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Leon Reid IV
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Leon Reid IV
Leon Reid IV, also known as VERBS and Darius Jones (born September 18, 1979), is an American artist widely credited as being among the pioneers of 21st-century street art. His brief creative output is marked by numerous phases, several of which are known by separate alter-egos.
Leon IV began writing graffiti in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1995, at the age of 15. He was attracted to the traditional uses of spray paint, markers, wildstyle lettering and black-book culture as first developed by graffiti writers in Philadelphia and New York City a quarter of a century earlier.
Leon IV chose VERBS as his tag by watching a video by underground hip-hop group The Nonce. "I saw this fat guy rapping on T.V.... he had a big black sweatshirt that read "VERBS" in the middle of it...I badly needed a name and for some reason it seemed to have the right feel " He said in conversation.
As VERBS, Leon IV engaged in numerous street-bombing missions (graffiti made on urban infrastructure typically at night) with his friend MERZ, also a young graffiti writer. Street bombing, the dominant vehicle of graffiti expression after the era of New York City train writing ended in the late 1980s, could be just as dangerous as train writing.
One night after painting graffiti on a rooftop with MERZ, Leon IV fell off the side of a building while descending its back wall. A sharp object in the alley below made a laceration in his left leg on impact, for which he "still bears the scar" he claimed in an off-the-record statement.
The late 1990s brought waves of graffiti artists through Cincinnati by way of Scribble Jam, an annual hip-hop festival held in August. Among the most influential visiting artists was Philadelphia writer Stephen Powers.
Leon IV began to adopt ESPO's recent strategy of applying illegal graffiti in daylight, while absorbing the tactics of advert manipulation as developed by Ron English, and graffiti writers Barry Mcgee and Kaws. As a result, Leon IV consolidated his influences into a functioning street installation program by placing road signs and altered adverts in broad daylight under the guise of a city-ordained construction worker.
Pivotal to the new process was Leon IV's childhood friend and artist Andre Hyland (a.k.a. Buddy Lembeck) who participated in these initial street installations and added a white construction hard hat to the disguise. A reflective vest would be added to the costume after Leon IV's stay in Brooklyn.
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Leon Reid IV
Leon Reid IV, also known as VERBS and Darius Jones (born September 18, 1979), is an American artist widely credited as being among the pioneers of 21st-century street art. His brief creative output is marked by numerous phases, several of which are known by separate alter-egos.
Leon IV began writing graffiti in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1995, at the age of 15. He was attracted to the traditional uses of spray paint, markers, wildstyle lettering and black-book culture as first developed by graffiti writers in Philadelphia and New York City a quarter of a century earlier.
Leon IV chose VERBS as his tag by watching a video by underground hip-hop group The Nonce. "I saw this fat guy rapping on T.V.... he had a big black sweatshirt that read "VERBS" in the middle of it...I badly needed a name and for some reason it seemed to have the right feel " He said in conversation.
As VERBS, Leon IV engaged in numerous street-bombing missions (graffiti made on urban infrastructure typically at night) with his friend MERZ, also a young graffiti writer. Street bombing, the dominant vehicle of graffiti expression after the era of New York City train writing ended in the late 1980s, could be just as dangerous as train writing.
One night after painting graffiti on a rooftop with MERZ, Leon IV fell off the side of a building while descending its back wall. A sharp object in the alley below made a laceration in his left leg on impact, for which he "still bears the scar" he claimed in an off-the-record statement.
The late 1990s brought waves of graffiti artists through Cincinnati by way of Scribble Jam, an annual hip-hop festival held in August. Among the most influential visiting artists was Philadelphia writer Stephen Powers.
Leon IV began to adopt ESPO's recent strategy of applying illegal graffiti in daylight, while absorbing the tactics of advert manipulation as developed by Ron English, and graffiti writers Barry Mcgee and Kaws. As a result, Leon IV consolidated his influences into a functioning street installation program by placing road signs and altered adverts in broad daylight under the guise of a city-ordained construction worker.
Pivotal to the new process was Leon IV's childhood friend and artist Andre Hyland (a.k.a. Buddy Lembeck) who participated in these initial street installations and added a white construction hard hat to the disguise. A reflective vest would be added to the costume after Leon IV's stay in Brooklyn.
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