I stumbled on the granddaddy of all documentaries. I'd been hearing about this; I couldn't find it anywhere, but it's now available for streaming. It's called Jean-Michel Basquiat: the Radiant Child. It's directed by Tamra Davis, and she was friends with Jean-Michel in New York in the early 1980s.

Basquiat got his start as a street artist, and enigmatic presence in New York known only as SAMO, which created a lot of buzz: "Who is SAMO?" It was a lot like Banksy in London.

A chance meeting with Andy Warhol culminated in a joint show that they did together. At age 22, Basquiat was possibly the most well-known artist in New York at the time. Because he was Black, he felt that he just never quite got what he deserved. One thing I always remember people of that time saying about Basquiat's work — which I think is brilliant — is that his audience hadn't been born yet.

This film is amazing. Through interviews through watching him paint, listening to jazz, to bebop, you get such a close look into one of my favorite artists in the world.

Jean-Michel Basquiat: the Radiant Child is available for streaming on Amazon Prime, iTunes, Apple TV+, YouTube and Google Play.

Official Trailer

External Link

Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child - Amazon Prime

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