Lecture - Jean Michel Basquiat, Riding the Death

This new lecture series, titled "The Contemporary Era: Images of Homo Oeconomicus," delves into the observation, questioning, and sometimes denunciation of consumer society and the transformations of the modern world by contemporary artists. Through iconic works, these sessions intersect art, economics, media, popular culture, and social engagement, offering a unique perspective on our era, brought to life by the passionate voice of Catherine Koenig.

Jean-Michel Basquiat, a key figure in this journey, embodies this creative explosion. Born in Brooklyn in 1960 to a Puerto Rican mother and a Haitian father, he became one of the pioneers of American street art by the late 1970s. Under the pseudonym SAMO, he tagged New York subway walls with striking messages, quickly drawing the attention of the art scene. Within a few years, he established himself as one of New York's most prominent artists, even participating in the Whitney Museum of American Art Biennial at just 23 years old. Yet his meteoric career took a tragic turn: harassed by galleries and collectors, he fell into drug addiction and died of an overdose in 1988. His art, expressionist and raw in power, made him the first Black American artist to break into the highly selective contemporary art world.

These lectures, available in person or via videoconference (registration required), invite you to immerse yourself in the works and ideas shaping our time.