The Life And Death of The Shadowman
Street art is a phenomenon that seems to have no ceiling.
Used as a muse of inspiration, a means of portraying philosophical or political messages, or simply a means to fit within a culture that finally felt like home to some. Much of what is known as modern street art can be dated and documented back from New York City's graffiti boom. Starting around the 1960s, maturing in the 1970s, and peaking with the subway train murals of the 1980s centered in the Bronx, street art has led, inspired, and cultivated a generation of creatives who not only think outside the box, but turn that box inside out, then stamp on it, and then spray paint over it.
‘The Godfather of Street Art’ -
A title which holds so much weight against it that it’s hard to believe an individual could be dubbed this considering how under the radar he truly is. More so, the number of people who don’t know of the incredibly ludicrous, flashy, yet melancholic tale of the rise and fall to artistic stardom. Richard Hambleton, a self-destructive individual with a passion for beautifully chaotic art who would help bring street art to a new level, would appear, and then disappear like the many sketches he would emblazon on the walls of New York; like a shadow.
Many would know Richard as “The Shadowman” due to his most popular work being eerie silhouettes of lifelike, blacked-out figures that would lurk in dingy side alleys or street corners. “I painted the town black,” he once said. “They could represent watchmen or danger or the shadows of a human body after a nuclear holocaust or even my own shadow” and through his Shadowy figures, his fame would rise to the very top, sitting amongst his contemporaries such as Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. The grisly watchmen were not his only work though, and Richard’s initial ideas would evolve and mutate before becoming the blackened-out figures.
New Year's Day at the Ōgiya Brothel, Yoshiwara by Katsushika Hokusai
Scene in the Yoshiwara by Kitagawa Utamaro
Richard Hambleton, a pioneer of street art and a pivotal individual in between the ‘Abstract Expressionism’ and the graffiti boom of the 1980's, was a Canadian-born artist born on June 23rd, 1952 in Vancouver. He would go on to study at the Vancouver School of Art but was said to have started painting at a very young age from peers that knew him. His childhood is somewhat of a mystery, but what we do know is that Richard was an educated young man who was said to be always on the hinge it seemed, and who quickly would move away from education into a more conceptual scene. After his education, Richard would receive a grant from Vancouver to embark on a journey throughout America on his series titled ‘Image Mass Murder’ in 1976.
Image Mass Murder Series
The Image Mass Murder was a series of crime scene sketches Richard started in the 1970’s to fool people into thinking a mass murderer was on the loose. Chalk outlines of dead bodies and red paint mimicking blood would emerge, situated outsides of highly concentrated footfall areas so the maximum amount of people could spot them. Richard stated he did this because he wanted to paint realism, and in doing so conceptualised a murder mystery narrative within his work that had a story behind it. This narrative would invoke drama, creating an almost phycological experiment that would show that this type of thing could happen to anyone, anywhere, regardless of how protected you felt.
At the time the concept of public art was not usual, so many believed that these murder scenes were in fact real. Richard even fabricated a fake persona of a private investigator to keep his identity a mystery. It was said that people genuinely started to believe that Richard was a murderer, due to him coming back with blood-red paint draped across his garments, maps on the walls in his apartment with pins marking the whereabouts of crime scenes, and even using his friends to sketch the outlines of the bodies to ensure that it was as realistic as possible. The news outlets would dub this as ‘Murder Art’ which only fuelled Richards ambitions to continue to see what else could be done .
The art world would go crazy for this, but not without the real world also running rampant trying to figure out what was going on. The police would conduct research on who had died, who was the killer and try to catch the culprits. It got Richard into a lot of trouble with the authorities, especially after he even released a fake wanted poster by the FBI to try and play with the media and concrete the narrative even further. The result? - “I was told I would never get a grant again”
THE ROTTING BIG APPLE
The smiley, handsome and hungry Richard would then move to New York in 1979. Ambitious, daring, and eccentric, this would be where the necrotic Shadow Men would emerge in numbers, rounding off to roughly 450 ghastly bodies in total. Before this though, one of Richard's most famous pieces was born. Self-titled “I only have eyes for you”. Starting in 1980, Richard would use his own image printed on blueprint paper so it would slowly fade over the course of a few months, creating a silhouette of what was once was there, which many believe was the original inspiration behind the birth of the Shadow silhouettes he would later go on to mark on the streets of New York.
