Graffiti legend Futura 2000, whose abstract pieces around the city define the landscape, said the art form will be remembered as a part of American history.
"I understood about certain movements, and I respect that," Futura said last night at the Soho launch party for his latest project, the Nike x Syracuse x Futura Collection.
"What we have as street culture, graffiti, whatever you want to call the art form ... will be looked at as a really important movement in American history."
The artist, who has collaborated with brands like Stussy and North Face, remembered the early days spent with fellow graf writers-turned-icons Keith Haring and Jean Michel Basquiat, whose work is now coveted by celebrities and sells for millions.
"Jean was a ... gifted, really smart kid," Futura said, "and Keith was one of the most beautiful people I've met in terms of his generosity and trying to hook other people up and trying to just excite people about art."
He also reminisced about the "most epic night" in the art world during the 80s when the Basquiat/Warhol show first opened.
"After that opening, there was a huge party at Jean-Michel’s house. It was kind of like decadent, like over the top," he said.
"We had a 1962 Chateau blah, blah, blah -- the most amazing bottle of wine,” he continued. “Of course, it was Warhol, and it was Basquiat and everyone was there. It was one of those, ‘You had to be there’ parties. Just the ambiance of it … and the wine.”
