Basquiat Before Basquiat: East 12th Street 1979-1980 (Editor: Nora Burnett Abrams)

An artist emerges... admidst the abject poverty of New York City's LES, circa 1979...

• Hardcover.
• Used.
• Editors: Jenny Florence & Nora Abrams.
• Published by Museum of Contemporary Art Denver in Denver, Colorado, USA.
• Copyright 2017.
• Excellent condition, like new. Slight wear at top right corner on the cover.

Wow! The backstory. How it all began. Details.

An intriguing documentary-style timeline of Jean Michel Basquiat's life & works from the ages of 19-20, while he lived with Alexis Adler in a "half-derelict squat on East 12th Street" in New York City's East Village. 

He painted the refrigerator. The walls. Sweatshirts, too, which he sold in the streets.

This book showcases photos, artworks, & writings of Basquiat that have been carefully preserved in the personal archive of Alexis Adler, his dear friend. They met at a party in the spring of '79, & it was during this time that Basquiat was exploring playing music, drawing, writing, painting, & performing.