The New York lifestyle would quickly have Hambleton wrapped up within its silky but hollow grasps. Dazzled by the nightlife, Richard would soon familiar himself with the correct crowd. Attending parties and shows, networking and schmoozing, and it is here that he would accompany himself with the likes of Haring and Basquiat to name a few. This crowd would soon to know him very well too, as he began spreading his plaque of Shadow Men amongst the street of New York by the night, like a nightcrawler.
Richard was said to have always been looking good, with multiple girls on his arms which looked even better. A rock star amongst the art world, he would have a magnetic pull that drew people in and made them love him and be fascinated with him. The press could not get enough of him, and so neither could the public. He quickly became a giant amongst men within the New York creative scene.
NIGHTCRAWLER
Richard would embark on his fiascos in the pitch dark of night, hiding amongst the shadows as he splattered his black paint, utilising the city as his canvas. “The city is part of the picture. I don’t paint the entire picture; I just simply add to the urban picture” stated Richard talking about why he creates these silhouettes on the city’s walls and back alleys. Many would come to find these figures on a dark and cold night, having the feeling they are being watched to only find these thralls standing over them, lurking. Reports state they created fear, terrifying people at a first glance. Again, another example of Richard trying to portray phycological emotion through his work, this time being a direct implication of where the art has been placed. “I try to be aware of the phycological and the sociological implication that the city has” – He has used the dark, dingy and crime-ridden streets of New York and tried to heighten people’s emotions of feeling unsafe.
When we think of silhouettes placed in specifically chosen areas for emotional and phycological effects, many would have legendary Banksy spring to mind, although these Shadowmen are like precursors to Banksy. Banksy has even said how Richard Hambleton was a huge inspiration for his work.
With his highly conceptual outlook on art, Richard once thought of himself as the dark figures he was painting. The need to go into the dark to create his art, doing it spontaneously and sporadically but clearly very pre-meditated so he wouldn’t be able to be seen or get caught; a shadow in the night. Richard would soon after move to more of a studio output, adding his shadow men to canvas’ and became one of the most prolific artists of his time. The art world needed Hambleton originals, and he was one of the most sought-after artists of his generation, yet barely ever sold his work away.
The Marlborough Man
By 1984 Richard would create another iconic series of pieces -The Marlborough Man. Richard was obsessed with the idea of branding at one stage and would look to the Marlborough Man, the man who embodied the American Dream, as a muse. A mighty man, cowboy hat sitting atop his head, and walking and riding with purpose. The Marlborough Man was the main insignia and icon for the Cigarette company – Marlborough. What fascinated Richard so much was the fact that this iconic hero of America was killing Americans with its product, yet people were lapping it up.
The Marlborough Man was used in almost all marketing efforts, selling the ideology of ‘you could be like this If you inhaled this deadly, chemical fuelled smoke’. This resulted in Richard painting over the horseback cowboy in black, tar-like paint creating dark and ominous silhouettes. Another example of Richard cleverly utilising phycological and sociological aspects of the current world to help his work resonate with an audience. It’s clear that his work is specifically done to try and make the viewer look into the grander scheme of things; look past the painting and into a wider spectrum of the ideology behind why he does what he does, and what his work makes the audience feel when viewing it.
This would result in Richard’s ‘Rodeo’ work, utilising this cowboy figure again in work that showcased movement, action, and raw emotion. These would go on to be deemed some of his most impressive work.
THE PHANTOM
As more word got out about Richard’s work, it was at the same time the money started to pour in from Wall Street into the art scene. People who would not usually be a part of the scene: wealthy investors, posh smooth talkers, ‘suits’, would get involved in the street art hype, and much of it would all become about money. Art would now be seen by these people as cool, trendy, and more importantly an investment to make money. Much of the originality and creativity started to get stripped away from the scene. Many would join the art scene for the wrong reasons, for fame or riches, and this would not resonate well with Richard who stated “I just wanted to focus on paintings”
Richard was a highly celebrated artist, yet the media dubbed him a ‘phantom’ due to no one being able to get hold of him. He would not connect well with the money-making scene, and unlike Haring and Basquiat who would partner up with Andy Warhol to expand their market and brand, Hambleton did not want to be involved in any of this and would not open up easily to anyone. In fact, no one could connect with Richard, and many believe this was down to his increasing drug habits. With copious amounts of money, it was not hard for this to spiral out of control, and finally, in 1984 he would set sail to Europe to escape New York and spread his shadow plague further.
