Essay On Basquiat: The Irony Of The Negro Policeman

The Irony of the Negro Policeman by Jean-Michel Basquiat deserves to be included into the 250 because of it’s blatant message of the oppression of blacks in America by a structure that parallels Jim Crow. The painting is said to show the irony of an African American enforcing the rules that are generally meant to enslave them. The painting was made right at the start of the drug and crime epidemic in New York in the 1980’s, a turbulent time for many. Basquiat’s place in Art History is lamented by his success as a sociopolitical force, and an artist who started off poor, on the streets as a panhandler, but later risen to fame and fortune. Although Basquiat died fairly young, he tried his best to get the message of equality across, as well as the hope that discrimination will soon perish; The Irony of the Negro Policeman should be #251 in the required works due to the fact that it embodies this exact message. Jean-Michel Basquiat was born on December 22,

With his roots in the graffiti art scene, and his anti-establishment attitude, Basquiat could also be described as an example of 80’s American Punk, which became a fully recognized and praised artform. With his presence in the club scene in the East Village, Basquiat became a member of the East Village Art Scene. The East Village Art Scene is known as the rise of punk, no wave, graffiti, as well as neo-expressionist art and painting. The artists usually ran their own galleries to display their work. There was also no single style of art in the East Village Art Scene, making it diverse and contemporary (Artsy, "East Village Art | Artsy"). Basquiat was also influenced by the movements of Pop Art and Expressionism and two of the artists of those movements, Keith Haring and Andy Warhol, as well as some of his musical heroes Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and Jimi