heart felt as though it was real, the most 3D piece of the whole novel.
Having only recently studied Basquiat in college at the age of 32 I can honestly say I would have rathered studied him in secondary school instead of Warhol. Had I had this book in secondary school (high school) I think it would have made a difference to the level of interest I paid art, which was already high, I would have been much more interested in graphic novels at any rate. I'm not sure parents would agree but that is a different matter.
This graphic shows just how much of an artist Basquiat was, and not just as a painter but as a musician, writer and how he used these talents in a political way, even for a time.
I would say that this book and Basquiat's life in general, give us several morals to live by. Be careful your dream doesn't ruin your life, trust a few, take care of yourself.
I would definitely recommend this book to fans of art or those who read books about influential people of the '80s.
Parisi uses the voices of those who knew Basquiat to narrate the story. This gives the graphic novel a feeling of closeness between the reader and Basquiat. Parisi was not afraid to broach such topics as drug use or Basquiat's relationships.
The use of only a few bold colours manages to give the work a POP art feel yet still convey emotion. Parisi manages to balance this well with the use of text, neither one overriding the other. The drawing style was realistic enough to keep the story grounded yet it left enough blankness for the reader to be able to imprint on it. For instance, the picture of Warhol and Basquiat in their side-by-side boxing glove pose was so recognisable to me that it didn't matter that their faces were absent in the graphic novel, I saw them anyway.
Parisi took a big risk with the opening scene in the book. Personally, I already knew how it would end having just studied Basquiat's work at college. However, I think this was a good hook for the rest of the book and I would probably surprise people that Basquiat was not close to his father.
I was equally taken with the end of the Novel. How Parisi tied Basquiat's childhood accident with his death. How Parisi used the heart from Gray's Anatomy to explain his death, beautiful in a morbid way. The heart felt as though it was real, the most 3D piece of the whole novel.
Having only recently studied Basquiat in college at the age of 32 I can honestly say I would have rathered studied him in secondary school instead of Warhol. Had I had this book in secondary school (high school) I think it would have made a difference to the level of interest I paid art, which was already high, I would have been much more interested in graphic novels at any rate. I'm not sure parents would agree but that is a different matter.
This graphic shows just how much of an artist Basquiat was, and not just as a painter but as a musician, writer and how he used these talents in a political way, even for a time.
I would say that this book and Basquiat's life in general, give us several morals to live by. Be careful your dream doesn't ruin your life, trust a few, take care of yourself.
I would definitely recommend this book to fans of art or those who read books about influential people of the '80s.