ArtHealth

modern day basquiats: coping with mental illness by putting it into art

August 2, 2018
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By Trippy Tomlinson*, AFROPUNK contributor

I grew up a mentally unstable and widely misunderstood artist. The only way I knew how to express myself was through art and the only way I knew how to speak, and make sense out of what I’d say was through poetry. When I look at artists and analyze the creativity in their work, I realize that many artists come from a dark past. Most of us get our inspiration from things we’ve been through or deal with such as, mental health, abuse, trauma, love and heartbreak. Mental health is something everyone struggles with at some point in their lives. We all get a little anxious or feel a little depressed from time to time. Now, for some of us, anxiety and depression is more than just a feeling that comes and goes. I feel as though the best way for artists who live with a mental illness to cope with that is by putting it into art. I want to highlight a famous artist who left an enormous impact on the art world he, unfortunately, left behind. Jean-Michel Basquiat’s legacy will continue to live on forever.

Photograph by Mich Casimir

We all know and love Jean-Michel Basquiat, the Neo-Expressionist artist from Brooklyn, New York. Basquiat started off his illustrious career as a graffitist, then became a painter. Known for his abstract drawings with poetically incorporated texts, he was popular in the Punk Art scene in New York during the 1980s. His work was different and unique because it was made up of different art styles, such as tribal art, junk art, collage, and text. Basquiat once said, “I don’t think about art when I’m working. I try to think about life”. From an artist’s perspective, I can definitely see how Basquiat’s perception on life is depicted in his paintings. Many artists today, like Basquiat, creates to express themselves and/or cope with personal life struggles.

Basquiat came from a troubled family. Although it is not documented that he had a specific mental illness, through his work you could tell he may have been depressed or traumatized by his childhood. Growing up for him was definitely not easy. He had to get his spleen removed at the age of 8 after being hit by a car, his mother was institutionalized for mental illness, so that left him in his father’s care. He eventually left his father’s house due to emotional and physical abuse. He then spent the next few years homeless, living between his friends’ houses, park benches and abandoned buildings. He made money by begging on the streets and selling shirts he made with his art on them, then eventually began drug usage, which ultimately lead to his death caused by an overdose on heroin at the age of 27.

Photograph by Mich Casimir

The reason why I decided to highlight Basquiat’s career as well as his personal life is because nothing has changed since his era. Young artists are still portraying their broken-selves in their work instead of talking about our problems. We’re still turning to drugs and alcohol instead of therapists and psychiatrists to cope with our mental illnesses. You can literally see it in some of our artwork that what it actually is, is a cry for help, but a lot of people choose to ignore that because we may seem “unbothered” or “care free”. Reality is, many of us are suffering but none of us knows how to, or are afraid to ask for help. Who is to blame for that, though? Our families? Our friends? Our communities? Personally, I think society is to blame. Society has put the “crazy” label on those with a mental illness. They bash people way more than they try to understand them. That’s why I believe most people who need help are afraid to get it because society has never made mental illness seem like an “okay” thing.

It’s hard for people of color to receive mental help in America, period. Right along with society’s ignorance, mental health isn’t taken as seriously as it should be by the health system, therefore, it doesn’t get enough recognition. We need more advocates for mental health. We need more therapists who actually care to understand and help those with a mental illness instead of just throwing anti-depressants at us. Having someone to talk to can literally save a persons life. Most people are afraid to open up, but some people just seek ears that’ll listen.

I’ve realized that a lot of people have it instilled in their minds that money can buy happiness. They think that just because someone has a lot of money or is famous, that makes them automatically happy. What they apparently fail to understand is that celebrities get sad, too. Money doesn’t buy everyone happiness, and because you assume that it does, you’re ignoring your favorite rappers cries for help in their songs, your favorite poets cries for help in their poetry and your favorite artists’ cries for help in their paintings. We have to stop being so oblivious and start being more open minded. Some icons that many look up to has ended their lives due to mental illnesses, such as Robin Williams, Kurt Cobain, Alexander McQueen, Vincent Van Gogh, Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain. Some icons that have passed away from drug overdose along with Basquiat, such as Heath Ledger, Anna Nicole Smith, Prince, and Jimi Hendrix. Mental illnesses are killing people who are silently suffering, whether it leads them to drug overdose or suicide, and all they have left to leave behind is their life’s work made up of missed signs.

Photograph by Mich Casimir

This article was originally published on Medium.com

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