Richard would travel to Venice, Paris, Rome, Milan, paint his shadows in the small alleys of Europe and even on the Berlin Wall, and eventually land himself in Japan and stay there for a year and a half. Using art shows as a route into the city in order to spread his street art to more parts of the world.
It would be at this time though that his drug habits would take over, and he would spiral into an even darker space of isolation and introversion. There was no hiding the fact that the art world was filled with ecstasy fuelled parties, psychedelic trips that enlightened the users, and cocaine-ridden noses which kept the networking going for what seemed like forever, but many succumbed to the lifestyle in which they never longed for. A drug-ridden lifestyle that would keep them chasing the dragon and end up catching its teeth. This was the case for Richard, who would start a story of tragedy as his downfall would consume him.
LANDSCAPES
The ever non-complying Richard, who always wanted to continue developing his craft, would soon stop doing his shadow figures and instead started to create beautiful landscapes paintings. By the mid-1980’s Richard would create giant, moody, and romantic creations which would fill giant canvas’ utilising the finest of materials. But the world didn’t want these. The industry very much wanted darker, grittier pieces. The world wanted the Shadow Men. Regardless, Richard would continue his ‘beauty’ saga, creating these landscapes and before long, many people started to see what his muse could have been behind them.
At the time Richard had succumbed to quite a severe drug addiction; ecstasy soon moved on to crack and heroin, and the landscapes’ waves and tides could resemble the overwhelming euphoric tidal wave that washes over you during the use of drugs. Consciousness drifts away with your worries and thoughts, as the poison encapsulates your body as you lose yourself. As well as this, the waves coming crashing down may be a visual representation of the death of his ego and career. Richard was showing us his life through the use of his work, both the rise and the fall.
“This is so tragic actually that… when I think about it… it drives me nuts” – Richard Hambleton’s own words about his fall from grace.
As Richard continued to go against what people wanted, as well as taking himself out of the scene that would keep him thriving, he would disappear and become invisible. The once-hot topic in New York, bound for stardom, would become nothing more than the remnants of his decaying blueprint paper self-portraits. This disappearing act would be the catalyst for what came next – 20 years of living on the street, selling his world-renowned work just to pay for a meal, and stories of betrayal.
FREEFALL
During this time, New York was rampant with drugs misuse, and many of the great artists such as Haring and Basquiat had tragically passed away at an early age. Haring to Aids, and Basquiat to an overdose. This, for better use of words, would be the best thing to happen in their career though, as once you are no longer, then there is no more work produced. This increased the demand and shortened the supply, skyrocketing both the artists’ works into the heavens reaching unimaginable prices at the time. This was Richards's blessing and curse. Even though it was said that Richard did so many drugs that it would make Basquiat look like a boy scout, Richard could just not die. And because of this, he continued to live, slowly deteriorating, and falling deeper into his own grave.
“At least Basquiat, you know, died,” “I was alive when I died, you know. That’s the problem.” Richard Hambleton, 2014, taken from the ‘The Shadowman’ Documentary.
Years passed as Richard would continue to freefall from the top and landed himself onto the streets of New York living in the worst conditions. People would be asking if Richard was even still alive scene because he had drifted so far away and into his own abyss that people had no idea who or where he was. He was living in what was described as a ‘living crime scene’ – but Richard would continue to work; trying to sell his painting to anyone who would take them. He would sell his paintings to restaurant owners just for a meal. In typical Richard fashion though, he kept his personality amongst this ego death. His housemate, Anna Hanavan, explained how when Richard would make a ‘good sale’ in his eyes for one of his pieces, he would go and buy caviar, alongside a couple of bags of dope, to celebrate. As eccentric, bizarre, and unhinged as it was, you must admire the almost sweat nature of this. Trying to retain his humanity even amongst all the melancholy.
Regardless of his fall from grace, Richard continued to work and create. With the drugs and the chaos as his muse, he would use anything he could do to get out the conceptual overload within his head onto a canvas of some sort. Even going so far as to use blood as paint. People quickly created an uncanny link in the texture and flow to when a needle would start to extract the blood and insert the poisonous substance. This turned the whole notion of beautiful red and gold landscapes, into a more sinister outlook of Richards's addiction literally bleeding out of him, into his work, his living conditions, and his ambitions. Ironic really, how in such an ugly stage of his life, he moved on to create landscapes of beauty instead of the sinister black thralls of his shadow men.
