This introductory monograph presents the monumental work of Puerto Rican born artist Lee Quinones and follows his evolution over five decades. When 14-year old Lee embarked on his first spray paint mural in 1974, he carried marker drawings into the New York City subway train yards that served as studies to his 52-ft long rolling murals. Drawings and subway photography illustrate how Lee''s emergence served as a catalyst for what is now acknowledged as the street art movement. Before Lee, graffiti art was accessed by a small audience of young people who coveted style and scale. Images of Lee''s trains illustrate how he changed the face of the movement, infusing kinetic elements of futurism in over 120 subway car murals across the transit system. Lee invented the concept of the freestanding urban mural in his iconic 1978 ''Howard the Duck'' handball wall. He introduced spray-paint based work internationally when he opened his first formal exhibition in Rome, Italy in 1979, showing canvases created in a make shift Manhattan studio where Jean-Michel Basquiat also made early work, also captured in the book. Images show the social commentary and poetry used in his early expressionistic paintings. He was among the youngest artists to show at Documenta #7 in 1983, at age 22, depicted in portraits of the artist with his work from that era. He influenced peers Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Martin Wong, Jenny Holzer and David Wojnarowicz, who are shown viewing Lee''s work. Subsequent paintings convey how Lee''s practice has shaped a generation of contemporary artists. His paintings continue to revolutionize spray paint technique and intermix the tools of graffiti with traditional charcoal, pencil, ink, and printed matter. The imagery captures the mood and urgency of 1980s New York and moves from the streets to the intimacy and maturity of Lee''s contemporary studio environment.

Autorentext
Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico in 1960, and raised in the Lower East Side, Lee Quiñones has had numerous solo shows and exhibited internationally in the most prestigious museums. He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Klappentext

"'Fifty Years of New York Graffiti Art and Beyond' is the first monograph of Puerto Rican born artist Lee Quñiones presenting his monumental work and following his evolution over five decades. When 14-year-old Lee embarked on his first spray paint mural in 1974, he carried marker drawings into the New York City subway train yards that served as studies to his 52-ft long rolling murals. Drawings, artifacts, and subway photography illustrate how Lee's emergence served as a catalyst for what is now acknowledged as the street art movement. Before Lee, graffiti art was accessed by a small audience of young people who coveted style and scale. Images of Lee's trains illustrate how he changed the face of the movement, infusing kinetic elements of futurism in over 120 subway car murals across the transit system. Lee invented the concept of the freestanding urban mural in his iconic 1978 'Howard the Duck' handball wall. He introduced spray-paint based work internationally when he opened his first formal exhibition in Rome, Italy in 1979, alongside Fab 5 Freddy. He influenced peers Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Jenny Holzer, among others, who are shown viewing Lee's work. Lee and Basquiat were the youngest artists to exhibit at Documenta 7. Lee starred as the semi-autobiographical Zoro in 'Wild Style', the first feature film about hip hop. Images show the social commentary and poetry used in his early expressionistic work. Subsequent paintings show how Lee's practice has shaped a generation of contemporary artists as he further developed his technique. The imagery captures the mood and urgency of 1980s New York and moves from the streets to the intimacy and maturity of Lee's contemporary studio environment." -- Publisher's description

Zusammenfassung
**Fifty Years of New York Graffiti Art and Beyond is the first monograph of Puerto Rican born artist Lee Quiñones presenting his monumental work and following his evolution over five decades.

'If you wanted one artist to speak for a whole genre, Lee is your man. If you want a book that treats graffiti as fine art and illustrates it sumptuously, this is it.' - The Artist

'An inspired outlaw with a meticulous design process and precision painting skills, his voice responded to the social and civil unrest of the era and found expression in painting graffiti, an ancient art form that he and many of his peers had to defend in the larger art world.' - Juxtapoz

'What we have here are essentially moments in time, a stop-frame history of fifty years of graffiti, if you like. If you want just one book on the subject, this would be it.' - Art Book Review**

When 14-year-old Lee embarked on his first spray paint mural in 1974, he carried marker drawings into the New York City subway train yards that served as studies to his 52-ft long rolling murals. Drawings, artifacts, and subway photography illustrate how Lee's emergence served as a catalyst for what is now acknowledged as the street art movement. Before Lee, graffiti art was accessed by a small audience of young people who coveted style and scale. Images of Lee's trains illustrate how he changed the face of the movement, infusing kinetic elements of futurism in over 120 subway car murals across the transit system. Lee invented the concept of the freestanding urban mural in his iconic 1978 Howard the Duck handball wall. He introduced spray-paint based work internationally when he opened his first formal exhibition in Rome, Italy in 1979, alongside Fab 5 Freddy. He influenced peers Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Jenny Holzer, among others, who are shown viewing Lee's work. Lee and Basquiat were the youngest artists to exhibit at Documenta 7. Lee starred as the semi-autobiographical Zoro in Wild Style, the first feature film about hip hop. Images show the social commentary and poetry used in his early expressionistic work. Subsequent paintings show how Lee's practice has shaped a generation of contemporary artists as he further developed his technique. The imagery captures the mood and urgency of 1980s New York and moves from the streets to the intimacy and maturity of Lee's contemporary studio environment.