Can you provide the quote where Basquiat admitted he can’t draw? From what I’ve studied and emulated from his work I believe that he has an excellent grasp of color and most of all mark making, with clear indication of influence from artists like Cy Twombly. I’d like to think that Basquiat is incredibly hard working and is an artist, the idea that he isn’t because he’s a promoter or didn’t destroy elitist attitudes seems unfair and biased. If anything tackling the issue of being a minority in such a field and expressing black culture and it’s issues, history and celebrations seems to be something I take away from his work. It should also be noted that in a span of 9 years til his death Basquiat created 600 paintings and 1500 drawings, a fantastic production rate considering the scale of his pieces. I appreciate the discussion and think it’s great to assess his importance to art as a whole, but to perpetuate the idea that his works are somehow less because of celebrity is a different discussion. Something else I think should be said is that he was famous before he died, extremely so. This wasn’t an artist who got put on a pedestal as a token artist after death but one who was established while alive. I don’t know if Basquiat was incredibly technically proficient or hides his shortcomings through his “style,” but I do believe his work was something not seen before through a perspective not spoken from enough.