Rammellzee (stylized RAMM:ΣLL:ZΣΣ, pronounced "Ram: Ell: Zee"; December 15, 1960 – June 28, 2010) was a visual artist, gothic futurist "

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

writer", painter,

performance artist Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

, art theoretician,

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and a hip hop musician from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, who has been cited as "instrumental in introducing elements of the avant-garde into hip-hop culture". Since 2021, Rammellzee's work is exclusively represented by

Jeffrey Deitch Jeffrey Deitch (pronounced ''DIE-tch'';Mike Boehm (January 12, 2010)L.A.'s MOCA picks art dealer Jeffrey Deitch as director'' Los Angeles Times''. born 1952) is an American art dealer and curator. He is best known for his gallery Deitch Projects ...

Early life

Rammellzee was born on December 15, 1960 in

Far Rockaway, Queens Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the Rockaway peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 32nd Street east to the Nassau County line ...

to an African-American mother and Italian father who worked as a transit detective. He grew up in the Carlton Manor Projects near the Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue A train terminal station. His graffiti work started to show up in the 1970s on New York City's subway cars and stations, specifically on the A-train since it was his local train. Rammellzee studied dentistry at the Clara Barton High School for Health Professions, was a model for Wilhelmina (under the name ''Mcrammellzee''), and briefly studied jewelry design at the

Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college in New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) and focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. ...

(FIT).

Career

Discovered by a larger audience through the 1982 cult movie ''

Wild Style ''Wild Style'' is a 1983 American hip hop film directed and produced by Charlie Ahearn. Regarded as the first hip hop motion picture, it includes appearances by seminal figures such as Fab Five Freddy, Lee Quiñones, Lady Pink, The Rock Ste ...

'' by

Charlie Ahearn Charlie Ahearn (born 1951) is an American film maker living in New York City. Although predominantly involved in film and video art production, he is also known for his work as an author, freelance writer, member of Colab, and radio host. He is ...

, Rammellzee's earlier fame in graffiti circles was established when he painted New York subway trains with

DONDI Donald Joseph White, "DONDI" (April 7, 1961 – October 2, 1998) was an American graffiti artist. Biography Early life Born in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn, Dondi was the youngest of five children. He was of African American a ...

, OU3, and Ink 76, and doctor Revolt under his aliases Hyte, Hytestyr, EG (Evolution Griller the Master Killer), Sharissk Boo, Razz, and Maestro on the A, CC, 2 and 5 subway lines. Rammellzee was an occasional member of the ''Death Comet Crew'', with Stuart Argabright, Michael Diekmann and Shinichi Shimokawa. He also formed the crew ''Tag Master Killers'', consisting of A-One, Delta2, Kool Koor and

Toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a sub ...

. Rammellzee became a friend and collaborator of artist

Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved fame as part of the graffiti duo SAMO, alongside ...

. In 1982, Rammellzee and Toxic accompanied Basquiat to Los Angeles while he prepared for his show at the

Gagosian Gallery Gagosian is a contemporary art gallery owned and directed by Larry Gagosian. The gallery exhibits some of the most influential artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. There are 16 gallery spaces: five in New York City; three in London; two in P ...

. They called themselves the Hollywood Africans as a social and political statement to counter the stereotypical portrayals of

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

. The trio are depicted in Basquiat's paintings ''Hollywood Africans in front of the Chinese Theater with Footprints of Movie Stars'' (1983) and ''

Hollywood Africans ''Hollywood Africans'' is a painting created by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1983. The artwork is Basquiat's response to the portrayals of African Americans in the entertainment industry. Background Jean-Michel Basquiat started as a ...

'' (1983). Rammellzee was an original hip hop artist who introduced specific vocal styles which date back to the early 1980s. His 12-inch single "Beat Bop," in collaboration with rapper K-Rob and with cover art by Basquiat, is considered by some to be the most valuable (meaning collectible) hip-hop record of all time. "Beat Bop" was also featured in the film ''

Style Wars ''Style Wars'' is an American 1983 documentary film on hip hop culture, directed by Tony Silver and produced in collaboration with Henry Chalfant. The film has an emphasis on graffiti, although bboying and rapping are covered to a lesser extent ...

