Attributed to Jean Michel Basquiat, no coa, private collection, medium: oil, measurements: 47"WX37"H framed, good condition Biography: Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement. In May 1978, Basquiat and Diaz began spray painting graffiti on buildings in Lower Manhattan. Working under the pseudonym SAMO, they inscribed poetic and satirical advertising slogans such as "SAMO© AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO GOD." In June 1978, Basquiat was expelled from City-As-School for pieing the principal. At 17, his father kicked him out of the house when he decided to drop out of school.He worked for the Unique Clothing Warehouse in NoHo while continuing to create graffiti at night. On December 11, 1978, The Village Voice published an article about the SAMO graffiti.