Diego romero basquiat biography

Artist Bio: Born in Wisconsin, La Monte Westmoreland moved to California as a young adult and studied art at Los Angeles City College (AA). He continued his studies at California State University, Los Angeles, with an emphasis in painting (BA); completed his fine art studies, focusing on collage and assemblage (MA; MFA). Westmoreland redirected his focus from painting to collage and assemblage after experiencing “…my first African-American art exhibit which was curated by the Brockman Gallery of Los Angeles…featuring Betye Saar, John Outterbridge, David Hammons, Timothy Washington, and John Riddle. The power of this exhibition made me aware of the importance of the cultural, social, and political impact that African-American artists portrayed in their works.” He is currently working on a series of collage and assemblage pieces, Kabuki with Uncle Ben “… these new works project my wry sense of humor and expose social issues which are layered with political satire, complimented by my use of pop icon imagery.”

La Mont Westmoreland has exhibited nationally in museums and galleries such as the Wustum Museum of Fine Art, WI; California African American Art Museum, CA; Museum of Science & Industry, IL. California galleries include, Reynolds Art Gallery; Lizardi/Harp Gallery; Feldman-Horn Gallery; Brockman Gallery; Tanner Gallery; Municipal Art Gallery; Space Gallery; Harcourt Contemporary Art Gallery, SF. National galleries: Jack Tilton Gallery, NYC; Isobel Neal Gallery, Chicago, IL.

Westmoreland’s collage & assemblage artworks are found in national foundations and private art collections. California Foundation Collections: Los Angeles -California State University; Gallery Tanner; Museum of African-American Art; Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company; San Diego – New Visions Fine Arts; San Francisco – James H. Jones. National Collections: Museum of African-American Art, TX; Mobil Oil Foundation, TX; and Atlanta Life Insurance Company, GA. His wo

I have been inspired by many artists over the years, especially when I was an undergraduate and graduate student at UOG.

At that time, I was painting a great deal and displaying and selling my artwork around the island. 

One of the biggest influences on me, and something which made me the butt of a great deal of "måtai na pepenta" na jokes, was my looking up to Jean-Michel Basquiat. 

He was one of the consummate bohemian artists, who challenged artist norms in his time, was used by the artworld during his short life, and then died. 

When I first created an email account for myself in 1998, I was so enamored with Basquiat, that I didn't use my name, but instead blended our names together.

Rather than mlbevacqua, I instead entered mlbasquiat. 

It has created a lot of confusion over the years as people who haven't met me in person but only over email, sometime assume that my last name is Basquiat and greet me and address me as Michael Basquiat or Dr. Basquiat or Mr. Basquiat. 

Below is a long article about Basquiat that appeared in Vanity Fair a few years ago. 

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“Burning Out”

by Anthony Haden-Guest

Vanity Fair

April 4, 2014

Much has been written about the heroin-linked death of Jean-Michel Basquiat. But one voice was missing—that of the wildly talented, wildly extravagant painter himself. Anthony Haden-Guest interviewed America’s foremost black artist in the last stages of his blazing trail, as he careened between art dealers and drug dealers.

At about one in the morning on Friday, August 12, I saw Jean-Michel Basquiat at M.K. I was surprised. The extravagantly talented young painter, once among the more visible night birds of Manhattan’s haute bohème, had become famous

Art that is public and temporary in public spaces

This article is about the static visual art form. For performing arts practiced outdoors, see Street performance and Street theatre.

Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art.

Street art has evolved from the early forms of defiant graffiti into a more commercial form of art, as one of the main differences now lies with the messaging. Street art is often meant to provoke thought rather than rejection among the general audience through making its purpose more evident than that of graffiti. The issue of permission has also come at the heart of street art, as graffiti is usually done illegally, whereas street art can nowadays be the product of an agreement or even sometimes a commission. However, it remains different from traditional art exposed in public spaces by its explicit use of said space in the conception phase.

Background

Street art is a form of artwork that is displayed in public on surrounding buildings, on streets, trains and other publicly viewed surfaces. Many instances come in the form of guerrilla art, which is intended to make a personal statement about the society that the artist lives within. The work has moved from the beginnings of graffiti and vandalism to new modes where artists work to bring messages, or just beauty, to an audience.

Some artists may use "smart vandalism" as a way to raise awareness of social and political issues, whereas other artists use urban space as an opportunity to display personal artwork. Artists may also appreciate the challenges and risks that are associated with installing illicit artwork in public places. A common motive is that creating art in a format that utilizes public space allows artists who may otherwise feel disenfranchised to reach a much broader audien