''. Rammellzee makes a cameo appearance near the end of

Jim Jarmusch James Robert Jarmusch (; born January 22, 1953) is an American film director and screenwriter. He has been a major proponent of independent cinema since the 1980s, directing films including ''Stranger Than Paradise'' (1984), '' Down by Law'' (19 ...

's 1984 film ''

Stranger Than Paradise ''Stranger Than Paradise'' is a 1984 American black-and-white absurdist deadpan comedy film, co-written, directed and co-edited by Jim Jarmusch, and starring jazz musician John Lurie, former Sonic Youth drummer-turned-actor Richard Edson, an ...

''. Rammellzee's influence can be heard in artists such as

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar, programming) ...

and

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...

. In 1988, Rammellzee and his band ''Gettovetts'' recorded the album ''Missionaries Moving'', with producer

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, ...

, a frequent collaborator. Laswell also paired Rammellzee with writer

William Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

on the 1989 album, ''Seven Souls'', and featured him on several albums recorded by his revolving super-group, Praxis. He also wrote an opera "The Requiem of Gothic Futurism" in 1985, "offered to send the U.S. military some of the intelligence he had gathered for national defense," and "tried to promote his ideas by producing a comic book and a board game." Rammellzee was the first artist to collaborate with the streetwear brand Supreme, making hand-painted trucker hats at their first store in 1994. In 2003, Rammellzee released his debut album, ''This Is What You Made Me'', and performed at the

Knitting Factory The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States. The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...

in New York with the newly reformed ''Death Comet Crew''. Subsequently,

Troubleman Unlimited Troubleman Unlimited Records was a record label specializing in indie rock and similar genres. Founded in 1993, the label was based in Bayonne, New Jersey and owned by Mike Simonetti. History The label started as an offshoot of a fanzine called ...

re-released recordings made by ''DCC'' between 1982 and 1984. Their single for ''Exterior St'' was featured on the compilation ''Anti-NY'' with Ike Yard, Sexual Harassment, and Vivien Goldman, among others. In 2004, Rammellzee released his second album '' Bi-Conicals of the Rammellzee'', produced by Gamma Records.

Gothic Futurism

Rammellzee's graffiti and art work are based on his theory of ''Gothic Futurism'', which describes the battle between letters and their symbolic warfare against any standardizations enforced by the rules of the

alphabet An alphabet is a standardized set of basic written graphemes (called letters) that represent the phonemes of certain spoken languages. Not all writing systems represent language in this way; in a syllabary, each character represents a syllab ...

. His treatise, ''Ionic treatise Gothic Futurism assassin knowledges of the remanipulated square point's one to 720° to 1440°'', details an anarchic plan by which to revise the role and deployment of

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

in society. Rammellzee performed in self-designed masks and costumes of different characters which represented the "mathematical equation" that is Rammellzee. On the basis of his ''Gothic Futurism'' approach, he described his artistic work as the logical extension into a new phase which he calls ''Ikonoklast Panzerism''. This artistic work has been shown in art galleries throughout the US and Europe. His ''Letter Racers, and other Noise'' includes artistic works by individuals mostly identified with their musical contributions.

Afrofuturism

Rammellzee's work is considered to contribute to the canon of

Afrofuturism Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic, and philosophy of science and history that explores the intersection of the African diaspora culture with science and technology. It addresses themes and concerns of the African diaspora through technocultu ...

, primarily through his repeated use of language as a technology. One of the central themes of Afrofuturist content is the use of language as a technology to transcend the

Digital Divide The digital divide is the unequal access to digital technology, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and the internet. The digital divide creates a division and inequality around access to information and resources. In the Information Age i ...

