Controversially blurring the lines between fine art and mainstream aesthetics made him the most famous artist America had ever produced, but by the late 1970s his popularity had waned.

[4][5] He had a resurgence of success in the 1980s, partially due to his affiliation with a number of prolific younger artists, who were dominating the 1980s New York art scene.

[5] Their relationship became increasingly strained, culminating in September 1985, when their joint exhibit Warhol and Basquiat: Paintings opened at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery in SoHo to mostly negative reviews.

Basquiat recalled in his interview with Davis and Johnston: "[Warhol] would put something very concrete or recognizable, like a newspaper headline or a product logo, and then I would sort of deface it.

"[11] Warhol made the five-ring Olympic symbols rendered in the original primary colors and Basquiat painted heads over it in his animated style.