Lee Quinones
Encyclopedia
George Lee Quiñones is an American
artist
and actor
. He is one of the several artists rising from the New York City Subway
graffiti movement.
Lee's style is rooted in popular culture, often with political messages, along with Keith Haring
and Jean-Michel Basquiat
. Quiñones was one of the innovators of New York’s street-art movement and is considered the single most influential artist to emerge from the graffiti era.
but raised in the Lower East Side
section of New York City, New York to Puerto Rican
parents. Lee was constantly drawing since the age of five.
In November 1976, ten subway cars were painted with a range of colorful murals and set a new benchmark for the scale of graffiti works. This is documented in an interview with Quiñones in the book "Getting up" by Craig Castleman, MIT Press (MA) (October 1982). Quiñones apperad with several pieces in one of the most sold art books ever, "Subway Art", and the award winning documentary Style Wars. He became an influence for youths worldwide. Several of Quiñones whole cars made in the 70's and 80's has earned iconic status by graffiti writers all over the world, many of the pieces are only documented in cheap instamatic photos. "The Hell Express", "Earth is Hell, Heaven is Life", "Stop the Bomb" are some of Quiñones paintings that ran for months. Quiñones pieces were left untouched by other writers and some of them ran for years. Thousands of writers were painting on subway cars at that time.
Quiñones often added poetic messages in his pieces. "Graffiti is art and if art is a crime, please God, forgive me" is one of his most famous quotes. Except for subway cars, Lee also painted huge handball court murals in his neighbourhood, i e “Howard the Duck,” the first whole handball court mural, in the spring of 1978 outside of his old High School.
As part of one of the most respected writing crews, The Fabolous 5, Lee shared the philosophy of whole car bombing with the other members; DIRTY SLUG, MONO, DOC109, PROF 165, OG 2, BLUD, SONY, BOB, SLAVE and DEL. The most prolific members were DIRTY SLUG, MONO, DOC109, SLAVE and LEE (the youngest member of the crew). Along with SLAVE, LEE would keep the FAB 5 name alive long after the others retired.
Quiñones was one of the first street artists to transition away from creating murals on trains and begin creating canvas-based paintings. The 1979 exhibition of his canvases at Claudio Bruni’s Galleria Medusa in Rome
introduced street art to the rest of the world.
Today, Quiñones is a well accepted artist. Recently, at a exhibition, all paintings were sold to guitar legend Eric Clapton. Quiñones raised money for the survivors of Katrina, by a bicycling tour from NYC to Florida. He also has hold lectures at universities in Europe as well as in the USA.
Lee’s paintings are housed in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of Art, the Museum of the City New York, the Groninger Museum (Groningen, Netherlands) and the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (Rotterdam, Netherlands, and have been exhibited at the New Museum Of Contemporary Art (New York City), the Museum of National Monuments (Paris, France) and the Staatliche Museum (Germany). Pictures of his years as graffiti writer are featured in the books Subway Art
, Spraycan Art., "The Birth of Graffiti", "Getting up" and "Graffiti Kings: New York City Mass Transit Art of the 1970s".
He appeared as Raymond Zoro in Charlie Ahearn
's film Wild Style
(1983) and appears in Blondie
's promo video of the song "Rapture
." He played Sammy in Rosemary Rodriguez
's Acts of Worship (2001). He plays himself in Adam Bhala Lough
's Bomb the System
(2002).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He is one of the several artists rising from the New York City Subway
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
graffiti movement.
Lee's style is rooted in popular culture, often with political messages, along with Keith Haring
Keith Haring
Keith Haring was an artist and social activist whose work responded to the New York City street culture of the 1980s.-Early life:...
and Jean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist. His career in art began as a graffiti artist in New York City in the late 1970s, and in the 1980s produced Neo-expressionist painting.-Early life:...
. Quiñones was one of the innovators of New York’s street-art movement and is considered the single most influential artist to emerge from the graffiti era.
Early life
Quiñones was born in Ponce, Puerto RicoPonce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
but raised in the Lower East Side
Lower East Side, Manhattan
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
section of New York City, New York to Puerto Rican
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
parents. Lee was constantly drawing since the age of five.
