Graffiti Interviews

[EVAK_GBCKrew]

Interview from 50mmlosangeles.com but I thought I'd share it...

Writer Spotlight: COLT 45 TKO LOD OTR

Posted 2004-08-26 by Unit

Unit: Seriously, WHY do you write? What motivates you to write? Dig deep...

Colt45: Really, I motivate myself because I constantly doubt myself. Everyone thinks I’m a major egomaniac, and I am arrogant at times, always on purpose of course. But actually I continually doubt myself and I am never satisfied with what I’ve accomplished in any area of my multi-layered life. So for graffiti, I just always come down hard on myself. Every spot anyone has, I slap myself for sleeping on it. Every night I don’t go out and paint I hate myself for being a lazy fuck. Every time I go to a club instead of painting I feel like I’m falling off. Every night I stay home with my lady, when I have one that is, I feel like a pussy. All because I could have been out crushing shit but I wasn’t. I’m real hard on myself with the shit I paint too. It could have been bigger or proportioned better. I could have incorporated more colors or my can control wasn’t perfect on one letter’s highlight. I always need more sketches because I do the same ones over and over and over and over. So in every aspect of graffiti and my life, I’m always hating myself for not doing better. Which is pretty ridiculous because I’ve accomplished more in my short life than most people could ever dream of. But still, in every area of my life I always feel like I could go further no matter how far I’ve gone already.

My policy is if your grandma can’t read my piece then I’m doing something wrong. -Colt 45


Unit: Graffiti involves so many variables but the two prominent values seem to be artistic originality and fame... Do you consider yourself an artist or a marketer?

Colt45: I am definitely on the marketer side of that dichotomy if you want to create one. I don’t really feel there is a dichotomy between art and advertising, advertising is just using art for a purpose. For them it’s to sell shit, for me it’s to increase my reputation. But my graffiti is definitely designed to advertise myself in such a way that any and everybody knows who I am and can easily read and recognize my work when they see it. A lot of people want to push the limits of style and rock the most original shit. I am not one of them. I don’t need to come out with some new style or gimmick every time I paint to make people notice my work. I do the same thing so many other writers have done before me. I just do it bigger, better and more. I do the same things repeatedly like an advertising campaign so people will recognize my name when they see it and therefore increase my reputation in their eyes. My policy is if your grandma can’t read my piece then I’m doing something wrong.


Unit: Talk about your goals for graffiti art and for yourself as a person in society.

Colt45: The obvious goal is to increase my reputation so that I get more love, hate and respect than anyone else. But on a deeper level I think what we’re doing as writers is representing our culture. Graffiti is a very important part of our culture and it’s entirely ours. There’s no radio station deciding who’s successful and who’s not. No MTV deciding who runs primetime and who doesn’t. If you got the balls, the skill and the steel to do it and back it up, then you can do whatever you want, go as far as you want to go, and have only yourself to slow you down. I really think graffiti is important as a cultural representation of ourselves. I think every writer needs to push themselves to paint as much and as well as they possibly can so our culture is as strong as it can be and never dies out. I figure even if I die or go to jail forever, I’ve inspired thousands of other kids to go out and write graffiti. And of those thousands, maybe a few will be as good as I was when I’m gone. And as long as we can inspire enough kids to keep our culture alive, we will all live forever through them. I don’t see graffiti as a negative thing the way the police and the media often make it out to be. I see it as a positive thing in our lives that we share with the generations that follow us. I’m not on some ignorant “lets cause as much damage as possible” shit. In a society where young people lack any way of proving themselves to their peers other than sports, rapping, and gangbanging, graffiti gives young people an opportunity to do something productive with their lives while earning the respect that many people want as a part of growing up. Not everyone can be or wants to be a pro athlete or millionaire rapper or die hard gangster. But anyone can learn to paint quality graffiti and earn recognition by getting up.


Unit: It seems like our everyday lives have become completely immersed in advertising messages. Talk about your first memories of advertising... Billboards etc.. Do you think there is a correlation between advertising and American style fame graffiti?

Colt45: Well I smoke a lot of weed so asking me for memories is hopeless. I’m so bad I look in the mirror sometimes and see a stranger. But as far as advertising I think graffiti is a form of advertising. They advertise their product or service, we advertise ourselves. And frankly, some of us do a better job advertising ourselves than any million-dollar advertising budget could ever do. Sometimes I wonder why advertising firms don’t try to hire me to work for them. I understand propaganda a hell of a lot better than a lot of the people who make some of these stupid advertisements. Some of the shit I see on billboards or on TV makes me wonder what the fuck they’re selling anyways. It’s like looking at a piece and not knowing what it says. I’m like ok, another million dollar advertising budget down the drain. I think a lot of these advertisers are better at pitching an idea to a client than at pitching a product to the public. If these turkeys had half a brain they’d have me on salary as a consultant to make sure their shit is going to get the message across. Hey, everyone knows who I am and my budget consists of gas, food, paint and chocolate blunts. Lucky for them I already have a career so I’m not about to start my own advertising firm and put them out of business. But I would consider doing some consulting if I was approached and the money was right. I could use some extra vacation money, not to mention it just kills me when I see advertisements that missed the boat. I could probably start a new career in advertising correcting their mistakes.





Unit: Talk about graffiti in terms of now. What does it mean to be a graffiti artist. Why do you think kids get into it?

Colt45: The correct nomenclature is, graffiti writer. To be a graffiti writer in my humble opinion is to write graffiti. Our kind of graffiti. Not some art fag picture shit or whatever. If you go out and do other types of art, stencils, posters, pictures, paintings, whatever… yo, all the power to you. But you ain’t no graffiti writer. I’m a graffiti writer. Now there’s a few exceptions to any rule, a few people do a character for their shit. But if you think you’re one of the exceptions, you’re not, until further notice. You’re an artist, not a graffiti writer. Now as far as why kids get into graffiti I think has a lot to do with how modern society fails to offer many feasible options for young people to earn respect and prove themselves among their peers and in their community, especially for boys and young men. Everyone wants to be popular and get respect and attract the opposite sex’s attention, except for gays of course on the last one. So for a lot of young people, graffiti is a way to prove themselves, and make friends, and earn their peers’ respect, and attract females, and just to be somebody.

I think there’s only two things that can make me stop writing, love and death. -Colt 45


Unit: If graffiti is considered to be a form of art how do you feel about other more accepted art forms like sculpting oil painting multi-media etc.? Do you consider graffiti to be art?

Colt45: Yes, despite my spite for art graffiti is a form of art obviously. Now I can understand why people in the art-for-sale world don’t want to acknowledge it, because it’s free. That fucks up their whole trying to make money agenda. We don’t do graffiti to pay the bills, we do it because we love to do it. We do it because it is a part of our culture. We do it because we are respected by our peers for the graffiti we do. As far as other art forms I like some shit and don’t like others. It depends on the artist and the piece. But I do go to gallery openings as a part of my social agenda and I do look closely at the art on an aesthetic level and also on a practical level of materials used, technique, difficulty, etc. I can definitely appreciate anything if it’s well done. But if you come at me with some phony ass shit I’ll pull your card quick.



Unit: Do you ever feel that your graffiti art was/is motivated by political convictions? If so, how did you express those motivations?

