Revs

Who is Revs?

Revs is the tag name of a New York City graffiti artist whose wheat paste stickers, roller pieces, murals, sculptures, and spray-painted diary entries have earned him over the course of two decades the reputation of an artist provocateur. Revs, whose real name is unknown, is perhaps most widely known for his collaborating in the 90's with another graffiti writer, Adam Cost, of Queens.

In a 1993 New York Times interview, Revs, who was formerly known as "Revlon," said he shortened the tag name to "Revs" during an epiphany that occurred after he contemplated suicide on the Manhattan Bridge.

Although Revs began tagging in the 80's, his graffiti byline gained serious notoriety only after he began working with Cost in 1993. The two covered Manhattan with wheat paste stickers, which they posted on the back of hundreds of pedestrian crossing signals.

On these stickers, which were essentially 8 ½ by 11 white pieces of paper, adhered with wheat paste, the two printed cryptic messages in bold, black letters: "Lousy Kid Revs," "Cost Fucked Madonna," "Zookeeper Revs."

The two were notorious for painting their tags in sprawling block letters on the broadsides of buildings or any other surface deemed optimal. The scope of these works was remarkable: a finished COST REVS tag, done in white or yellow paint, often stretched an average of 15 feet in length and 6 in height. The act required a paint roller, the kind usually used for painting houses, and one full bucket of paint.