Words and Photographs © by Daryl-Ann Saunders

Al Diaz sat down at the front of WCC (West Chelsea Contemporary) gallery with Naomi Baldwin, gallery director, to discuss his art, its inspiration and future direction.

It was one of a string of recent appearances the East Village artist has made in recent weeks, promoting both his artwork and his book “Al Diaz – Samo©…Writings: 1978-2018.”

Diaz discussed his collaboration with Jean-Michel Basquiat in the late 70’s and early 80’s and their development of the SAMO persona.

“We created this big buzz, like a campaign, about SAMO. No one knew what it all meant or who was behind it,” Diaz said. “It got a lot of attention and he wanted to come out about it, talk about it. I disagreed….I wasn’t for that at all because I knew as soon as we did that, the “brand” was over. But he wanted people to know, to get attention for it even if it meant the end of it all,” he added.

Prompted by Baldwin to talk more about his past street life, Diaz conveyed with vulnerable self-awareness his early struggles as an artist of the street, heroin use and his brief stint in prison.

Speaking without bitterness or rancor, Diaz was deliberate in highlighting his life-as-example, to provide hope and inspiration for other artists on a difficult path. It’s clear that despite his life’s many travails, or perhaps because of them, Diaz appears to have arrived at a place of calm and confidence, grateful for this new chapter in his life.

Al’s talk had me thinking about the early attitude of rebelliousness that street-artists showed toward the brick & mortar gallery model from which so many of them were excluded. A handful of artists received worldwide acclaim: Basquiat, Richard Hambleton, Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf to name a few.

Veterans of that rebel journey are now being acknowledged and some, like Al Diaz, are creating new work. Is the newfound attention based on genuine appreciation for their work or is it the lure and drama of the veteran backstory? These questions come to mind.

After a 30+ year gap of art-world attention, there’s no question that those early artists kicked open a door and blazed a trail toward this continued, vibrant adaptation of street-art dialogue - - of mural art, stickers, graffiti, merchandise, etc.

These street art influences were evident throughout many booths I visited at the NYC art fairs in May (Volta, NADA, Aipad, Independent, and Frieze). And the art-world embrace of this new league of artists appears to be much more inclusive of the entire cadre of emerging artists, both the well-known and the anonymous, this time around.

Al Diaz book “SAMO©...SINCE 1978: SAMO©...Writings: 1978-2018”, IG

West Chelsea Contemporary, 231 Tenth Avenue, NY, NY 10011 (646) 590-0352, Website

~ ~ ~ Daryl-Ann Saunders, IG, Website