Colt45: A few pieces in particular I have done had a political message contained in them. Everyone and their mother knows the billboard on the 101 I did. I did the theme for the first time I believe when we were about to go to war in Iraq because I was so pissed off that it was really going to happen. I have a lot of friends and family in the armed services and I sure as hell don’t want anyone I care about getting hurt or dying so these bloodsuckers can pillage that country and make off like bandits. Their money ain’t worth our blood. So I did the billboard to express a political opinion and also to reap the fame of my name being done with that anti-war theme.

Unit: Some people say graffiti by definition is illegal and therefore should exclude permission artists from being defined as graffiti artists... What is YOUR definition of graffiti and WHO should be considered legitimate graffiti artists.

Colt45: I don’t think graffiti has to be illegal. And likewise I don’t think if you do some art illegally, that it can be considered graffiti. Defining modern graffiti is difficult if not impossible to accomplish. I would suggest that graffiti is letter-based, name-driven, individual-focused, primarily aerosol, art. Now there are exceptions to all of those features in graffiti though. Some writers do characters without letters or around other peoples’ letters, but these writers also have a name and do write it or do letters for it at least once in a while. Its just their characters are their point of recognition. Some of writers also do their crews letters rather than their own name some or most of the time, but most writers do their own individual name most of the time, unlike gangs, whose graffiti tends to emphasize the name of the gang before the names of individual members. Also a lot of writers use other materials to write graffiti; bucket paint, markers, inks, scribing tools, etc., but most graffiti is done with aerosol paint. So its hard to define what it is we do, but somehow I can always see something and tell if its graffiti or not.


Unit: Talk about bombing murals...

Colt45: Yeah I’ve hit a lot of murals and it might seem like that would be malicious but really, its not. What happened is they stopped buffing the murals cause the mural people wanted to refurbish them, but they never had the money to paint over graffiti when new tags or whatever popped up on them. So they kinda just went to shit and we started hitting them because they already looked horrible and the murals were already destroyed so we figured fuck it, if they don’t care why should we. But I definitely think if they have restored a mural you shouldn’t hit it. If a mural is clean then writers should let it ride just out of respect for other people. I don’t want them painting over my art anymore than they want me painting over theirs. Damaging something that is undamaged hasn’t really gave me kicks since I was about 16. I’m a hell of a lot older than that now. But all respect aside, these muralists got paid five figures to paint these murals in the first place so I’m like, yo you got your money, what the fuck do you care. And the art in those murals on the freeways is really really pathetic. There’s a whole lot of graffiti writers I can think of who are infinitely better than any of the muralists who were paid five figures to paint that bullshit. And all of the writers I know of would have done it for free just to get the recognition from their peers for the art they produce. But you want to arrest us and charge us with felonies and fuck up the rest of our lives because we painted on your shitty murals that were already fucked up in the first place. Sorry, but you get no love from me.

I hear my boy on the radio advertising little shitty cars and I’m like, man what’s this world coming to. -Colt 45



Unit: What do you think about corporate interests using graffiti style art to promote their products? Is it a good thing that graffiti artists get paid by advertisers to promote a product or event?

Colt45: To tell you the truth I think its way weird. I feel like I’m in the twilight zone sometimes. I hear my boy on the radio advertising little shitty cars and I’m like, man what’s this world coming to. I mean a fool gotta pay the rent, I can feel that, but I can’t help but feel negative towards it. And I’m sure the people who are getting paid think its weird too. But they can’t talk shit like I can cause they’re getting paid and I’m not. I can understand that kids like graffiti style art and putting what kids like on your product makes them want to buy it. But having an art gallery/ hip-hop show/ cultural event to promote a little dingy car, I don’t know about that one. If they want to sell cars, maybe they should put the money into the engineering and concept department because those cars suck.


Unit: Lastly, when will you stop bombing? Realistically, what would it take to make you stop forever.

Colt45: I think there’s only two things that can make me stop writing, love and death. I think if I like got married to some dope ass fairy tale female I loved and who loved me and settled down and had kids and all that, I’d have something in my life to lose and I wouldn’t be out putting my ass on the line acting a fool. But at this point in my life I don’t really have shit that I care about to lose so fuck it. I don’t really care. The other thing that can stop me is death. But don’t get your hopes up. I’m hard to kill.



































All content © 1996-2004 50mm Los Angeles reproduction in any form is stricly prohibited. [ site policies ] [ submit flicks ] [ contact 50mm ]

[halo]

Nice find

[Lazer]

good read

[sure_1]

he seems like a pretty down to earth guy...easy read.

[Flow]

"Interviews and articles"?

[REdRum]

good interview....at least he keeps it real

[killah-EF]

I LOVE COLT45'S, ITS LIKE MY FAVORITE BEER NO DOUBT, SIIPIN IT WITH PAPER BAGS WALKING DOWN THE STREETS IN THE WINTER WEHN ITS SNOWWING, GETTHIGN DRUNK WITH MY GSM ATM BROES, ALWAYS SIPPING A COLT, I GOT A COLT45 T-SHIRT, I GOT EVERYTHING OF IT IM A BIG FAN WORD UP, JE PREFERE UNE COLT45 QUNE HEINEKEN, IM ALL ABOUT THE GETTHO

[halo]

lmao.....thats not the kind of colt45..............*oink*

[cyras1]

If he would have read the interview he would have know'n. :lol:

[Avos]

Originally posted by killah-EF@Oct 18 2004, 05:20 PM
I LOVE COLT45'S, ITS LIKE MY FAVORITE BEER NO DOUBT, SIIPIN IT WITH PAPER BAGS WALKING DOWN THE STREETS IN THE WINTER WEHN ITS SNOWWING, GETTHIGN DRUNK WITH MY GSM ATM BROES, ALWAYS SIPPING A COLT, I GOT A COLT45 T-SHIRT, I GOT EVERYTHING OF IT IM A BIG FAN WORD UP, JE PREFERE UNE COLT45 QUNE HEINEKEN, IM ALL ABOUT THE GETTHO
are you serious...hahaha wow man. Props Evak nice read

[PyroManiak]

Originally posted by killah-EF@Oct 18 2004, 05:20 PM
I LOVE COLT45'S, ITS LIKE MY FAVORITE BEER NO DOUBT, SIIPIN IT WITH PAPER BAGS WALKING DOWN THE STREETS IN THE WINTER WEHN ITS SNOWWING, GETTHIGN DRUNK WITH MY GSM ATM BROES, ALWAYS SIPPING A COLT, I GOT A COLT45 T-SHIRT, I GOT EVERYTHING OF IT IM A BIG FAN WORD UP, JE PREFERE UNE COLT45 QUNE HEINEKEN, IM ALL ABOUT THE GETTHO
Much respect to this man man right here....gotta luve my colt 45

[whOaHT]

when ya see efeckts, ya see a bottle of colt45 with em, no doubt!

Nice read, i love Colt45's work
and yes he does seem to be a pretty cool guy

[Adamo]

word the fuck up for colt 45's. :D
http://www.40ozmaltliquor.com/colt45sign02.jpg

[square]

still...id love for a big graffitti writer to have a better explanation for his/her lifestyle than "i do it to crush shit" or "i do it for the reputation"

such as...why exactly it is they feel the need to impress other people doing the same sort of thing, or piss of everyone that isnt?

although i guess when your art isnt making money, just about th eonly thing it IS good for is self-gratification.