. Conversely, Rammellzee had stated that "there is no such thing as Afro Futurism" and considered his work to be more part of a larger European monastic tradition than any part of an Afrofuturist tradition. The theory of ''Gothic Futurism'' attempts to deconstruct the English language as it is currently conceived. The battle between letters seen in the ''Ionic treatise'' deploys language as a technology to fight the oppressive nature of the alphabet. The introduction of a new mythology in the treatise suggests that Rammellzee's language can serve as a force of liberation, thereby lessening the Digital Divide. In addition, Rammellzee's ''Letter Racers'' are intended to pit each individual letter in galactic battles against each other, symbolically challenging the accepted standards and functionality of the 26-letter alphabet. Rammellzee's description of the ''Letter Racers'' is as follows: "Humans...in the 14th Century the monks ornamented and illustrated the manuscripts of letters. In the 21st and 22nd century the letters of the alphabet through competition are now armamented for letter racing and galactic battles. This was made possible by a secret equation known as THE RAMM:ELL:ZEE." Rammellzee is celebrated in

Big Audio Dynamite Big Audio Dynamite (later known as Big Audio Dynamite II and Big Audio, and often abbreviated BAD) were an English band, formed in London in 1984 by Mick Jones, former lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the Clash. The band mixed various mu ...

's song, 'Come On Every Beat Box'. In 2010 Buckethead released a tribute song called, 'Rammellzee: Hero of the Abyss'.

Personal life

Rammellzee was married to Carmela Zagari Rammellzee. He died in

on June 28, 2010, at the age of 49, having suffered from the exposure to glue, paint fumes, resin and other toxins through his work and from liver problems. The official cause of death was listed as heart disease.

Name

He legally changed his name to Rammellzee in 1979 and friends who knew his birth name were unwilling to reveal it, in accordance with his wishes. He sometimes went by the shortened name of "Ramm". He has stated that his name is derived from ''RAM'' plus ''M'' for ''Magnitude'', ''Sigma'' (Σ) the first summation operator, first ''L'' – ''longitude'', second ''L'' – ''latitude'', ''Z'' – ''z-bar'', ''Σ'', ''Σ – summation''. He has credited Jamel-Z, a mentor from the

Nation of Gods and Earths The Five-Percent Nation, sometimes referred to as the Nation of Gods and Earths (NGE/NOGE) or the Five Percenters, is a Black nationalist movement influenced by Islam that was founded in 1964 in the Harlem section of the borough of Manhattan, N ...

he met in 1977, with inspiration for his name.

Battle Station

Rammellzee's live/work loft studio space on 46 Laight Street in the

TriBeCa Tribeca (), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Stree ...

neighborhood, which he shared with his wife Carmela, was named ''Battlestation''. It was a popular place in the 1980s and 1990s for artists to visit, because Rammellzee's artwork and costumes created a unique atmosphere. After 9/11, the building was sold in order to build luxury condos and this forced Rammellzzee and Carmela to move to a smaller place in

Battery Park City Battery Park City is a mainly residential planned community and neighborhood on the west side of the southern tip of the island of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by the Hudson River on the west, the Hudson River shoreline on the north ...

, and relocate his 20 years worth of artwork into a storage unit. Some of this stored work was included in the 2011 art exhibition, ''

Art in the Streets ''Art in the Streets'' was an exhibition held at the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles from April 17 to August 8, 2011. Curated by its then-director Jeffrey Deitch and associate curators Aaron Rose and Roger Gastman, it surveyed the developmen ...

'' at Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles. In May 2018,

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwide, inclu ...

Arts New York opened its exhibition ''RAMMΣLLZΣΣ: Racing for Thunder'', billed in its press release as "the largest survey to date of one of the most influential yet overlooked artists of the 20th century."

