Skip to content
About Unity

SAMO Meaning: Same Old Signs, Brand-New Measure

SAMO (said "SAY-moh") was a graffiti tag that Jean-Michel Basquiat and Al Diaz wrote across downtown New York from 1978 to 1980. It came from "same old [expletive]", and it mocked the stale ideas everyone swallowed without thinking. The Unity Art Collective logo gives the same old a steer: instead of judging opposites by their sign, black or white, plus or minus, it measures them by their worth. Same distance, same centre, no fixed colour code.

A yellow sign painted with the word SAMO in green capital letters sits beneath an arch of bamboo, in front of a wooden pole fence.
A yellow SAMO sign under a bamboo arch, an echo of an old tag, not a copy of it.

Most people miss what SAMO actually meant

SAMO was never a name. From 1978 to 1980, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Al Diaz wrote the tag across downtown New York as a mock product: “same old [expletive],” abbreviated and trademarked as SAMO©. It mocked the ideas people accepted without examination. The pair treated walls like advertising space for an alternative that could not actually be bought. Basquiat later called it a logo “like Pepsi” (as quoted in Anthony Haden-Guest's True Colors, 1998, p. 128; source: Wikipedia, SAMO) and a tool for mocking bogusness (Village Voice, Dec 11, 1978). In 1980 he painted “SAMO IS DEAD” and moved on (as quoted in Anthony Haden-Guest's True Colors, 1998; source: Wikipedia, SAMO).

Basquiat told The Village Voice it started when he said something "about it's being the same old shit" one night, then joked: "Imagine this, selling packs of SAMO©!" (Village Voice, Dec 11, 1978).

Basquiat SAMO slogans, straight from the walls

The Village Voice's 1978 story, by Philip Faflick, listed a sample of the sayings (source):

  • SAMO© AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO GOD
  • SAMO© AS AN END TO MINDWASH RELIGION, NOWHERE POLITICS, AND BOGUS PHILOSOPHY
  • SAMO© AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO JOE NORMAL BOOSH-WAH-ZEE FANTASIES
  • SAMO© AS AN ESCAPE CLAUSE

The Unity Art Collective logo meaning: worth, not sign

The Unity Art Collective logo performs a related operation on a different set of automatic signs. It begins with absolute value: the distance of a number from zero. Minus five and plus five cover the same distance; they are equal in measure even when opposite in sign. Applied to form, the black circle stands for change and innovation—a shape that can be set in motion. The white square stands for stability and foundation—a shape that holds weight. Neither alone is sufficient. Between them run the grays, the zone where most practical work occurs. The logo refuses the older colour code in which black is danger and white is virtue. It asks instead how far each force travels toward a usable result.

Why the logo is a steer away from the same old

SAMO diagnosed hollow alternatives. The logo diagnoses a hollow moral palette. It does not cancel the opposites or average them into beige. It re-measures them by what they produce rather than by the direction they face. Common ground is not the middle of a quarrel; it is the zero both sides share. The geometry is quieter than a wall slogan, but the intent is the same: interrupt automatic thinking and leave something that can actually be used. The mark appears on tees, caps, and across the site.

The Absolute Trial: a riddle in the SAMO spirit

The Absolute Trial on the logo page restates the problem as a riddle: what is flat will not run; what is round will not stand. Both are required. Want more on who we are? Read about our contemporary art collective in Nairobi.

Send this to the friend who still thinks black-and-white is the whole picture, so they finally see the grays.

FAQ

What does SAMO mean?

SAMO was short for "same old [expletive]". Jean-Michel Basquiat and Al Diaz turned it into SAMO©, a mock product and graffiti tag they wrote in downtown New York from 1978 to 1980.

Who created the SAMO graffiti?

Jean-Michel Basquiat and Al Diaz started SAMO in 1978. The Village Voice named them as the writers in a December 11, 1978 article by Philip Faflick.

What does "SAMO IS DEAD" mean?

In 1980, after a falling out with Al Diaz, Basquiat wrote "SAMO IS DEAD" around downtown New York to end the tag, as quoted in Anthony Haden-Guest's True Colors (1998). He then focused on painting. Source: Wikipedia, SAMO.

What does the Unity Art Collective logo mean?

The logo pairs a black circle for change and innovation with a white square for stability and foundation. Using absolute value, it measures them by worth rather than sign, so both sit the same distance from a shared centre.

Is the SAMO sign in the photo by Basquiat?

No. The yellow SAMO sign in our photo is not Basquiat's work and is not connected to him. We use it as an echo of the tag's idea.

Sources

← All posts

Share this post

Comments

    No comments yet.

    Commenters must be 18+. Comments are checked before they appear. Don't share phone numbers, addresses or details about students.

    Privacy: we use your email only to recognise you as a returning commenter, never publish it, and erase it after 90 days. Likes are counted without cookies or accounts.