[EVAK_GBCKrew]

Actually, colt 45 is dope as hell, and he COULD make money if he did canvases. :) OH and square, some people don't have an explanation for why they do it, they just write because it makes them happy. Meanwhile, you're over here contributing NOTHING. :)

[Alio]

enjoyable reading...!!

[MitNGEK]

thats was a good interview

[element503]

i remember reading almost the exact same article in my beautiful decay mag... 50mm stole it? or am i just dillusional and cant tell the difference?

[Alchohlics_Anonymous]

^no....your just retarded....good read non the less.

[tkS`]

severly retarded..

[gun runner]

if you don't know this guy, look his shit up...





jeloe, US, SRT, CF, VX interview


anomie1: What do you write, how long have you, and what, if any crews do you put up?
jeloe: I write Jeloe. I started writing graffiti half assed about 16 years ago. It wasn’t until about 9 or 10 years ago that I started getting serious about it, and its been the last 6 years that I have "dropped out" of the real world and dedicated my life solely to graffiti. I haven’t really ever been a crew guy for most of my career until recently. I have recently been pushing US and SRT here in San Francisco. US has a real history and I’m honored to continue its legacy. SRT is a dope crew that consists of friends only. It’s a tight knit crew and hopefully it will stay that way. I write for CF and VX crews that are also tight knit crews in Paris.

anomie1: Speaking of Paris I have seen quite a few clean trains you have done in Europe, how did you get into that scene?

jeloe: Well, I came up paying attention to the tail end of the NYC subway graff era. I also saw how that translated to SF bushoppers focusing on the bus system here in SF. I can’t exactly say why it is but there has always been an attraction to anything transit, especially passenger trains. It just seems to fit, its “the� natural environment for graffiti to exist in.

anomie1: Would you say its easier or harder, in general, to do passenger trains in Europe compared to the US?



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interview continued below
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jeloe: You know, I would love to be able to answer that question with some authority, but most of my experience with transit has been in other countries. The stakes are high for transit here in the US as far as the consequences go. I’m not really ever worried about getting caught in the act of doing one, but I am always worried about the investigations that occur afterwards as they always try their best to do the homework needed to bag you. I’m trying to make my career as a writer outlive theirs as detectives. So for me it seems better to take the "smash and grab" approach while traveling and then leave the kitchen when the heat gets too hot.

anomie1: You have come up in the bay right? Who have been some of your biggest influences and teachers?

jeloe: There have been so many here. I’d say my earliest teacher was a guy who wrote Cener in the suburb I grew up in. After that I'd say another big influence/teacher in my career has been Grey PVC. He taught me a lot about the fundamentals of making a style work as well as seeing graffiti as a lifestyle rather than just as a hobby. As far as influences go there were/are so many. Since you asked about the bay ill keep it local.. Amaze, Twist, THR, Dug, Orfn, Byped, Tie, Grey, KR, Benet, Log, Rem etc etc.. More recently it has been my crews that keeps me motivated to get better and to keep going out. I thank them, and everyone for that matter, for the influences and help over the years.

anomie1: What, in the last few years, to you, have been some of the most negative aspects of graffiti in general and in the bay?

jeloe: This is an easy one. Its the lack of respect amongst writers that is fuckin it up for everyone. I mean there have always been bullies and thugs in graff and I love that there still is. However, in the past there was still a sense of unity, or "honor amongst thieves" that unified writers as a whole. That respect has seemed to erode away and now we are left with the traditionalists like myself which seem to be few and then a lot of the newer kids that think the quick way to fame is to go over people if only to get a rep. Lame. If you have legit beef then handle it. If not then leave shit alone. You don’t get respect in this game unless you earn it. Plain and simple.

anomie1: ok lets get away from graff talk, what are your top 5 albums right now?

jeloe: Well, in no particular order it would have to be: 1. Cut Copy - Bright Like Neon 2. Belle & Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap 3. The Modern Lovers - The Original Modern Lovers 4. Dre Dog - New Jim Jones 5. Spoonie G - Love Rap

anomie1: Do you have any future projects or shows that you are going to have or are working on?

jeloe: I have plans to work on a book soon based on my last trip to Europe. I had a lot of crazy shit happen to me on that trip and I somehow was able to document it all from getting arrested and charged as a terrorist in Amsterdam to being locked to a bench in a jail cell while the police kicked the shit out of a guy and beat him with his own shoe while in Paris. Want to know the rest? Get the book.. Hah.

anomie1: What do you think of graffiti and the internet?

jeloe: I think it’s a double edge sword. On one side there are the pros of using the internet wherein it helps develop careers and most importantly how it allows for contacts to be made worldwide. I know first hand how convenient it can be for that. I have traveled and painted in over 20 countries as well as numerous US cities and states using the internet as my means to gain contacts and to keep in touch. It also helps spread your shit world wide and gives you access to audiences you wouldn't otherwise have which is really fresh, as long as you DON’T rely on that alone to build a career on. On the other hand though I think the internet is slowly killing graff. I don’t like how accessible it has made graffiti as a lifestyle. It almost provides a blue print to becoming a writer. Its like all you have to do is to log-on and observe. To me, that’s the wrong way to do it. The best way is to take a hands on approach. Go out and paint your ass off while making your way. Another negative thing is that it has also created this whole means whereby people can talk shit while remaining nameless and faceless. That shit is whack. If you have a problem with someone than handle it in the real world as a virtual ass whooping never taught anyone a lesson. Most of it is founded on jealousy anyways which makes it twice as retarded. Whatever.

anomie1: Have you seen those Sony ads popping up? What do you think of those?



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interview continued below
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You know a lot of people are super pissed about these. I see it as one more way graffiti has become commodifiable. It is inevitable really and actually ties back to the internet question. While becoming a graffiti writer continually becomes more accessible to the average kid they want to see it more integrated into their lives, which to them, reinforces their place in the graff world as they see it. I assure you this is all being observed by those in the marketplace who are responsible for marketing products aimed at the youth. As a result you get companies acting "edgy" taking chances to up their street credit so you'll use your card credit to get the products. I have seen it happen over and over again in the last 16 years I have been into graff. It is cyclical. Graffiti is hot right now. However, soon it will lose its appeal to those who are in it for the wrong reasons or those who get scared off the first time their houses get raided.

anomie1: What is the scariest or craziest graff related story you have?

