Jean-Michel Basquiat
artist · 1 mention across 1 reading
In this course
Jean-Michel Basquiat appears here as a case study in how avant-garde art becomes absorbed into speculative capital markets during the 1980s, where neo-expressionist work accumulates value through cycles of what the reading calls "artistic Mehrwert formation"—essentially surplus-value extraction from cultural innovation. The excerpt suggests Basquiat's work exemplifies art that no longer needs to justify itself through resistance or critique, but instead naturalizes its own commodification within institutional and market systems. This connects to broader course concerns about how disruptive aesthetic practices get recuperated into the very systems they might challenge, a key tension between art's critical potential and its role in late capitalism.
Background
Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the neo-expressionism movement.
Wikipedia →Mentioned in 1 reading
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