AL DIAZ
June 16, 2013
Wet Paint Project
“A pitted man detained in a padded pen”
Street artist Al Diaz manipulates the WET PAINT signs seen in NYC subways, recombining them in different phrases and sentences. With his recombinatory anagrams posted on the walls in every room, participants engage in dialogue with the signs, affirming, questioning, riffing off of, and writing a range of rejoinders to Diaz’s provocations.
“We initiate pain”
A prolific and influential first-generation NYC subway graffiti artist, who later became a text-oriented street artist, Al Diaz’s career spans 5 decades. He currently works with WET PAINT signs used throughout the New York City subway system. After cutting out individual letters to create clever, surreal and sometimes poignant anagrams, he hangs the finished works in subways stations throughout New York City. His WET PAINT work was featured in the 21st Precinct Street Art Event ( July,2014) , a solo show at “Outlaw Arts” (March, 2015) and will appear in the upcoming book, “Street Messages” by Nicholas Ganz. He has been a featured speaker on a variety of panel discussions, including at The New School, The Museum of the City of New York, and NOLA Arts Festival in New Orleans.