jeloe: There are so many crazy experiences and close and not so close calls I have had over the years. There is one that happened recently that I still think was the most crazy thus far. The stakes were very high in this mission and if we got caught we were fucked. Like, really fucked. It was on a mission to do a subway. I was with a few kids who really knew the transit system inside and out. One of the kids was really schooled on the tunnels there and spent a lot of his free time just wandering through them looking for shit to get into. He had every key to every door and knew the deal inside and out. It was dumping snow outside and he told me and 2 other kids to wait on the street for him out in front of a business. Next to this business was a door facing the street disguised to blend into the landscape with no signs or anything else to indicate what was behind it. Anyway he told us to stand there for 20 minutes and he would be back. We waited the 20 minutes and there was no sign of him. We decided to wait another 10 minutes. Sure enough about 5 minutes later we heard a knock on the other side of the door to which we knocked back. The door opened and it was this kid covered in tunnel grime. He hurried us inside and slammed the door. It was fuckin crazy inside there. We had walked into a gigantic warehouse used to hold some of the massive power generators used to power the whole system. It was totally lit up and had cameras watching every inch of the place. We put on ski masks and started to walk towards a dark hallway. On the way there was a security door left open by the last guard on duty. The kids I was with went inside and started raiding the file cabinets getting maps to the tunnels and layups along with schematics to all the trains in use. I was shitting my pants cause this shit was straight up criminal. I could see myself on the security monitor wearing a ski mask. I thought to myself "when the fuck did graff get so serious?" Either way it was dope and I was down to finish what we came to do. They all loaded their finds up into their bags and we bounced back towards the hallway. As we got further down the walls became cave-like and much smaller to the point where we had to hunch down as the lights got dimmer and dimmer. After walking for about 5 minutes we came to a large metal staircase that was behind a metal gate that looked like traditional jail cell doors. I was wondering how we were going to get to it when the one kid pulled out a key ring he jacked from a driver one day as the driver came out of an office in a station. I thought that was so fresh. So we start down the staircase and after about 10 steps we heard a door slam shut and footsteps start. We hauled ass back up the steps trying to be quiet as every noise echoed and we didn’t want whoever it was to know we were there. Soon the footsteps below turned into a whole group of people with flashlights and they were speaking loudly in a language I didn't understand. I thought for sure we were fucked. The guys I was with motioned for me to come into a dark room we came across earlier. We all hid our bags full of paint inside of an old storage locker that was in the room and then hid ourselves in the dark of the room. The guys coming were workers who were working in some part of the tunnel. I figured out that there were tunnels behind the tunnels for people to walk along while doing maintenance on the system. Luckily they walked past us and just kept going. They were only like 15 feet away from us as they passed and I was shitting bricks. After they passed I was ready to break the fuck out but the guys I had come with said we were still going to do it. Honestly I wanted to go but I just shut up and followed them. We got up, got our bags and went back down the stairs. Once down like 5 flights we got to another crazy room that was filled with wires all over the walls with power grids and control panels complete with emergency stop switches and alarms with lights everywhere. We could hear voices down the hall and decided to push forward anyway just trying to be as quiet as possible. We came up on a door that was cracked about half an inch and when we peeked into it the train tunnels were on the other side. The voices we heard were the transit guards complete with guns, batons and attack-trained German Shepherds. We very quietly made our way past the door and down about another 50 feet. At this point there was a dead end in our tunnel with another door to the left. The door had it’s handle broken out. I was told that the handle was the reason we had to wait on the street for a half an hour earlier. The kid who left us earlier went into the tunnels from the station with a set of tools and broke the handle off of the door before the security shift started so we could come out into the tunnel later undetected. These dudes had their shit down. On the other side of the door there was about 5 strings of trains sitting in the tunnel in an underground lay-up. We sat there in dead silence for over an hour just watching the guards 50-60 feet away on the platform. They sat there on their cell phones blabbing away to whoever was on the other end in a language I didn't understand. The guard on our side began to pace with his mini automatic gun slung over his shoulder with its strap and his attack dog that was on a leash. As he turned his back the kid who broke the door opened it slightly and motioned for us all to quickly and quietly exit into the tunnel and hide in-between the strings of trains. We all did with me going last as reluctant as could be. The guard walked the length of the platform and posted on the far side of it from where we were. We quietly picked a panel each and I was told to paint my piece in no more than 10 minutes. I was done in about 7 and then sat waiting while they finished. I was hoping the guard or his dog wouldn't see us. The dog was trained not to jump on the tracks because of the 3rd rail so I thought at least we had that working for us. We all finished and bounced out undetected. We made our way out of the tunnel and back into the maze of tunnels that led to the door on the sidewalk. We booked through there and made our way out back to the street. We then had about 2 hours before the trains started back up again so we could get flicks of it running in the station. I went straight for the nearest liquor store and got some brand of whiskey I had never heard of and chugged the whole half pint in two big gulps. I was so on edge. I needed it. Then we walked about 2 miles to kill time and to get as far away as possible. We came to another station on the same line and decided to go into this one to get pics. The one kid used his keys to get into the station as it was still opening up for the first run. Once we were in the station we just laid on the benches and tried to blend into the bums who spent the night there away from the cold. After about 30 minutes we heard the first train coming, which was ours. We got our cameras ready and when it pulled into the station we flicked it as many times as possible before the driver shut the doors and pulled it out of the station. I remember her glaring at me as if to say "fuck you, you fuckin punks. I KNOW it was you guys!" As soon as the next train came we got onto it and rode it into the next station where there were several special police there with machine guns wearing fatigues looking dead fuckin serious. I was told by the guys I was with they were there to investigate the graff to figure out how it was done. I think they were more interested to figure out how we got in so they could seal it off for terrorist reasons. I was freaking the fuck out. Anyway, to finally end this story we got our pics and nothing happened to us. Even though we got away with it, it was still the craziest graff related experience I have ever been a part of.

anomie1: Thank You for your time. You have any shouts or fuck yous?

jeloe: Shouts? First I would like to thank DM for being there and for putting up with me. SRT and US crews here in the bay, VX and CF crews in Paris, DPM and TPG crews in London. Samo, Grey, Acne, Cecs, Vyels, Necs... Shit man there are too many. So really thanks to everyone who has been there and helped me along the way and who didn't turn their backs on me when I sucked. Thanks. As far as any "fuck yous" I am really not too bitter towards anyone. There's a few of you who have been fucked up towards me over the years but really I aint trippin. I am happy where I am. Oh and thank you for the interview.

[ghostbusta5]

haha thats story is nuts :lol:

[jape-the-nape]

would be cool if he filmes that whoel story lol,or atleast have the flix:P

[Kingz514]

thats fuckin crazy

[CaM-ONER]

all i read was up to the part where he talked about getting up on the trains in europe that shit is to long to read

[vegimite on toast]

You're an illiterate fool, it was a good read.

[alive]

a great read!
i wish i cuold see the pics

[`~SNEK~']

i sure hope i dont step on da 3rd rail :(

[screw_loose]

wasn't there a whole thread dedicated to the third rail and not to step on it?

[fuckin villan]

shit thats a crazy storey, did it say waht city he was in? :blink:

[gun runner]

none of these beauties are my flicks, all off myspace and anomie1.com
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/8298/90846836l1ci.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/5021/90846973l8qb.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/6711/90884174l2tk.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/443/jeloe17gg.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/9254/jeloe87vl.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/4988/213062901l7lj.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/5413/jeloe49hk.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/60/jeloe65wt.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/9831/jeloe78yi.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/3978/jeloe103yt.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/5851/jeloe118ww.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/3507/jeloe121oi.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/1766/jeloe139jc.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/332/jeloe141az.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[chas]

wow

[nano]

damn thats nuts. i def. wanna see the flix. thats like professional shit right there. like something you would see in a movie.

[J.A.B.]

ahah jeloe hit a sweet spot i was going to hit....right across from a busy street in sf...

[Welsh_Graffer]

Whats the 3rd rail???

