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The blurring of the boundaries between graffiti, street art and fine art was already underway by 1981, and the exhibition ‘New York/New Wave’ at the PS1 gallery in New York is generally accepted as the true beginning of this, at times uneasy, redefining of what is art and what is vandalism. The exhibition featured over twenty artists, including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Edie Baskin, Keith Haring, Robert Mapplethorpe, Kenny Scharf, Andy Warhol, and the graffiti artists ALI, CRASH, DONDI, FAB 5 FREDDY, HAZE, LADY PINK, SEEN, and ZEPHYR. The cross-fertilizations of style remain apparent to this day, and the subtle influence of cannabis can also be discerned. Consumption was so common at this time and among these groups that it went virtually unremarked; there were, of course, those who abstained. Most notable perhaps was Andy Warhol, who is quoted as saying, “I think pot should be legal. I don’t smoke it, but I like the smell of it.”.
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