Lee Quinones & Rich Medina, City As Canvas

An extraordinary and nearly comprehensive history of the explosion of graffiti art in the 1970s and 80s. Charlie Ahearn sits down with Lee Quinones, while DJ Rich Medina provides an underscore of period music. The discussion emerges from the the graffiti art exhibition City As Canvas (from the collection of Martin Wong) at the Museum of the City of New York, friend/collector/artist Martin Wong, the making of the movie Wild Style, Lee's experience as a subway artist, muralist and painter, and the importance of this show today. The relationship between Quinones, Ahearn, Wong, Lady Pink, Fab 5 Freddy, and many others is a profound story of creative activism and the birth of a movement.

City As Canvas is on view through August 24, 2014. This session, produced by Jeannie Hopper, was recorded for Clocktower Radio at Red Bull Studios New York.

Lee Quinones is a graffiti and contemporary artist of the New York scene. Emerging from the New York City Subway graffiti art movement, Quinone's work is tethered to popular culture but is equally concerned with social and political commentary. He has painted an estimated 115 subway cars throughout the MTA system, and was a previously part of The Fabulous Five, who completely painted a running 10-car train. Quinone's paintings are currently 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).

Primarily spinning in Philly and New York, DJ Rich Medina, consistently takes his fans on a sonic journey through hip-hop, house, Afrobeat, funk and soul. In the past, he has partnered with Cosmo Baker at The Remedy in Philadelphia and DJ Language for Fun Party on the Lower East Side.

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