[`~SNEK~']

if you dont know, dont go painting trains...

[Welsh_Graffer]

Originally posted by `~SNEK~'@Dec 23 2005, 02:44 PM
if you dont know, dont go painting trains...
Lmao , Please tell me , I was hoping to go paint some trains in 2006. do they have a 3rd rail in the UK???

[Havoc411]

that actually was a nice read

[Alchohlics_Anonymous]

great read.

[Ume]

fo shizzle my nizzle bizzle hizzle dizzle. (good read)

[Kayone707]

Originally posted by Welsh_Graffer+Dec 23 2005, 11:49 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Welsh_Graffer @ Dec 23 2005, 11:49 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-`~SNEK~'@Dec 23 2005, 02:44 PM
if you dont know, dont go painting trains...
Lmao , Please tell me , I was hoping to go paint some trains in 2006. do they have a 3rd rail in the UK??? [/b][/quote]
actually no.. the third rail is all fun an games.. when u paint a transit system your Supposed to step on Every single rail because theres sensors on the ground.
http://www.nationmaster.com/wikimir/images/upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6e/ThirdRail,Metro,Washington,DC.jpg/300px-ThirdRail,Metro,Washington,DC.jpg
^see that one back there? step on that one as soon as you can to avoid the sensors going off.. now go ...GO!

[tripp]

i was to lazy to read past the first line ha ha

[Kayone707]

Originally posted by tripp@Dec 23 2005, 01:15 PM
i was to lazy to read past the first line ha ha
too lazy to read.. yet enough energy to tell us how far you got?

[ares]

Originally posted by CaM-ONER@Dec 23 2005, 06:45 AM
all i read was up to the part where he talked about getting up on the trains in europe that shit is to long to read
Your a faggot. If you can't take 5 minutes out of your life to read a well written interview, what the fuck are you doing posting about it. Do you think anyone here gives a fuck that some wack 14 year old is too lazy to read? Nope.

Really good read.

[sika_2002]

thats a pretty good read, iv tried exploring for tunnels near me but i can find any. i dont even know if there are any

[MegamanX]

Im gonna go out and explore our downtown, cause thats where all our tunnels are, under the skywalks in between buildings. Iowa sucks. That was a great interview tho, dude sounds nuts.

[Noir]

The story was fuckin' insane.

[tortured artist]

Gun Runner try to get them flix man... that story was pretty damn intense

[tortured artist]

Originally posted by Kayone707+Dec 23 2005, 04:15 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Kayone707 @ Dec 23 2005, 04:15 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Originally posted by Welsh_Graffer@Dec 23 2005, 11:49 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-`~SNEK~'@Dec 23 2005, 02:44 PM
if you dont know, dont go painting trains...
Lmao , Please tell me , I was hoping to go paint some trains in 2006. do they have a 3rd rail in the UK???
actually no.. the third rail is all fun an games.. when u paint a transit system your Supposed to step on Every single rail because theres sensors on the ground.
http://www.nationmaster.com/wikimir/images/upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6e/ThirdRail,Metro,Washington,DC.jpg/300px-ThirdRail,Metro,Washington,DC.jpg
^see that one back there? step on that one as soon as you can to avoid the sensors going off.. now go ...GO! [/b][/quote]
HA kay's gonna get Welsh Graffer killed!!!! :lol:

[-AbSrD]

fuckin nuts!

[repo302]

and we bitch about not hittin transit in nyc thats what they gotta go through to hit a train in europe lol

[repo302]

and we bitch about not hittin transit in nyc thats what they gotta go through to hit a train in europe lol

[repo302]

and we bitch about not hittin transit in nyc thats what they gotta go through to hit a train in europe lol

[bla]

Post up your graffiti interviews.

Ill start.
L' ALTLAS (Paris)

My name is l’Atlas, I live in Paris since my childhood, my roots stay in the south west of France as I was born near Toulouse (no coincidence if I represent for South painters!). I started tagging in 1991, in the corridors of Lycee Voltaire (75011) with classmates like Elger, Stor, Dj feadz… At the time I used to write “Socle� (Pedestal in English), already with my ideas of underground layers.

Then in 1995 I went for Atlas so that the whole world could hear my name, no matter the language.

At the beginning of 1996 with Elger and Coers, we created VAO which would bring together all the buddies coming from graffiti, that had another idea of its representation.

On your website, we can see several videos of your work. On the “From Spray to Screen� DVD, there is also a short film you made about SO6. Do you have other video projects?

I film a lot the people around me; I try to be the living memory of the people I love. I am putting together a new version of Palimpseste; 52 minutes documenting two years of action on the panels of the “place sans nom� (nameless square);
You will be able to see Tom Tom, Jean Faucheur, Vast, Nomade, Elger, Tanc, Sunset, Babou, Zevs, Siche, Alexone...G... enjoying themselves.

At the same time, I am also still working on a video about the “toiles errantes� (wandering canvases).



At first, you’ve mostly been known for your tags. Your work has then evolved, but you have continued writing in the streets, unlike most of people with a similar background. Is it something you can’t live without? Do you consider it as the continuity of your work or is it something totally separate?


It is continuity. I consider the tag as a layer in the history of writing. The tag remains the imprint of the unique gesture, inherited form calligraphy.
Also after 3 or 4 beers, a good fat cap is the lushest thing ever, isn’t it?

You multiply the techniques and medium: spraying, pasting, sticky tape, canvas, video… are you always looking for innovations?

No matter the medium, I aspire to remain with time and go through the net of this system of eradication of memory in which we evolve.


You went to study calligraphy in the Moroccan Atlas with a classical master, then in Egypt with a modern master. How did you meet these “masters�? Are they used to teach Europeans? Tell us about this initiation.


The first master is called Smail Bour Quaiba, he is one of the last Moroccan calligraphist. I met him in Toulouse during my studies of History of Art and Archaeology, as I was working freelance for “Horizons Maghrebins “, a book about artistic relationships between the East and the West. I was in charge of the hanging of his exhibition… and we got on well with each other. He invited me in the Atlas, where I stayed for three months, doing 5 hours of classical calligraphy a day.
After that I never went back to university where just one man talks for five hundred.

In Cairo I accidentally met Munir Al Shaarani, a Syrian political refugee chased by the Iraqi government for communism.
He was much more “modern�, had followed a classical calligraphy training, but had also been working in a design and architecture school. He mixes the three forms of Art, and is for me the greatest calligraphist on earth. He taught me Geometry … I owe him everything. He uses colour.


With your curiosity for calligraphy techniques, would you be interested in other alphabets (Hebrew, Cyrillic, Chinese…)?

I have also studied Hebrew calligraphy at the same time as Arabic. They are both Semitic and tricosonnatic languages, two sisters. I have studied Russian for 6 years in school, and have taken part in numerous Chinese calligraphy workshops.

I am currently working with ancient Greek, doing a series of canvas with the Heraclites Fragments: “The Universe expresses itself through examples�.

I am trying to transpose this whole of knowledge, although the Arabic touch still dominates in my paintings; to develop this nameless writing between writing and representation, alphabet and ideograms.



Your photos, like your work, are generally in black and white. Do you believe, like Jacques Tati, that “the colour distracts the viewer�?


