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Independent Lens

Jean-Michele Basquait: Who was SAMO?

In the late 1970s, graffiti tags by SAMO -- the moniker shared by Jean-Michel Basquiat and friend Al Diaz -- became ubiquitous on New York's Lower East Side. Discovered through his graffiti art in the late 1970s on the Lower East Side, he sold his first painting to Deborah Harry for $200, and later became best friends with Andy Warhol.

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