Richard "Richie" Mirando, known as Seen, was born in 1961 in the Bronx, New York, where he grew up and still lives. He is one of the pioneers of graffiti and one of the best-known figures of the movement worldwide.
His interest began in childhood: at 11 he received his first airbrush and soon after painted decorations for his uncle's garage. In 1973 he entered the Lexington Avenue train yard, where subway cars were parked, and made his first piece there. He chose the nickname "Seen" for its meaning and for the pleasing sequence of its two E's. The subway became his preferred surface, and he moved on to painting entire cars, known as whole cars. With his crew United Artists he worked mainly on trains and murals, and in the early 1980s began painting canvases that entered galleries and museum collections. The 1982 documentary Style Wars brought him worldwide attention.
His legacy is broad: many graffiti artists today call him the "godfather of graffiti". He has exhibited in cities such as Tokyo, London and Madrid, and appears in documentaries, the book Subway Art and video games such as GTA V.