Legendary Def Jam Creative Director Cey Adams Discusses His Debut Trusted Brands Releases

You have seen Cey Adams work. Whether you realize it or not, you most likely have a t-shirt Adams designed in your laundry right now. Growing up as the New York City subway graffiti movement progressed in the early 1980’s, Adams would go on to work as the founding Creative Director at Def Jam Recordings for over 20 years. Designing logos, merchandise, flyers and the overall creative direction of countless bands and brands, the word legend is often thrown around for Adams, and with good reason.

Humble, calm and empathetic, Cey Adams resides in New York City where he spends his time alternating between educational lectures about the history of art and design in hip-hop culture and continuing to challenge himself with his fine art career. 1xRUN Editor-In-Chief Pietro Truba caught up with the prolific artist and designer to discuss his debut print releases which drop September 1st at 12pm EST culled from his recent solo exhibition Trusted Brands. Read on as Adams discusses his latest series of collage works, his earliest influences and more…

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1xRUN: Tell us a little bit about these images, they are part of a larger series correct?
Cey Adams:  Yes, I did a series of 20 paintings for an exhibition titled Trusted Brands, the whole idea was that I wanted to revisit many of the iconic logos of my youth. These are very popular brands. Coca-Cola. Hot Wheels. 76. Shell. Captain Crunch. All of that. I just wanted to revisit a lot of the imagery that I grew up on. As a way of reconnecting to those things that were familiar.

cey-adams-hot-wheels-1xrun-021x: When was that show?
Adams:  I made most of the paintings during a residency in Omaha, Nebraska at the Bemis Arts Center, and then I exhibited them in New York City at the Rush Arts gallery in Chelsea in March of 2015.

1x: What materials did you use to create these pieces?
Adams: The original paintings are 100% collage. Created mostly from handmade fiber papers from India and Nepal.  I also use a lot of found magazines and newspapers. You’ll notice there are a lots of references to art. I use a lot of torn art magazines mostly for color purposes. Whenever I couldn’t find a specific color, I would hand-tint the paper using acrylic ink.

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1x: What was the reasoning behind using collage?
Adams: 
I wanted to do something that rivaled my friends that use spray paint. I wanted to connect with my graffiti roots, but I didn’t want to do what everybody else was doing. I didn’t want to use spray paint and I didn’t want to use acrylics. I’ve done those things before. I thought it would be interesting to challenge myself to use a medium that I have never used before, and collage really spoke to me. I saw the work that some of my friends were doing with collage and I thought it might be fun to try.

When I first started making these paintings I didn’t know what to expect. They take hours and hours and hours to execute. The thing that separates my work from other people’s work is that you will notice all of these paintings have a grid format, you can see that square grid in the background. Originally it was just to help scale the smaller drawing to the final size. Then later on I realized that I liked working the grid into the paintings. If you look at every single one of these pieces it has a grid format. It was a way of challenging myself, knowing that when I cross that line, I have to change the color, texture, or shape in some way.

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1x: Was there one singular piece that started you on this series?
Adams:  Not really. I’m a fan of graphic design and I love logos. I thought “What would be a nice sort of tribute?” If anything, I would have to say this is really an homage to Jasper Johns. One of the first pieces I wanted to make was an American flag painting. The flag ended up being the last painting that I finished in the series, but it was the first one that I was thinking of. Ironically it is the only one that doesn’t use that grid that I was just talking about.cey-adams-american-flag-1xrun-interview1x: You touched on it briefly, but what is unique about these pieces compared with your other work?
Adams:  It’s really just a way of challenging myself that I haven’t before. My roots are obviously in graffiti. But there are a lot of people that are doing contemporary art now that started out as graffiti artists, then have morphed into painters or whatever, and I just want people to know that we’re capable of so much more. Not that there’s anything wrong with graffiti, but I’ve been an artist long before I was a graffiti artist. Going back to something like this for me was also a way of returning to my graphic design roots.

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Cey Adams Trusted Brands Drops September 1st at 12pm EST – Click Here To Learn More

1x: Building off of that, let’s discuss your earliest artistic roots and influences.
Adams:  Like a lot of people in the city I went to museums, and I looked at the traditional stuff that was being represented. Personally I’m a student of the Pop Art era, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns and James Rosenquist. I’m also a huge fan of the collage art of Romare Bearden. Jacob Lawrence is also someone whose work inspires me daily. My work is a collective of all of those things, because that’s what I grew up loving as a kid. When I started creating work I was bridging those generation gaps. I wanted to do something that my graffiti friends and I could identify with. Although some of these things have been done a million times, this is my personal perspective on it.

1x: You mentioned that you were an artist before you were a graffiti artist, what were some of your earliest works like?
Adams:  My first pieces were comic book art. When I was growing up there was this illustrator named Jack Davis that I loved. He was basically an illustrator for hire. Early on I would mimic a lot of the drawings he did. I would do that on canvas, primarily working with acrylics. Most of those paintings were smaller detailed works. This was the in the 70’s, way before I would branch out from my bedroom to paint subway cars. That was the stuff  I was doing as a teenager. I feel these works have helped me come full circle.

