Last Friday was my 13th wedding anniversary and it made me reflect on how l met my husband. In a weird way, I have the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat to thank, in part, for me meeting my husband!
What does Basquiat have to do with me finding true love ?
Well, in the summer of 2006, I took a trip to New York to find inspiration for my Senior Fashion collection in college. I visited the MoMA , the Met and the Guggenheim museums and fell in love when I saw the original works of so many 20th century greats like Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Piet Mondrian. Seeing Basquiat’s work in person and also watching the biopic titled ‘Basquiat’ (featuring Jeffrey Wright as the artist and David Bowie as Andy Warhol) made me curious to know more about him and his work. It was also surreal to be staying in Brooklyn, NY where Jean-Michel Basquiat was from while I was discovering his work.
When I returned to school in the fall of 2006, I studied the work of Basquiat briefly in my 20th century Art History class. At the same time, I was struggling to finalize a concept for my Senior Fashion collection. After 3 attempts to re-design my collection, I finally decided on hand-painting graffiti-like text against spontaneously painted primary colors on the pieces of my collection.
After the class ended, I was curious to learn more about him and other African-American artists so I signed up for an African-American Art History class in the winter of 2007. That’s where I met my future husband! He was a techie type and offered to help me with my video presentation (which ended up being about Basquiat, who I was still obsessed with) for my final project. I even did interviews with a few Painting majors to find out what they loved about his work. The Project was a success after many hours of editing video and my audio. A year later, my future husband proposed on the front steps of Pepe Hall (the Art History building where we first met) and four months later, we got married!
Art has the power to bring people together, from different backgrounds, cultures, and even countries. If it wasn’t for me discovering the work of Basquiat, my husband and I would probably have never met. That was the only class we took together!
If you would like to learn more about Jean-Michel Basquiat and his work click here and also check out the video below:
Tk u for sharing one of your life stories. I get to know a little more of you as you travel your journey. I look forward to your next chapter in anticipation. Stay motivated and continue to share.
I love it.
Thank you!
You’re welcome! I will keep sharing all the stories that led me here and all the new stories to come :). Thank you for following along!
great! love the saxo solo of mr Terrace in the museum!!
Yes, that was lovely!
Thank you so much for this beautiful love story. Truly your art is an inspiration to me, I have an opportunity to see it everyday in my home. And thank you for sharing this story about this wonderful artist Michel Basquiat I was not familiar with him.
Thank you so much! I enjoy sharing how art is a big part of our love story. I’m so glad you enjoy my work in your home :). And yes, Basquiat was an amazing artist!