In 1984, burned out by the nonstop travel and painting, White went into semi-retirement. “Perhaps it was too much too fast, perhaps he simply ran out of steam,” as written in Style Master General. “But at the height of his success, Dondi walked away. Now, all it seemed Dondi wanted was a simpler, more ‘normal’ life. He was sick and tired of the pressure to produce.” The break ultimately was good for his work-his drawings made during this time are considered some of his best work. He began to work in collage, working mainly with blueprints, to combine with exacting pencil and ink drawings. The result was a series of highly technical pieces, each of which took months to complete. By 1989, the MTA had “won” its war on graffiti. It instituted a program in which painted trains are immediately pulled from the line and cleaned.


By 1992 White had started to build that more normal life. He was living with a girlfriend, and had taken a part-time job at an upscale men’s clothing shop. That spring, his work was featured in retrospective exhibits of his work at The Rempire gallery in Soho and at the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands. In 1995 he was featured in the Fifteen Years Aboveground exhibit organized by graffitist CRASH. After a long illness, White died October 2, 1998 from complications from AIDS.

At a Glance…
Born Donald J. White on April 7, 1961, in Manhattan, New York; died October 2, 1998.

Career:
Began scribbling on streetlights near his house, c. 1970; tagged using “NACO” and “DONDI,” c. 1976; joined The Odd Partners, 1977; founded Crazy Insides Artists, 1978; worked at Esses Studio, began making large-scale canvasses, 1980-81; became associated with the Soul Artists, in 1981; first group gallery show, New York/New Wave, at PS 1 in Queens, 1981; first solo show, Fun Gallery, 1982; featured in the film Wild Style; hired as consultant and artist TV movie Dreams Don’t Die; appeared in “Buffalo Gals: music video; featured in group show at University of California at Santa Cruz, 1982; commissioned to paint Hong Kong night club, 1982; toured Europe with the New York City Rap Tour, 1982; became the first graffitist to have a one-man show in the Netherlands and Germany, 1983; featured in retrospective exhibits of his work at Rempire gallery in Soho and at the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands, 1992; featured in the Fifteen Years Aboveground exhibit.

Sources:
Sanchez, Brenna, Dondi White: Contemporary Black Biography Vol. 34 Gale Group 2002 pg.165-168.

photo credits:
Ricky Powell, Martha Cooper