First of all the use of black and white in my posters is for me a form of resistance, when town planners (and artists!) are loosing it; I will only take as example the beautiful green of the Mairie de Paris. The Black and the white then become a hyphen, a binding line, a breath, between the people and the city.

Then the choice of black and white, for the photos themselves, is meant to make the city readable, in the same way a text is readable; (both my grandfathers were editors…) the artifice of colour disappears to let the reading free.

Finally the black and white tells the presence of something that has disappeared.



A book is about to come out. Was it your idea or did and editor contact you? What will it present? Your most recent works, or is it retrospective?


The editor is Didier Levallois, from Criteres Urbanites, who I met through Daniel Cresson.
It is deliberate that there is no graffiti in this book. I want to show that people with this background also have a personal one, a curiosity for other cultural influences as important as the heritage of New York graffiti. I bring back the memory of Arabic writing in the heart of occidental culture, so that we do not forget the part that the East has had in the erecting of the West, before it was drowned in it.
More than a third of the words we use come from Arabic, mixed with Greek and Latin.

The book is named l’Art du sens (the Art of sense). It is organised in 4 cardinal points;
- the compass
- the posters
- the exhibitions
- the collaborations in the streets with the buddies, always the same ones: Pablow, Elger, Teurk, Sunset, G, Tanc, Aleteïa...
This last section about other people could have been replaced by photos of the “toiles errantes�, but for me the failure of contemporary artists is to always work alone. Ideas come from discussion with others. “The other is the deliverer�

You are part of the “Acrylonumerik� project. I understand this is a happening mixing projected videos, pasting, and live painting. Can you describe the project and who else is part of it?

Actually this project couldn’t exist without a collaboration; Jaïmito and Gilbert (12 12 collective) are the initiators of the project.

The concept is to mix real painting and digital painting through graphic artists using beamers during a performance based on a scenario. The best thing to do is to have a look at the website www.akrylonumerik.com.



I think you are preparing an exhibition with Pablow, Sun7 and Tanc, in Brussels. Can you tell us about it?


This exhibition will be called UNDER CONTROL.
It will develop the idea that we are being controlled, using a mise-en-scene of characters from Pablow, linked with wires to a central Spirit that gives instructions.
A simple metaphor of our contemporary life.


Through the decoration of shops, the edition of tee-shirts… Agnes B. often works together with you. Can you tell us in what way this fashion woman is interested by the art world?


I have met Agnes B. in 1998 while I was destroying one of her delivery trucks at lunchtime on the Canal St Martin, a nice fat cap how I know. Agnes likes people who like to display themselves. She shot several films of my tags in Paris, and wanted to make tee-shirts with them. It wasn’t really going anywhere; I was going my own way. I was coming back from Cairo when she offered me to take part in an exhibition about graffiti in 2001 at Gallerie du Jour. I showed a video; in parallel Sam Bern painting the Parisian sidewalks, and a classical calligraphy, the first sentence of the Koran written with chalk on a blackboard. One again, I am trying to show that beyond cultural and social considerations, exists a universal energy that drives men to leave an imprint of their gesture through time.

Meanwhile, the twin towers collapsed.

Then a lot of things followed others. I got busted, I met Jean Faucheur, I made my first canvases, I started with posters, I vectorized all my logos, Agnes printed it all on a black and white tee-shirt series, she gave me entire freedom, I decorated her shops B sport with black tape, the Japanese invited me to do the same in Tokyo… there I shot videos of Japanese calligraphists…


Just as electro musicians often give credit to their rock influences, graffiti artists evolving with post-graffiti like to mention their non-graffiti-scene influences. Who are the people who have had an influence on your evolution? Are there some who you would like to collaborate with?


As I said earlier, my encounter with Munir al Shaarani was a turning point. Of course I copied for a long time the works of Hassan Massoudy, I have also been his pupil. I am currently doing a few canvases with Jean Faucheur, and I dream of mixing my work with the one of a Japanese calligraphist whose name I forgot.


According to you, who is the next person I should interview on ekosystem?

A girl !!!




ABOVE (England & California)
Most of us discovered you during your residence in Paris. What did you do before ?
Before moving to paris in 2001 I was a freight bomber in California. I tagged the Name Above, Freights. I was and still am a huge fan of American trains. The fact that ones artwork is moving all over the country is a good feeling. Everyone must yeild to the Iron Horse.

You are now back in California. Urbanism is pretty different than Paris streets. Does it change your way of working ?
For sure...The city I'm painting in the Blueprint for my Arrow attacks. whether its wood, paint, stencils, or stickers The city landscape is very important in Placemant and posibilities. Paris is a beautiful city that is stacked and very dense, opposed to most American cities that are flat and wide spread. For example, In Paris we have the "rain gutters" on every street that run down the side of the building. An extremely effective object to tag, or to put up a sticker...where in the states one is not so fortunate.


To be an American in Paris, does it make tradespeople easier to convince to paint on their store ?
No its actually much harder! Most French that I've encountered are "against" many Americans. What I mean is that there is this grudge or un-easyness for americans in foreign lands. The times that I would ask permission to paint a store, the owner would ask me where I was from? I would tell them California, and very often after I said that they just turned their backs and walked off.


Or anyway you didn't ask any authorisation to paint them all....?
I would say it was split 50% legal, 50% illegal. When I would paint a store often times the cops would be called...I would show them fake signatures, and address'. They would look it over for about a few seconds then leave. Its funny The cops would say " oh so your the guy who I see everywhere." Once I had a cop ask me if I could paint his truck. I would paint in the daytime with no fear of being caught. The cops knew who I was and didn't see me as a vandal. I could always work the "Dumb American" angle and explain that I had permission but lost the papers, or there was a mis understanding between me and the owner...In any case I got away with a lot of nice illegal piece's.


We have seen tons of wooden arrows, in Paris. How many arrows have you put up ? Are there long to cut and made?
First of all thank you for keeping your head up^ I really had the most fun putting my arrows up in Paris. I did a total of exactly 451 in all 20 Arrondissement's. I am very organized in how I spread my art around any given city. I like to be "all City" with pieces of me in every corner of a city. with Paris it was easy to do this because there are actual arrondissement lines. The first edition of Wooden Arrows that I placed in the city was 235. I did anywhere from 10-12 Arrows in Every arrondissement. I would work within the arrondissement so precisly that when I found a spot to put up an arrow I would look at the street sign to check the arrondissement number and see if it corresponded with the one I was in? If that arrondissment was not the same number I would not put my arrow there. I did not want to cross over the Arrondissement numberlines, and go out of bounds. I did this until after all 235 were succesfully placed in Paris. I then doubled down on the "better half" of Paris. 10 Arrondissemnets that had a high amount of people passing bye, and constant action. This time I had an army of 216 arrows that I pierced Paris with. The grand total placed in Paris was 451. The hardest thing about making my arrows was working with high powered electrical tools. Throught trail and error I finally got to match my marked line with my cut line. I almost made 10 fingers dissapear into only 8 fingers. That was a close one. I would of never thought that tagging on Freight Trains in California would of led me to cutting wood in France. Its Strange the evolution of style.


Do you have any connection with french or US writers ?
YES I have a connection with all Writers. We all share the love of painting. The risk factor, and the creativity of one's style.


