Al Diaz

Al Diaz (born June 10, 1959) is an American urban artist and lecturer best known for being among the first generation of graffiti writers in the community and for co-creating the graffiti campaign SAMO© with Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1978.

Early life Diaz was born on June 10, 1959 in Bellevue Hospital in Kips Bay, Manhattan to Puerto Rican parents who migrated to New York in 1955.

Graffiti In 1971, Diaz was first introduced to the burgeoning graffiti culture by his older cousin Gilberto "SIETE" Diaz when he was just 12 years old. Diaz tagged under the name "BOMB-1" because of his explosive personality.

SAMO© Co-created by Diaz and Basquiat in 1978, SAMO©, which is shorthand for "same old", disrupted what was standard practice for graffiti at the time. SAMO© soon gained visibility among graffiti peers and in the press. For instance, The Village Voice published a feature on SAMO© in 1978, which brought artworld visibility to the duo and put an end to their street anonymity. In 1979, the collaboration ended and "SAMO© IS DEAD" was spray-painted across New York City.

Later work After SAMO© disbanded, Diaz took a break from writing graffiti, working in construction and carpentry instead. Today, Diaz makes work from liberated New York metro signs that he cuts up and re-configures into his own text from the preexisting signage letters.

Exhibitions In 2017, the Barbican Art Gallery in London mounted an exhibition, Basquiat: Boom for Real, that featured the duo's SAMO© work. That same year, Diaz participated in a benefit auction hosted by Artsy in support of the ACLU. In 2018, the artist mounted a pop-up exhibition at The Same Old Gallery in Basquiat's last known residence, showcasing his work alongside work by contemporary graffiti writers. Also in 2018, Diaz's work was included in the Beyond the Streets exhibition, curated by Roger Gastman. In 2022, Diaz's work was the subject of Cultural Goods Gallery's inaugural exhibition in Toronto. In 2023, Diaz created an exhibition at Howl! called City of Kings that brought together narratives, photographs, videos and ephemera from 1970s and 80s graffiti icons exploring the interplay of politics, economics and the practice of art.

Museum collections Diaz painted an installation on the walls of the Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College in Virginia.

Awards In 2019, Diaz received a signed and embossed award from then-Mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, for his graffiti contributions to the city, specifically his SAMO tags.