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1x: After comic book art, what was the bridge that brought you into painting on subway trains?
Adams:  You know…there wasn’t any bridge into the world of graffiti, I loved tagging! I loved looking at graffiti since I was in grade school. Like a lot of people I was drawn to the vandalism aspect of it all. I’m not saying that when I got involved I was thinking about it from an artistic point of view…I wasn’t. I just loved bombin’ like everybody else. In the beginning I was drawn to the rebel aspect of the culture. Then it evolved into making giant pieces on subway trains. We were teenagers, just trying to find an outlet for our energy.

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1x: What were your first paying jobs as an artist?
Adams:I started painting storefront gates in the early ’80s, that was the first time that I started making any real money. Then I connected with a gallery called Graffiti Productions Inc. or Graffti Above Ground. Back then everyone called it GPI. The gallery had a roster of talented artists that included myself, CRASH (John Matos), DAZE (Chris Ellis), LADY PINK (Sandra Fabara),  NOC167 (Melvin Samuels), ERNI (Erni Vales), FREEDOM (Chris Pape) and TRACY168 (Michael Tracy). This was in 1981, when I started selling my first paintings. The gallery was selling our work so fast. It was a great time!

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Photo via 1981.nyc

1x: So at that time were you beginning to start taking commercial work as well?
Adams: 
No…not yet. Around early 1983, I met Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin when they were forming Def Jam Recordings. I was introduced to Russell by a photographer that was taking a picture of one of my pieces on the handball court, and he gave me Russell’s business card. I went down to his office and had a meeting with him and he put me to work right away. That was the beginning of my career in graphic design.

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Beastie Boys First Logo by Cey Adams On Xeroxed Concert Flyer

Def Jam didn’t really form until 1984, but I was busy designing posters, flyers and t-shirts as well as stage-backdrops for concerts and things like that. You also have to remember this was pre-computer. So at the time I am doing all of this stuff by hand. I would sketch it up old-school style with a pencil, and we would review it, then I would send it off to the printer. That’s how it was done, I had to learn how to do traditional cut and paste graphic design.

1x: It was somewhat learn on the fly?
Adams:  To some degree it was trial and error. Learn by making mistakes. More than anything it was a simpler time, it wasn’t that big of a deal. It was a lot of DIY (Do-It-Yourself). Xerox machine graphic design. That type of thing. All those early hip hop flyers were a lot of hand drawing and Xeroxing.

A photo posted by Cey Adams (@ceyadams) on

Cey Adams + Steve Carr At Def Jam In The Late ’80s – Photo by Tim Carter
1x: During that time, were you also still focused on your work as solo artist?
Adams:  Not really. At that time I was primarily a graphic designer, art director and overall creative director. I was managing a full service design studio. You have to understand this was after the New York downtown graffiti movement had died. Lots of my artist friends were struggling. Folks did what they had to do to make ends meet. There weren’t lots of exhibitions going on. Some artists had to get regular jobs. Some people went to Europe, but a lot of the people that are working today have had a revival. There was a whole period in the late ’80s/early ’90s where there was not a market to be had for traditional graffiti. This movement is primarily a new one, as you guys know. Before the last 10 years, there was no scene. It was really underground. For me I was a full time design professional. I was making paintings, but I wasn’t doing complete bodies of work. I would have a group show here or there. I would do a piece for a specific client, but I didn’t have a full body of work that had a theme or concept around it.

1x: Along with this most recent body of work, what has been keeping you busy this year?
Adams:  I’ve spent a lot of time traveling and lecturing, educating people about this culture. I’m hired by universities and museums all over the country.  I teach people about the history of art and design as it relates to Hip-Hop culture. Rap music gets a lot of attention. As an artist I want to focus light on the power of visual art.I’ve also published a couple of books on the subject. One is called DEFinition: the Art and Design of Hip-Hop. These days everyone is excited about our past and the journey that brought us here. The Museum of Modern Art (Moma), Museum of Contemporary Art (Moca), The High Museum, (of Atlanta), The Brooklyn Museum to name a few. I feel it’s my responsibility to spread the word about our rich history. That’s the story my paintings tell…Our Story. Call it Graffiti or Street Art or whatever…It’s pure AMERICAN ART!

1xRUN: Where else can people find out more about you?
Cey Adams: Website – WikipediaInstagram @ceyadams –

-1xRUN

– Cey Adams was interviewed by 1xRUN Editor In Chief Pietro Truba. He has previously interviewed Ricky Powell for RUN #00881, Saber for RUN #00800 and Doze Green for RUN #00562. Follow him @Pietro1xRun

– Process photos and portrait by Janette Beckman. Follow her @JanettePhoto