What was the first thing in your life that you remember being really passionate and excited about?
Drawing. I remember just loving to draw.


Who has inspired you, and who's work are you into now ? Not necessary in the graffiti world.
My Family. My Father is an amazing Painter, and ceramasist. His work ethic and style's are very inspiring to me. I would say in addition to him the whole Graffiti Culture as a whole is very inspiring. I love to walk down the steet and see someone risk their life, for getting Ups. Just people finding the power with in themselves and to channel that energy to street art is Powerful!


You wrote on a few stickers : "My mother is an artist". Can you tell us more ?
My mother is an artist. She along with my whole family are artists. We were all raised to find out our creative outlets at a young age. My parents would tell us That "the only way wrong to paint was to not paint at all."


Is she supportive of you doing art stuff?
My family backs me up 110%


What telephone number do you dial the most ?
867-5309 Jenny I got your number!


What is the hottest thing in California right now - except you - ?
The return of the Califonia Women. Just like the French Women, the California Women are Sexy, and fun to paint on.


What are your plans for the future?
I'll be back in Europe in about a year...I just need to finish some school here in California, until then I'll be attacking the US of A. with some bigger more advanced wooden Arrows, and freight bombing. KEEP YOUR HEAD UP^

[GeSuS_KRiST]

anymore?

[SpLiTbomber]

this mite turn out to actually be a decent thread

[CaM-ONER]

woow that shit was long



























i skiipped

[kongo]

bla, please go on...

[bla]

all right, im glad you guys liked the idea. I got alot more, but i have to go out for dinner with my family <_< . Ill post maybe 1 more and when i come back ill post like an other 5.


Interview with G in Paris

You took part of the french graffiti magazine Graff-it. I think you left them now. Do you consider you work as graffiti ?

[Jerome] I've got the luck to work among Graff'it redactionnal on 4 issues. But even i'm in love with all aerosol way of art, i don't think that sticking some posters in the street could be called "graffiti". It's not the same spirit and the same freedom in creation...there's no limit with graffiti 'cause it doesn't matter about format, size or choose the best support but a poster must do....


What made you start taking photos ?
[Jerome] When i understand that my brain won't be able to record all what i see everyday. I started with "only one use" easy cam, and took some holidays, friends and family pics. I lost most of my early pics....i'm not in love with organisation...

What does putting up your large photos in the streets bring to you ?
[Jerome] Since 3 years i lived in Paris, i've met some people like Jean Faucheur who show me the real art of sticking large posters in the street. Last year, Halieutik has an idea to create an happening "Art Is Stick" (it's now the name of our collective) around sticking some A3 in the street. We finally stick them near Eiffet Tower and this action was a terrible revelation for me. I want to show my photographic work to public and this alternative media is for me the best way to exhibite my pics.


Would you like to show them in galleries too ?
[Jerome] Of course yes, but i don't think i would exhibite the same things than i do in the streets. Every space (a town or a closed room) needs a special artistic reflexion about the best integration of the showed work and the supported space.

Just like djs are stuck to vinyls you seem to only use film and not digital cameras. Have you tried digital cameras ?
[Jerome] It's strange because i'm working everyday with a numeric and it's a really good stuff. But it's my own purpose thah i follow when i only want to work with argentic materials. With numeric u can shoot hundred pics and even check while shooting if it's good or not....traditional cameras doesn't work like that and i prefer to play with this substance of fate (u can see result only after a few days) and as i'm limited in the number of pics on a roll film (12, 24 or 36) i only shoot what it seem to be a really unmissable action.... since a few months i've worked with an old appareil, it's a Rolleiflex who takes some 6x6 pics. It's amazing to get back to this old way of photography, it's giving me very good lessons about shooting tips without any technology help.

Do you print for yourself ?
[Jerome] No. I don't have the materials to do that. At this time, i prefer to work with a guy called Claude Perrain who's got a small photo shop and who gave to me good advices. It's such a good collaboration since 2 years that he put each month a poster of my work in his window.


You made a series of car photos with each time a name on it. What does it mean ?
[Jerome] For me cars are the perfect illustration of our old economic organisation. At beginning XXe, car's production (Henry Ford) was a real revolution in building goods. But now cars are a sort of disease for the planet while its pollution (CO emission), with oil exploitation and with the strange behavior when human is a driver. I wanted to make people think about it so I began to stick a series of car's faces on the wall with their original number plate. But I was arrested while sticking and Police notified to me that showing number plates is more illegal than stick posters in the street. So as a number plate is finally somebody i change it into a fake firstname. Today, i've got almost 500 differents models of cars.

Do you plan what you're going to shoot, or do you go out and find good things ?
[Jerome] Since i was fed up to miss some unbelievable scenes of life, i always had a camera with me. So i've never plan anything, i only follow my feeling with what i'm watching. By walk or with my scooter, i shoot each time my heart reacts from something. I can't explain very well because it's only about sensations.


What is a good photo ?
[Jerome] 50% of hasard and 50% of love. I don't want to shoot nude femal walking in forest, it's not my aim. I prefer to report normal life events and if you love enough life, humans and earth i think you'll be able to find a magical side everywhere, sometimes happy or sad but that's life. Ying&Yang. There's no Good if there's no Bad.

Who are your favorite photographers ?
[Jerome] It's not a palmares, but names like Robert Doisneau, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Pierre-Henri Lartigue, James Natchway or Spencer Tunick for their visions of life. And Henry Chalfant for his vision of graffiti art.


Making graffiti is also having a particular relationship with urban cities... What does the city of Paris mean to you ?
[Jerome] I'm always a tourist in this town. I still don't know all the corners or the underground sides of the most visited city in the world. But Paris still remain for me a kind of culture and art center..even it's a not the real interpretation of its reputation. Paris has a too loud history to look future with new eyes. It became a sort of supermarket of regular and classic culture with musuems, etc....

Are there cities you would like to go ?
[Jerome] Cities i don't know like Berlin, Tokyo, New-York, Johannesburg but i dream about travelling to Iceland. But the most exciting will be to travel in space. Actually it "only" cost 5 millions dollars..maybe in 20 years it'll be cheaper....


Any upcoming projects, you would like to share with us ?
[Jerome] I'm working with Halieutik and Alexone on an exhibition in an old movie theatre in Paris XIIIe. I think it will be crazy cause we're going to "design" all the spaces of this place. It'll take place during the last weeks of september. You'll know more in a few weeks.... Also, i'm trying to update my online portfolio each months and i'm still looking for places or galleries to show my work


Any last word ?
[Jerome] " L'homme est naturellement bon, c'est la société qui le pervertit." Jean-Jacques Rousseau




3 silly questions :

hALTERophile or ALTERmondialiste (Alternative globalisation) ?
[Jerome] Altermondialist directly ! Only watch to Transnationale.org to see real faces of all WorldWide Firms...


Nike or Naked ?
[Jerome] Naked with the same above comment. Imagine a world where everybody were nude....amazing !!


Pierre la Police or Fuck the Police ?
[Jerome] I love the work of the first. And "Fuck the Police" is not very clever. We can't live in our societies without a minimum of control. But today, it's really out of control....