Exhibitions

*2021 - Writing the Future: Basquiat and the Hip-Hop Generation - Museum of Fine Arts, Boston - Group *2018 - RAMMΣLLZΣΣ: A Roll of Dice - Lazinc Gallery - London - England - Solo *2018 - Rammellzee - Racing for Thunder - Red Bull Arts - New-York - United States - Solo *2018 - Le musée du street Art et du Graffiti - L'Aérosol - Maquis-art Hall of Fame - Paris - Group *2016 - La Velocità delle immagini (Collection Speerstra) - Institut Suisse de Rome - Italy *2016 - Graffiti Art - Tableau de légende (Collection Gallizia) - Institut culturel Bernard Magrez - Bordeaux - France - Group *2016 - Pressionnism, graffiti masterpieces on canvas (Collection Gallizia) - Fort Canning Museum - Singapour - France - Group *2015 - Pressionnisme, de Bando à Basquiat (Collection Gallizia) - Pinacothèque de Paris - France - Group *2014 - City as Canvas: Graffiti Art (Collection Martin Wong) - Museum of the City of New York - NY - United States - Group *2013 - The Shadows Took Shape - The Studio Museum in Harlem - New York City -NY - United States - Group *2013 - Urban Art Biennale 2013 - Urban Art Biennale - Völklingen - Germany - Group *2013 - Graffiti, Thanks a Lot - Fun Gallery (Curateur Patti Astor) - New-York - United States - Group *2013 - Tekens aan de Wand: Ferenc Gögös/Graffiti Art - Museum Tongerlohuys - Roosendaal - Netherlands - Group *2013 - White Petals Surround Your Yellow Heart - Institute of Contemporary Art - University of Pennsylvania - Philadelphia - United States - Group *2013 - Last of the Hollywood Africans: Toxic - Londonewcastle Project Space - London - England - Group *2013 - Abstract Mash-Up II: A Group Exhibition - Crown Point Press Gallery - San Francisco - United States - Group *2012 - Radical Presence: Black Performance In Contemporary Art - Contemporary Arts Museum Houston - Houston - United States - Group *2012 - God Save the Queen: Punk in the Netherlands 1977-1984 - Centraal Museum - Utrecht - Netherlands - Group *2012 - Brucennial 2012 - Harder. Betterer. Fasterer - United States - Group *2012 - Strongerer - Brucennial - New York City - United States - Group *2012 - Letter Racers - The Museum of Modern Art - NY - United States - Solo *2012 - Letter Racers - The Suzanne Geiss Company - NY - United States - Solo *2012 - The Rammellzee Galaxseum - Children's Museum of Art - New York - United States - Solo *2011 - Perfect Man II - White Columns - New York City - NY - United States - Group *2011 - Graffiti - New York 80's - Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont - Paris - France - Group *2012 - Speerstra Fondation (Collection Speerstra) - Apples - Switzerland - Group *2012 - Art in the Streets - The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA - Los Angeles - CA - Group - solo *2011 - L'Art du Graffiti : 40 ans de Pressionnisme (Curateur A.D. Gallizia) - Grimaldi Forum - Monaco - France - Group & solo *2011 - The Aerosol Experience - Zieglerzwei - Zurich - Switzerland - Group *2011 - The Rudolf and Ute Scharpff Collection - Kunstmuseum Stuttgart - Germany - Solo *2010 - Street and Studio - Von Basquiat bis Séripop - Kunsthalle Wien (Museumsquartier) - Vienna - Austria - Group *2010 - Un musée à ciel ouvert (Collections Gallizia-Emerige) - Bâche Wagram - Paris - France - Group *2010 - Printin - The Museum of Modern Art - NY - United States - Group *2010 - Rammellzee: The Equation - Suzanne Geiss's Gallery - New York - United States - Solo *2009 - Gothic Futurism - Galerie Renée Ziegler - Zurich - Switzerland - Solo *2009 - Subcultural Capital - Anonymous Gallery - New York City - NY - United States - Group *2009—The New Yorkers - V1 Gallery - Copenhagen - Denmark - Group *2009 - Ramm:Ell:Zee - Galerie Ziegler SA - Zurich - Switzerland - Solo *2009 - Tag au Grand Palais (Collections Gallizia) - Grand Palais - Paris - France - Group *2007 - Futuro del Futurismo - Gamec -Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo - Italy - Group *2007 - Graffiti Stories (Collection Speerstra) - Abbaye d'Auberive et Musée Paul Valéry, Sète - France - Group *2007 -L'art modeste sous les bombes (Collection Speerstra) - Musee International des Arts Modestes - Sete - France - Group *2006 - Music is a Better Noise - MoMA PS1, New York City - NY - Group *2006 - Sound Zero - Kunst Meran - Meran - Italy - Group *2005 - Bi-Conicals of Rammellzee Tour - Venice Biennale - Italy - Solo *2004 - Smile away the parties and champagne - Zeen keuze uit de collectie - Gemeentemuseum Helmond - Boscotondohal, Helmond - Netherlands - Group *2002 - Americas Remixed - Careof – Fabbrica del Vapore - Milan - Italy - Group *2002 -Cowboys en kroegtijgers - Gemeentemuseum Helmond - Boscotondohal - Helmond - Netherlands - Group *2002 - Americas - Fabbrica del Vapore - Milan - Italy - Group *2001 - Oostduitse meisjes en andere stukken - Gemeentemuseum Helmond - Boscotondohal - Helmond - Netherlands - Group *1998 - Smile away the parties and champagne - Gemeentemuseum Helmond - Boscotondohal, Helmond - Netherlands - Group *1994 - Rammellzee vs Gen U One (Gen Atem) - Exercises in Self Presentation - Eigen + Art - New York City - United States - Group *1992 - Coming from the Subway (Collection Speerstra) - Groninger Museum - Netherlands - Group *1991 - American Graffiti: A Survey - Liverpool Gallery - Brussels - Group *1991 - Graffiti Art : Artistes américains et français 1981/1991 (Collection Speerstra) - Musée des monuments Français Paris - Group *1990 - Rammellzee - Galerie B5/Speerstra Gallery - Monaco - France - Solo *1989 - Hip Hop 'til You Drop - Whitney Museum of American Art - New York - United States - Group *1988 - Love Letters and Death Notes - Barbara Braathen Gallery - New York - NY - Solo *1988 - Comic Iconoclasm - Cornerhouse - Manchester - England - Group *1987 - The Equation - Lidia Carrieri Gallery - Rome - Italy - Solo *1986 - Future Futurism - Barbara Braathen Gallery - New York City - NY - Solo *1986 - Retrospective (Collection Speerstra) - Gemeente museum - Helmond - Netherlands - Group *1985 - 18° Bienal de Sao Paulo - Bienal de Sao Paulo - São Paulo - Brasil - Group *1985 - Ikonoklast Panzerim - Galerie Renée Ziegler - Zurich - Switzerland - Group *1985 - Between Science and Fiction - Bienal de Sao Paulo - Brasil - Group *1984 - Rapid Enamel The Art of Graffiti - The Renaissance Society at The University of Chicago - Group *1984 - Ein anderes klima - a different climate (II) - Kunsthalle Düsseldorf - Dusseldorf - Germany - Group *1984 - Graffiti - Groninger Museum - Groningen - Netherlands - Group *1984 - New York Graffiti (Collection Speerstra) - Louisiana Museum - Humlebaek - Denmark - Group *1984 - Artists from New-York in Monte-Carlo - Speerstra Gallery - Monaco - France - Group *1983 - Post-Graffiti - Sydney Janis Gallery - New-York - United States - Group *1983 - Graffiti, Thanks a Lot - Fun Gallery (Patti Astor) -Group *1983 - Museum Boymans - Van Beuningen - Rotterdam - Netherlands - Group *1982 - New York - Institute of Contemporary Arts - London - England - Group

Collections

Rammellzee's work is held in the following public collection: *

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of t ...

, New York: one 12-inch vinyl record (''Beat Bop'') and a series of ten drawings titled ''Alphabet'', undated *Museum of Graffiti, Miami

Discography

;Studio albums ;Singles & EPs

References

External links

* * *
Artist biography at Magical-Secrets.com

Excerpts from Rammellzee's thesis ''Iconic Treatise Gothic Futurism''

Video Interview with Guerilla Art

Red Bull Music and Culture Video Profile "RAMMELLZEE: It's Not Who But What"

Art gallery
* https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/dear-keith-works-from-the-personal-collection-of-keith-haring/rammellzee-death-note-intrude-the-prelude-paint-a {{Authority control 1960 births 2010 deaths American graffiti artists Rappers from New York City 20th-century American painters American male painters American people of Italian descent 21st-century American painters Painters from New York City Mass media theorists People from Far Rockaway, Queens Postmodern artists 20th-century American printmakers African-American contemporary artists American contemporary artists American contemporary painters African-American male models African-American painters African-American printmakers 20th-century African-American male singers 21st-century African-American artists 20th-century American male artists