The Film 'Basquiat: 10 Years On' — Director Sarah Driver on “That Era in NY and Basquiat”

A Coming-of-Age Story of Youth, Art, and the City

Jean-Michel Basquiat, who left us at 27, is remembered today as a legend of contemporary art. His fame now rivals that of Andy Warhol, whom he once admired. A documentary film, "Basquiat: 10 Years On," focusing on Basquiat's life "before he was anyone," is now being released.

The film is directed by Sarah Driver, a multifaceted figure known as a filmmaker, producer, and actress, and also as the long-time partner of filmmaker Jim Jarmusch. Driver was active in New York during the same era as Basquiat and knew him from his early, unknown days. She shares the story behind this film's creation:

“Alexis Adler, who lived with Basquiat until around 1980, had kept a significant collection of his works and photographs from that time in excellent condition. Through these pieces, I felt the presence of Basquiat as an artist and the energy everyone was experiencing in New York back then. It was so compelling that I wanted to document Adler's collection on film.”

Alexis Adler was a woman who shared a living space with Basquiat at the time, and she herself appears in the film. Looking back on her time with Basquiat, she describes the room they shared as "practically an atelier," and photos of the space along with his works from that period are featured. Almost every day...

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