MATT WEBER - "Stayhigh 149" Photo
Gordon Wayne Roberts created the tag Stay High 149, combined it with a smoking, halo-adorned stick man he borrowed from The Saint television show and changed the face of graffiti. It's hard to imagine a trip through the subway system in early 70's without seeing his name a dozen times. Changing to his secondary alias, voice of the ghetto, around 1974 , ,he introduced the world to two and three toned markers that spewed rainbows of psychedelic cool. After a 25 year disappearance , a time during which many assumed him dead, he reappeared at a graff show in 2000 and soon launched a comeback that gave a new generation a chance to know and love his work. His tags had the rarest combination of style and meaning I've ever witnessed . High Maintenance is about paying back one of the most inspirational , yet humble cats to ever wield a marker. His spirit and legacy has touched every era of a culture that's blown up world wide. The artists who so generously donated their work for this benefit are giving their collective thanks to a man who transcended graffiti culture and in time be remembered as an American Folk Hero. All net proceeds from this sale will go to Stayhigh's Family.
born in NYC 1958 and studied oil painting with Nicolai Abracheff who was one ofPicasso's contemporaries and a noted cubist as well. Went to Music & Art high school butunfortunately dropped out to pursue "art" on New York's subways. I am completely self-taughtin photography, although I did use all three of the books written by Ansel Adams (The Print, TheNegative and The Camera) I recommend these books to anyone interested in learning photography.I started taking photos of the NYC streets while I was driving a Yellow cab back in '84The things I had been seeing late at night were so intense that I found myself alwayssaying to myself "I've got to get a camera!"My monograph, The Urban Prisoner was published by Sanctuary Books in 2004Published in Popular Photography, Photographica, Hamburger Eyes and many otherpublications. Had a solo exhibit 4/2004 at the now defunct jan van der donk gallerywhich was in Chelsea. The Peninsula Arts Center in Newport News had a solo exhibitin 2005. Harper Levine of East Hampton New York has represented my work since 2007.Several of my prints are in the collection of Todd Oldham and Richard Prince.A documentary about my life as a photographer "More than the Rainbow" will premierein SanFrancisco and New York in the fall of 2012