Career
He started with Subway Graffiti in 1974. By 1976, Lee was a legend, working in the shadow, leaving huge pieces of graffiti art across the subway system. As a subway graffiti artist, Lee almost exclusively painted whole cars, all together about 125 cars. Lee was a major contributor to the first-ever whole-train, along with DOC, MONO and SLAVE.In November 1976, ten subway cars were painted with a range of colorful murals and set a new benchmark for the scale of graffiti works. This is documented in an interview with Quiñones in the book "Getting up" by Craig Castleman, MIT Press (MA) (October 1982). Quiñones apperad with several pieces in one of the most sold art books ever, "Subway Art", and the award winning documentary Style Wars. He became an influence for youths worldwide. Several of Quiñones whole cars made in the 70's and 80's has earned iconic status by graffiti writers all over the world, many of the pieces are only documented in cheap instamatic photos. "The Hell Express", "Earth is Hell, Heaven is Life", "Stop the Bomb" are some of Quiñones paintings that ran for months. Quiñones pieces were left untouched by other writers and some of them ran for years. Thousands of writers were painting on subway cars at that time.
Quiñones often added poetic messages in his pieces. "Graffiti is art and if art is a crime, please God, forgive me" is one of his most famous quotes. Except for subway cars, Lee also painted huge handball court murals in his neighbourhood, i e “Howard the Duck,” the first whole handball court mural, in the spring of 1978 outside of his old High School.
As part of one of the most respected writing crews, The Fabolous 5, Lee shared the philosophy of whole car bombing with the other members; DIRTY SLUG, MONO, DOC109, PROF 165, OG 2, BLUD, SONY, BOB, SLAVE and DEL. The most prolific members were DIRTY SLUG, MONO, DOC109, SLAVE and LEE (the youngest member of the crew). Along with SLAVE, LEE would keep the FAB 5 name alive long after the others retired.
Quiñones was one of the first street artists to transition away from creating murals on trains and begin creating canvas-based paintings. The 1979 exhibition of his canvases at Claudio Bruni’s Galleria Medusa in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
introduced street art to the rest of the world.
Today, Quiñones is a well accepted artist. Recently, at a exhibition, all paintings were sold to guitar legend Eric Clapton. Quiñones raised money for the survivors of Katrina, by a bicycling tour from NYC to Florida. He also has hold lectures at universities in Europe as well as in the USA.
Lee’s paintings are housed in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of Art, the Museum of the City New York, the Groninger Museum (Groningen, Netherlands) and the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (Rotterdam, Netherlands, and have been exhibited at the New Museum Of Contemporary Art (New York City), the Museum of National Monuments (Paris, France) and the Staatliche Museum (Germany). Pictures of his years as graffiti writer are featured in the books Subway Art
Subway Art
Subway Art is a collaborative book by Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant, which documents the early history of the New York graffiti movement...
, Spraycan Art., "The Birth of Graffiti", "Getting up" and "Graffiti Kings: New York City Mass Transit Art of the 1970s".
He appeared as Raymond Zoro in Charlie Ahearn
Charlie Ahearn (director)
Charlie Ahearn was born in 1951 in Binghamton, New York, and is a film director and creative cultural artist currently living in New York City. Although predominantly involved in film and video production, he is also known for his work as an author, freelance writer, and radio host...
's film Wild Style
Wild Style
Wild Style is a 1983 hip hop film produced by Charlie Ahearn. Released theatrically in 1983 by First Run Features and later re-released for home video by Rhino Home Video, it is regarded as the first hip hop motion picture...
(1983) and appears in Blondie
Blondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
's promo video of the song "Rapture
Rapture (song)
"Rapture" is a single by the American new wave band Blondie. It was released in January 1981 and was the second and final song to be released from the band's 1980 top 10 album Autoamerican, the first being "The Tide Is High", which had topped the chart in the US and UK. "Rapture" went on to reach...
." He played Sammy in Rosemary Rodriguez
Rosemary Rodriguez
- Acts of Worship :In 2001 Rodriguez wrote, produced and directed a short film called Acts of Worship, about a young woman struggling with drug addiction...
's Acts of Worship (2001). He plays himself in Adam Bhala Lough
Adam Bhala Lough
Adam Bhala Lough is an American film director and screenwriter from Virginia. In 2002 he directed and wrote his first film Bomb the System, which was nominated for a 2004 Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. His follow-up film, WEAPONS, starred Paul Dano and was nominated for the Grand...
's Bomb the System
Bomb the System
Bomb the System is a drama film written and directed by Adam Bhala Lough, which was released to film festivals in 2002 and American theaters in 2005. It revolves around a group of graffiti artists living in New York City who decide to make a mark on the city, and stars Mark Webber, Gano Grills,...
(2002).