THROWN TO THE STREETS
Richard would soon again be thrown to the streets, and he would be lied to, stolen from, and abused by collectors, galleries, and individuals who saw him as an opportunity.
“He was, I believe, near death when I had met him” Bob Murphy, Art collector.
Much of Richard Hambleton’s work would be managed by different collectors over the months and years, but at the pinnacle of his disconnection of the art world, the killing blow would occur. A collector of the name Bob Murphy would set up a deal with Richard where he would pay him per piece of art he creates after he had finished the piece. The contract was in Bob’s name, with the understanding of if any of the art would be sold, this would be split between the two, artist and collector. Bob would also be holding on to Richards's giant art collection by helping him pay the rent of his storage unit where these would be kept; original subway sketch drawings by Haring, Basquiat originals, and the rest. The economy would eventually tank, forcing Bob to sell off almost all his collection, and nothing would be split with Richard. Feeling bitter, disheartened, and lied to, the Shadow Man would fade even further into the dark.
The Renaissance
Richard would continue to live in the shadows, although as time went on things picked up slightly. Richards's work would start to be shown in some galleries again, and eventually, he would cross paths with two individuals in the art world. They would pick Richard up off his feet and help him relaunch himself in the art scene. The Godfather of street art back showing his work and the resurgence of Richard Hambleton would emerge.
A collaboration with English Streetwear brand, Dark Circle, as part of a campaign launched with Woodbury House consistent of garments and merchandise. Utilising the concept of the link between streetwear and street art, Dark Circle curated 25 1 of 1 pieces using painter coats as a canvas. They would utilise Richards most famous to work creating stand out, statement pieces that had Richards Shadow men emblazoned on them forming wearable art. These would not be for sale, instead archived, so don’t get too attached to these incredible pieces.
Regardless of the ongoing efforts and shows, Richard would still be difficult to work with, often creating a piece of work that he claimed ‘wasn’t finished’ just to purposely ruin it and need to start over again. Was this the act of a perfectionist? Or just someone who repented the act of selling his masterpieces, and just wanted to create? Regardless, this was very frustrating for art curators who needed pieces for a show, and tension would continue to boil up between the team. The refusal to comply would not stop there though, as it was said that Richard would often refuse to let go of his art pieces when someone was interested. Offers of millions would come in and suddenly that specific piece ‘was not for sale'.
Final Chapters
Throughout the latter part of his life, Richard would battle multiple life-threatening health issues. A vicious form of skin cancer would slowly erode one side of the face to the point of a hole in his cheek. Alongside that, he also suffered spinal conditions scoliosis and kyphosis, which caused his back to morph, and he required a bicycle as a walker to be able to walk anywhere. Richard would battle this for a long while, although this would not stop his drug tendencies or passion for creating.
“His goal was to reach the sublime,” Kristine Woodward, co-owner of the Woodward Gallery in Manhattan, said. “He used drugs to get there. It was just who he was.”
Richard would continue to live out his days until October 29th 2017 (aged 65), in New York City. But what Richard would leave behind was a legacy and collection of art that would transcend the field of street art into something new entirely. Without many even knowing it, Richard helped pave the way for what street art, and art in general, is today. He stood for exactly what every true creative resonates with; the love of creation overcomes the need for reward. Although it was the very reward, the high life, that was the turmoil to Richard’s Demise.
Richard, like many of the greatest that have lived before him or taken on the baton thereafter succumb to the nightlife that fuelled the industry. During a time of ecstasy and mischief, it is not unlikely that you would lose your way, regardless of the passion you had for what got you into that life in the first place. But this does not take away from Richard’s life and the mark he left on the industry. It was his use of innovation and self-reflection in his work, that at first glance looks sinister and menacing, that allows us to look deeper into ourselves and our surroundings to get a better understanding of society. And for this, we can only thank him for the work he had left behind and thank him for not conforming to what the industry wanted but instead painting on his own canvas, and on his own terms.
Text By: Joe Goodwin is a brand consultant living in the UK, but explores subcultures through the medium of writing. With a particular interest in fashion and anime/manga, Joe hopes to set off to Tokyo as soon as he can to soak up the bright lights and culture.
