RIP STAY HIGH 149

Lost another legend a few days ago. Make sure you watch this and if you are not familiar with who Stay High was read below.
 ORIGINAL STORY LINK: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/13/nyregion/wayne-roberts-stay-high-149-in-graffiti-circles-is-dead-at-61.html

Wayne Roberts was a pioneering 1970s graffiti writer known as “Stay High 149” who borrowed the haloed stick figure from the title sequence of the 1960s television series “The Saint,” put a joint in its mouth and turned it around. His “Smoker” tag, or signature, turned the heads of legions of imitators and admirers, including the anonymous teenagers who slipped into train yards at night to paint whole cars, as well as Norman Mailer, who featured him in his book “The Faith of Graffiti.” Mr. Roberts, who disappeared from the scene for some 25 years until he was rediscovered by a new generation of fans and artists in 2000, died on Monday at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx. He was 61. The cause was complications of liver disease, his sister Pauline Noble said. “He was incredibly influential for generations,” said Eric Felisbret, founder of the graffiti archive @149st and author of “Graffiti New York.” “He set the pace for how to do an elegant tag and set yourself apart from other people. It was like corporate branding.”

Mr. Roberts was born in Emporia, Va., on Oct. 20, 1950. He never knew his father — not even his name — and moved to Harlem as a child with his mother and his younger brother, Eddie. The family moved to the Bronx in 1966. He recounted on his Web site that by his late teens he was working as a messenger on Wall Street and smoking about an ounce of marijuana a week, earning the Stay High nickname. In his subway travels he noticed other tags — TAKI 183, JOE 182 and PRAY — and followed suit with his own creation, according to his site. He said he could hit as many as 100 trains a day and twice that at night, when he sometimes did larger pieces. “In 1972, Wayne was 22, and he was taking the train to deliver all over the city,” said Chris Pape, a younger graffiti writer and co-author, with Sky Farrell, of Mr. Roberts’s biography, titled “Stay High 149,” published by Gingko Press. “He rode empty trains all day with markers in his pocket, and he wrote everywhere.” Mr. Pape said the Smoker figure was a departure from the tags of the early 1970s, which relied on simple, straight letters, often done by young teenagers who were active only briefly. Soon stylistic flourishes like arrows and loops were added, but none were as successful as the Smoker. In 1973 New York magazine featured Stay High in an article and showed his face. He was arrested soon afterward. (The arresting officer later called him “a gentleman.”) Switching to different tags, Mr. Roberts eventually created another memorable tag: spare, kinetic letters declaring “Voice of the Ghetto.” Many other writers copied elements of his style, including the stick figure and the halo, even the name: there was Stay Cool 149 and Super High 149. In one case, another Bronx artist insisted to High Times magazine that Mr. Roberts had gotten the original tag idea from him and his cousin.

 By the mid-1970s Mr. Roberts had disappeared from the scene devoting himself to his job as a messenger at the World Trade Center (where he tagged many of the staircases) and to raising his two children, Dwayne and Michelle, who survive him, along with two sisters, Ms. Noble and Karen Michelle Owens, and three brothers, Tracy, Eddie and Tyrone. By the early ’80s, Mr. Pape said, drugs had begun to take their toll. Mr. Roberts left his World Trade Center job, and his wife, because of his drug use. “He was a functional junkie who occasionally did time in prison for stupid things,” Mr. Pape said. “He was like that for 20 years. He didn’t want to be found.” It was not until a chance encounter in 2000 with another early graffiti writer that he realized he had so many loyal fans. At an exhibition in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, he was mobbed by autograph seekers. At another show, he had to duck out the back door because of the crowds. Mr. Pape said Mr. Roberts cleaned himself up and began to write graffiti again. New versions of the Smoker started appearing. When Mailer’s “Faith of Graffiti” was reissued in 2009, the cover carried a photo of a Redbird subway car rumbling along elevated tracks, with “Stay High 149” emblazoned on its side. Yet by then, it was not uncommon to find the creator of that tag haggling with customers on the street as he sold canvases for a pittance. “When he came back on the scene, he had no idea how important he was,” Mr. Felisbret, the graffiti archivist, said. “He could not capitalize on it because he had no business savvy. The level of his street cred could have translated into some money. Instead, he was selling canvases in the street for $25. “I’m not saying he could have made Banksy money. He was looking for a quick buck. But at least I’m glad he knew how the culture felt about him.”

Cope 2 | Defiance | Paris 2012 (VIDEO)

Cope 2 | Defiance | Paris 2012 from COPE 2 on Vimeo.

Shouts to the Legend Cope2. Below is a description.

Sixteen months after his first exhibition in Paris (Burning Hearts in November 2010), the famous graffiti artist Cope 2 presents New York for the second time in Paris. MathGoth proposed by the gallery, the exhibition Defiance meet from February 18 to March 1 works of an international graffiti legends whose work, not settle down, now combines the techniques of graffiti with the dexterity of brush or collages.

