Focus on Defacement (The Death of Michael Stewart) and analyze the Background.
Aspiring artist and model Michael Stewart was arrested by transit police for writing graffiti in the First Avenue station of the New York subway on September 15, 1983. He was brought to Bellevue Hospital hogtied and in critical condition. After thirteen days in a coma, Stewart died from his injuries on September 28, 1983. His death sparked outrage concerning police brutality. Jean-Michel Basquiat was deeply affected by the story and said to friends that "it could have been me." He had started off as a street artist writing graffiti as SAMO. Basquiat was not close to Stewart, but they shared a circle of friends. At the time of his death, Stewart was dating Basquiat's former girlfriend, Suzanne Mallouk. Basquiat painted Defacement on the wall of artist Keith Haring's NoHo studio days after Stewart's death. Haring cut the artwork out of the drywall when he moved out in 1985. He had Sam Havadtoy add an ornate frame a year after Basquiat's death in 1989. It was hanging above Haring's bed at the time of his death in 1990.
Keith Haring Suzanne Mallouk Sam Havadtoy Jean-Michel Basquiat New York subway NoHo Bellevue Hospital SAMO hogtied First Avenue station police brutality drywall