This Will Not Be Available On Canvas Later: Graffiti Invades the Art World

Abstract

This paper explores the influence of graffiti writing on three artists, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and David Wojnarowicz. It discusses the political, economic, and social environment of the United States in the 1980s and how it contributed to the formation of the graffiti subculture. Graffiti art emerged in the 1970s and 1980s in New York City. This new art form arose in beleaguered communities as a way for graffiti writers to assert control over their urban environment. While Basquiat, Haring, and Wojnarowicz did not call themselves graffiti writers, their techniques, concepts, and attitudes influenced their oeuvres and how each artist presented himself to the art market. This paper demonstrates how these three artists claimed control over their bodies of work rather than become influenced by commercial art galleries. All three of these artists challenged mainstream gallery art by producing works more accessible to the general public. Basquiat, Haring, and Wojnarowicz each represented a wider spectrum of society and groups that were not normally depicted in art. They were not afraid to address issues or problems that society would rather ignore.