No denial in the work of Cope2: the king with his bubbles markers and bombs remains at the heart of each of the paintings but with new spaces and new technology investment. A real change in his work already begun in his first exhibition in Paris Burning Hearts, in November 2010, when appeared the first signs of a burgeoning style.

Now focusing on studio work, more thorough, deeper Cope2 this for a very accomplished performance. Exit the metro line 4 in New York debut, the canvas is now her favorite material, which contributes to the accessibility of the artist in the defying paradox of street art. Cope2 has become a real painter workshop with the rigor and torments involved.

Seize mois après sa première exposition parisienne (Burnings Hearts en novembre 2010), le célèbre graffeur new yorkais Cope2 expose pour la deuxième fois à Paris. Proposée par la galerie MathGoth, l’exposition Defiance réunira du 18 février au 1er mars prochain des œuvres d’une des légendes du graffiti international dont le travail, sans s’assagir, conjugue désormais les techniques du graffiti avec la dextérité du pinceau ou des collages.

Pas de reniement dans l’œuvre de Cope2 : la patte du king avec ses bubbles aux marqueurs et bombes demeure au cœur de chacune des toiles mais avec de nouveaux espaces et de nouvelles techniques investis. Une vraie évolution dans son travail, déjà amorcée lors de sa première exposition parisienne Burnings Hearts, en novembre 2010, où apparaissaient les premiers signes d’un style en pleine effervescence.

Désormais, privilégiant le travail en atelier, plus minutieux, Cope2 approfondit cette évolution pour une performance très aboutie. Exit la ligne 4 du métro new yorkais de ses débuts, la toile est désormais sa matière de prédilection, ce qui concourt à l’accessibilité de l’artiste en défiant le paradoxe du street art. Cope2 est devenu un véritable peintre d’atelier avec la rigueur et les tourments que cela implique.

COPE2 X KARMALOOPTV

Shouts to the Legend COPE2.

MR CARTOON COPE & SEN 2 - METRO PCS CAMPAIGN

Shouts to Metro Pcs for doing this! 3 legendary graff writers teaming up. Make sure you check this one out!

GRAFFITI LEGEND - T KID 170

I was riding the train today and was reminicing about the days when every inch of the subway car was covered in tags and the outside in pieces. Today all you see on the trains is "scratchiti" but it made me realize that graffiti is still alive and well with the young generation. lol Shouts to T Kid and the rest of the graff artists who played an important role in HIP HOP.

RIP - IZ THE WIZ

Just found out that IZ THE WIZ (TMB), legendary graff artist , passed away last month. I knew that he was ill from inhaling the fumes from the paint and being in the tunnels all those years. He said he would trade all his fame for his health. Guess we all can learn something from his passing. IZ was hip hop and his contributions to OUR culture will always be remembered. RIP IZ

NYC Graffiti - FX Crew Documentary (1998)

Med Paints the background for the new Papoose music video..."Graffiti"

Cope2 KING

DO THE KNOWLEDGE.......

Shouts to CAV and MKAY who I spoke to yesterday......

DO THE KNOWLEDGE.......

Graffiti - "THE LAST BOMB" NEW YORK CITY GRAFFITI HISTORY!!

CLASSIC NEW YORK GRAF

GETTING UP - GRAFFITI DOCUMENTARY

Very good documentary about graff as told by some legendary writers. Graff is an important part of the culture that is sometimes overlooked. Do the knowledge.

T.A.T.S CRU - THE MURAL KINGS

This is a must see documentary about the legendary TATS CRU. Fat Joe(aka CRACK TS) and Kay Slay (DEZ) make appearances and tell the story of this crew. If you ever come to NY or live here and have never been , go down to 106st and Park Ave to see the Graffiti Hall of Fame. They also tell the story of the day they painted the BIG PUN memorial wall in the Bronx. Even if you are not into graff watch this because these guys are amazing.

PART 1


PART 2


PART 3


PART 4


PART 5


PART 6


PART 7

MKAY 238ST LEGEND

Shout out to my man Mike aka MKAY. He and his brothers grew up in my building on 660 Nereid Ave in the Bronx.They wrote MKAY , CAVS & KEY. They got me into graf even though I sucked! lol If you remember the 70's and 80'S you remember how the trains used to be. That was HIP HOP along with breakdancing and rap music. The younger generation does not respect these 3 elements and its partially the older generations fault for nit keeping the values like we should have. I dedicate this post to the original b boy's who paved the way for the LIl Wayne's of today's world. Read the article on MK and check out a legendary writer from the Bronx...Cope 2. This is a classic video 2 parts

http://wildstylers.com/wstr/index.php?module=article&view=254