Priz-One
Encyclopedia
PRIZ-ONE is the graffiti tag of a Cuban-American commercial artist, illustrator, and ex-golden glove boxer.
during the turbulent Castro
era. Martinez started street bombing under various aliases such as RM/MR, SWAN-ONE, PRISM as well as PRIZM, above ground and below Riverside Park. He started "motioning" on the inside of an IRT Broadway no. 1 train in the summer of 1979. His self-taught progression to painting subway car exteriors did not reach its full potential until several years later. While attending P.S. 9 located on the Upper West Side, he became heavily influenced by Dean and Jean13 as well as other writers from Brandeis High School, who would later be known as "BYB" the (Bad Yard Boys).
His tag pseudonym of Priz/Priz-One originated from the Prisma font of a letterset/typography
book that was given as a gift by his high school art teacher because of the potential the teacher saw in Martinez’s black books.
In the early '80s Martinez was befriended by STAN-ONE, an older seasoned Broadway writer who was also president of a well-known graffiti crew called TS5/TSF (The Spanish Five). Martinez began teaming up with several members of TS5 on writing ventures and gaining access to layups and yards. Throughout his writing career he would be accepted into numerous graffiti crews. In the late '80s Martinez would be granted membership to CAC (Cool Art Creators), where he still holds a prominent role.
Though his passion is for his artform, he has broadened his vision by presenting works in books and video. Priz-One has been interviewed for several websites, ezines and in the world renowned New York Times.
He is presently Vice President of TS5 and continues to paint legally commissioned murals throughout the five boroughs with his partner STAN-ONE.
Push's 6th Annual Brooklyn Hip Hop History Celebration 2004
HISTORY IN THE MAKING PART II
History
Martinez's parents immigrated to New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
during the turbulent Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
era. Martinez started street bombing under various aliases such as RM/MR, SWAN-ONE, PRISM as well as PRIZM, above ground and below Riverside Park. He started "motioning" on the inside of an IRT Broadway no. 1 train in the summer of 1979. His self-taught progression to painting subway car exteriors did not reach its full potential until several years later. While attending P.S. 9 located on the Upper West Side, he became heavily influenced by Dean and Jean13 as well as other writers from Brandeis High School, who would later be known as "BYB" the (Bad Yard Boys).
His tag pseudonym of Priz/Priz-One originated from the Prisma font of a letterset/typography
Typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading , adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters...
book that was given as a gift by his high school art teacher because of the potential the teacher saw in Martinez’s black books.
In the early '80s Martinez was befriended by STAN-ONE, an older seasoned Broadway writer who was also president of a well-known graffiti crew called TS5/TSF (The Spanish Five). Martinez began teaming up with several members of TS5 on writing ventures and gaining access to layups and yards. Throughout his writing career he would be accepted into numerous graffiti crews. In the late '80s Martinez would be granted membership to CAC (Cool Art Creators), where he still holds a prominent role.
Though his passion is for his artform, he has broadened his vision by presenting works in books and video. Priz-One has been interviewed for several websites, ezines and in the world renowned New York Times.
He is presently Vice President of TS5 and continues to paint legally commissioned murals throughout the five boroughs with his partner STAN-ONE.
Events
- Brooklyn, NY - June 11, 2004
Push's 6th Annual Brooklyn Hip Hop History Celebration 2004
- New York - January 21 -February 3, 2005
HISTORY IN THE MAKING PART II
Newspaper articles
- Shadi Rahimi. "Cat-and-Mouse Game, With Spray Paint." The New York Times, August 5, 2005.
- Jen Chung. "Law & Graffiti Order." Gothamist, August 5, 2005.
- Joseph Wendelken. "Track Death Highlights Graffiti Game's Dangers." Queens Chronicle, January 18, 2007.
Online articles
- Artcrimes.com
- SixCentz.com
- Writers Bench@149st
- WS&TR Wildstylers & TazReport
- Deep Inside The Mind
- Interview with Priz-One on Canned Goods
Books
- Martha Cooper's Hip-Hop Files Photographs - 1979-1984
- Graffiti World: Street Art from Five Continents
- After Eight - Still Rolling
- Burning New York - Graffiti NYC
- Taking the Train by Joe Austin
Photographs
Documentaries
- Just To Get a Rep graffiti documentary
- The Original Videograf Series