Michael Christopher Tracy (February 14, 1958 – September 3, 2023), known as Tracy 168, was an American

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

artist. He pioneered the art form known as

wildstyle Wildstyle is a complicated and intricate form of graffiti, the most complex type of graffiti Piece (graffiti), piece. Due to its complexity, wildstyle can be difficult to read for those unfamiliar with the form and process. It is considered the ...

. Tracy 168 came to be known as one of the most influential graffiti and street artists of all time, as variations of wildstyle writing spread around the world. He is acknowledged to have been a seminal figure in the development of street art. Books about 1970s graffiti feature his car-long paintings with their characteristic kinetic script embellished with flames, arrows as well as cartoon characters and the "Tracy face," a grinning shaggy-haired visage in wrap-around shades.

Early life

Tracy was born in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, the son of a

truck driver A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; an HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

, James Tracy, and Florence Martinez. He grew up there and in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. Tracy 168 was an honorary member of the

Black Spades The Black Spades were a mostly African-American street gang which started in the Bronx in the Bronxdale houses during the late 1960s and gained popularity in the 1970s. The gang began to spread from the Bronx to Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, S ...

. He formed his own group called The Wanted in the 1970s. The Wanted headquarters were in the basement of a building at 166th Street and Woodcrest Avenue in

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

Career

Tracy was featured extensively in the documentary ''

Just to Get a Rep Just or JUST may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Just" (song), 1995, by Radiohead * ''Just!'', Australian author Andy Griffiths' children's story collections * ''Just'', a 1998 album by Dave Lindholm * "Just", a 2005 song on ''Lost and Found ...

''. He discussed wildstyle and the troubled relationship between graffiti and the established art world. In July 2006, a 1984 work by Tracy covered a subway car door. The work was shown at the

Brooklyn Museum of Art The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

during its month-long exhibit, "Graffiti". Tracy was the mentor to many graffitists;

Keith Haring Keith Allen Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the Graffiti in New York City, New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual l ...

and

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among them. Despite appearing in major gallery and museum shows, Tracy maintained a solid street presence with his street murals in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and the Bronx. Tracy 168 is famous for his tags of a drawing called Purple Haze which relates and serves as a tribute to

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

. The artwork was part of the

Experience Music Project The Museum of Pop Culture (or MoPOP) is a nonprofit museum in Seattle, Washington, United States, dedicated to contemporary popular culture. It was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2000 as the Experience Music Project. Since then ...

Death

Michael Tracy was discovered unresponsive inside a

Wendy's Wendy's International, LLC, is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (businessman), Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of D ...

restaurant on September 3, 2023 and reportedly died there of an apparent heart attack at the age of 65. A memorial was held for him at the Norwood’s

Valentine–Varian House The Valentine–Varian House is a historic house located in the Norwood neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City. Built in 1758 by Isaac Valentine, it is the Bronx's second oldest house and oldest remaining farmhouse. The house remained in the ...

, on Saturday, November 18, 2023 to remember the local artist. Organizers said the location, home to the

Bronx Historical Society The Bronx County Historical Society is a private non-profit organization that collects and disseminates historical material and information about the New York City borough of the Bronx, as well as southern Westchester County, New York. The Soci ...

, was chosen due to its proximity to the Williamsbridge Oval park, where Tracy spent much of his youth, according to his son Sean Tracy.

References

External links

Short biography of the artist

1958 births 2023 deaths American graffiti artists {{US-painter-1950s-stub