Sat 8/30 @ 2-4:30PM
New York-born and -raised painter Jean-Michel Baquiat, who died of a drug overdose in 1988 at the age of 27, was an art prodigy whose works sell for phenomenal amounts now, but he was a cautionary tale of too much too soon.
Starting as a graffiti artist in his teens, he was quickly adopted as a pet by gallerists, museums and art patrons, and was doing major shows by the time he was 21, infused with his street sensibilities and his tumultuous upbringing. His work process became somewhat like performance art, as art dealers turned his studios in theater where he painted in expensive suits and lived off their largesse. He had many girlfriends and the rich and famous, including Andy Warhol, wanted to get close to him. It was a colorful, event-packed, albeit short, life — the stuff of movies.
So of course there was a movie. In the 1996 film Basquiat, directed by painter Julian Schnabel, Jeffrey Wright plays Basquiat and David Bowie plays Andy Warhol. The Akron Society of Artists will conclude its summer matinee film series The Artist’s Lens, with a screening of Basquiat at the Akron Public Library’s main branch downtown. Akron filmmaker, writer and founding member of the Akron Black Artist Guild will do a special presentation. The event is free and open to all.
Akron Society of Artists will complete its summer matinee series, The Artist’s Lens, on Saturday, August 30 at 2pm at the Akron Main Public Library, 60 S. High St., Akron. The final film (rated R) will feature Brooklyn artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. The program will include a special presentation by Tyron Hoisten, an Akron-based filmmaker, writer, and founding member of the Akron Black Artist Guild. The event is free and open to the public.