Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960 - 1988) took the world by storm as an artist, pop icon, cultural figure, graffiti artist, musician, and neo-expressionist painter in his short yet prolific career. A major influence in the creative outpour that was emerging in New York of the 1970s and ’80s, Basquiat was first known for his graffiti work in duo group SAMO (Same Old Shit). Ranging from spray painting and painting to drawings, Basquiat’s work had a wildly expressive nature that kept with his street art roots. His work encorporated text, multicultural symbols, history, and contemporary critique. His paintings were also a tool for self-analysis as well as a way to identify and comment on the experiences of the black community of his time. Basquiat's works reside at museums such as The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Rubell Family Collection in Miami, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, among others.