RAMMELLZEE (1960-2010)
I was a bookish art school kid in the 90’s. Although I had never written on a wall, I delved into the world of graffiti culture through art books, biographies, and magazine articles. You could say I was a nerd.
My favorite artist from graffiti’s heyday was Rammellzee. I would cut out and save images of his artwork from magazines. Then, in a search of a film title, I put his name in my college thesis film. I was young and naive enough to do this. No animators in my circle knew who he was, so I thought I was scott-free. This done at a time when there was no YouTube, and only a handful of video websites.
Rammellzee did eventually find out about my use of his name. Meeting this man was life changing. He was intense, scary, funny, and brilliant, all at the same time. I knew after spending time with Rammellzee, I would never meet another person like him.
I eventually made a film for Rammellzee; completely digital, using little else than a DV camera, photoshop, and After Effects 5.0. My goal was to make the film feel as much like Rammellzee as possible. It was a motion graphics piece, modeled after the digital production studios I admired at the time.
I regret not saying goodbye to Rammellzee. I was not aware he would leave so soon. He will be missed.
Here is an interview that I believe reveals a bit of Rammellzee’s brilliance:
Finally, Alpha’s Bet:
