29 Jean-Michel Basquiat Quotes From The Fashion Designer And Artist

Jean-Michel Basquiat, born on 22 December 1960, had a global fan following and was much admired for his picturesque talent and artistic mind.

His contributions to the art world were tremendous, and he is known as a legendary artist worldwide. From making unknown graffiti images to gaining global recognition in a short period, Jean-Michel Basquiat always spoke wonders through his art.

He says he failed in his art course, yet it didn't bother him much as he was quite clear on what he wanted from life and what he wanted to contribute to the world. Basquiat never cared about what critics would say about his art as he was in his own artistic world throughout. He left his family and friends to follow his dreams at a young age, but nothing comes for free in this world; Basquiat became a drug addict after a few years and had lost control of himself. On 12 August 1988, he was found dead in his loft from a drug overdose. His impact on the art world is still felt today.

We've compiled a set of great Jean-Michel Basquiat quotes below. You may also read our Henri Matisse quotes or [Georgia O'Keeffee quotes].

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Jean Basquiat only listened to what art says and how it makes him feel. Jean-Michel Basquiat quotes tell us a lot about him. In this section, you can read what Basquiat thought about. Find out what art is through his quotes.

1. "The black person is the protagonist in most of my paintings. I realized that I didn't see many paintings with black people in them."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

2. "If you wanna talk about influence, man, then you've got to realize that influence is not influence. It's simply someone's idea going through my new mind."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

3. "I was a really lousy artist as a kid. Too abstract expressionist; or I'd draw a big ram's head, really messy. I'd never win painting contests. I remember losing to a guy who did a perfect Spiderman."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

4. "I cross out words so you will see them more; the fact that they are obscured makes you want to read them."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

5. "I wanted to be a star, not a gallery mascot."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

6. "I had some money, I made the best paintings ever. I was completely reclusive, worked a lot, took a lot of drugs. I was awful to people."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Basquiat didn't wait for critics to find his work interesting, he simply didn't care. He continued working on his passion.

7. "I like kids’ work more than work by real artists any day."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

8. "I thought I wanted to be a cartoonist when I was younger and then I changed to painting when I was about fifteen or so."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

9. "I start a picture and I finish it. I don’t think about art while I work. I try to think about life."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

10. "I am not a black artist, I am an artist."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

11. "If I'm away from painting for a week, I get bored."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

12. "Believe it or not, I can actually draw."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

These quotes by Jean-Michel Basquiat will make you fall in love with art and artists.

13. "I don't listen to what art critics say. I don't know anybody who needs a critic to find out what art is."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

14. "I thought I was going to be a bum the rest of my life."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

15. "I don't think about art when I'm working. I try to think about life."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

16. "I enjoy that they think I'm a bad boy. I think it's great."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

17. "I had very few friends. There was nobody I could trust. I left home when I was fifteen. I lived in Washington Square Park."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

18. "I like to have information rather than just have a brushstroke. Just to have these words to put in these feelings underneath."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Read famous Basquiat quotes in this section. It is all about the inspiration that he had to give to the world.

19. "It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think your not."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

20. "I’m not a real person. I’m a legend."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

21. "I wanted to build up a name for myself."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

22. "The more I paint the more I like everything."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

23.  "Some days I can't get an idea, and I think, 'Man, I'm just washed up,' but it's just a mood."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

24. "Graffiti has a lot of rules in it as to what you can do and what you can’t do, and I think it’s hard to make art under those conditions."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Jean Michel Basquiat quotes on art and paintings.

25. "I want to make paintings that look as if they were made by a child."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

26. "Occasionally, when I get mad at a woman, I'll do some great, awful painting about her."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

27. "Since I was seventeen I thought I might be a star. I'd think about all my heroes, Charlie Parker, Jimi Hendrix... I had a romantic feeling about how these people became famous."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

28. "Fire will attract more attention than any other cry for help."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

29. "At that point, [an artist] was somebody who could draw, but my ideas have changed since then. Now I see an artist as something a lot broader than that."

- Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Jean-Michel Basquiat quotes from the fashion designer and artist, then why not take a look at [Leonardo DiCaprio quotes], or Tom Cruise quotes?