Can you choose 2 flix extracted from ekosystem and tell us why you chose them ?
[Jerome] first one : i'd like to thank the artist named LE_COVER... i don't know him, is he italian ?...(in fact it's an italian crew)but i choose his Panda Crashed Tanker Graffiti... why ? because it's not common to see a modern and so huge graffiti without any sentence or slogan but that has got a powerfull political message....with a very clever recuperation of WWF logo... :) In this shit new millenium, i think that we must keep a social, ecological or political side of our piece of art... it's not enough to draw a small character on paper and to stick it in the street...this kind of alternative media is already a non-underground and a hype-as-God goal...Don't hide your ideas. Express them !

second one : it's both a choice and a big up ! i choose Alexone and his "commerçant de proximité"... it's one of his first large character sticking in streets... and i think that it's one of the best cause it's fun, the integration is perfect (only see the lamp and the cashier!) and it keeps a social side among its simplicity. It's just intelligent !

Can you choose 2 photos from you and tell us why you chose them ?
[Jerome] first one : i took this pic last summer unless thinking i'll get a result like this. The thema of this shoot is very clear, it's a good illustration of human evolution by foot wear. Nude, simple beach shoes and sneakers.... maybe in a few years with all our modernism, we won't be able to walk.... have a look to Segway.com it's amazing...!!

[SCRAPS]

To long to long

[v e n s r.]

where you get those

[bla]

Interview with
$UPAKITCH

_1__You're back from the Sonar festival in Barcelona. Have you discovered good music or artists there ?

[supakitch] Puppetmastaz, a group of puppets very funky which were rapping on HIP-HOP/Electro sounds. I was really surprised... and I adore that. The idea is very good, they really are innovative, they bring something to hip Hop.

They are so many interresting people at the Sonar, which is also very visual. The video live of “Moment Factory� on Bjork music was a good mix.

During the sonar, I met some graffiti artists like PEZ,Chanoir, Birdie, El xupet, Ritmo.. we paint all together and it was great. Thank you ekosystem.
http://www.ekosystem.org/0_ITW/supakitch/01.jpg
_2__And did you enjoy the city ?


[supakitch] Right ! I love this town, I feel free, you can paint outside in the center in a really good ambiance ! Also, If like me, you simply like to hang out in the streets, to observe, to chill, in barcelone, it’s so like that. It’s the city of the logo, any little shop has its logo. This city is full of charm, by his colors, his size, his geographic position, his culture, his weather... Spanish people are well known to be friendly and jovial fellow . there is always something to do, I think it’s a town where i’d love to live.
http://www.ekosystem.org/0_ITW/supakitch/02.jpg
3__We know you mainly for your characters, but you also do that printed circuits. Can you tell us more about them ?


[supakitch] I’ve always loved the support of printed circuit. I find it beautiful, for his matte rand for everything you can do with. This object is omnipresent in our lives, often hidden, it makes things for our better living, work .
Nowadays, my printed circuits look like “telecran�, and it’s under that pseudo that I live through them. You can bring your telecran everywhere and draw with it. It really matches with the image i wanted to give to my circuits. A toy to use on my favourite playground, the streets and capacity to begin a propaganda counters media handling (like the advertizing for example) by putting in scene a robot, symbol of the toys and social "sheep". Because you are toys!
At present I make really the distinction between my identity of Supakitch with my painting and my identity of Telecran with this support. Perhaps that a day these two styles will speak each other...
http://www.ekosystem.org/0_ITW/supakitch/03.jpg
_4__Where did the name Supakitch comme from ?


[supakitch] Everything started in 1842, in a little street in Manhattan, it was around 3.56 PM when a huge octopus walk towards me. Coming up from a sewer, she had a ghettoblaster under her tentacle, a big spicy hotdog in the other, a pink ball of wool, in an another one and 3 pairs of nike air jordan on the other tentacles. She walked me with ... with a funny way, bah.. an octopus way and asked me if I’d seen a fox with a fridge on hisback ?!?
I already felt that she wanted to bother me, so I smoked a big one on my blunt, picked up my supakrylon ... and Kitch in the eye !!
http://www.ekosystem.org/0_ITW/supakitch/04.jpg

_5__About your characters, they look like a little bit like the one Bando. Did a long time ago. I particularly think about 1tox magazine cover. Is it an influence to you ?


[supakitch] Of course Bando is important in my graffiti culture, and I think that it’s a flattering comparison. At the time of this cover, I was quite young and so interrested by graffiti. To answer your question Eko, no I didn’t inspire from this. This little monster is born from my collection of toys and from hours in front of my TV, watching Dragon Ball and Hayaho Miyazaki’s movies from Ghibli Studios
http://www.ekosystem.org/0_ITW/supakitch/05.jpg
_6__Who were some of your earliest influences ?
[supakitch] I think that my first influences come from the street. When I was younger, i used to draw punks I saw in the street, and also my toys or characters from cartoons... then I discovered graffiti and I became really fond of Typography, I then came to graphism and illustrations.

_7__Whose work do you like at present ?
[supakitch]In fact, I really appreciate many people’s work Koralie, Prayer, Gum, TT crew, Pez, Ekopez, La guibole, WK, Kaws, Obey Giant,
East Erik, Zeus, Space invader, Sixe, La mano, 9e concept/109, Le cover, Above, 1980 crew..... I stop here but the list is long. But I’m sensitive to images in general. I appreciate many graphists/illustrators work
(Designers Republic, Nando costa, Pictoplasma, 123 clan, Buro destruct, Lodown...), toy designers (Michael Lau, Eric So, Toy2R...), photographers (Lachapelle, Spencer Tunick, Natacha Meritt, Hazy...), tatoo artists (Chiken...), architects (Gaudi, Renzo Piano...), movie makers (Terry Gillian, Andrew Blake...)

8__Do you do any illustration or graphic design work ?
[supakitch] Yes, I’ve been painting on urban advertising supports support since 2 years.I made a few exhibitions, and for the moment, the money I raised like that that helps me to pay the main elements to build my telecrans. After painting, there is graphism and disc covers. I love to work on sounds and meet people to express this way. Not long ago, I met Dj VINCIL from Toulouse, and ONLY A TASTE (an electro compilation from Montpellier).




_9__I think it's not a secret that you live with Koralie who also paints. Do you often paint together ?
[supakitch] Of course! As often as possible, I really like his little geisha and to paint with her. It’s so cool to share that with my girlfriend, it’s funny to make our characters live together. It’s another exercise i like.
http://www.ekosystem.org/0_ITW/supakitch/07.jpg
_10__What is the hottest thing in Montpellier right now - except you ?

[supakitch] The sun


_11__Every year there's a festival in Montpellier called "Attitude". Many graffiti artists were invited (André, La mano, Sixe, Zeus...) Is it something you wait every summer ?

[supakitch] Yes, I think it’s good, for some reasons : you can see in the work in gallery of well known artists, to meet some, it’s makes things move in Montpellier. This year, I could see graffiti artists like Seak, Daim and Loomit , I really appreciated Seak’s work.
http://www.ekosystem.org/0_ITW/supakitch/10.jpg
12__What was the first thing in your life that you remember being really passionate about ?
[supakitch] To draw and my telecran !! I’ve always drew, it’s a passion for me that i’ll never lose. I’m born with, I’ll die with.When somebody offered me a telecran (I was a dwarf), I discovered an another way of drawing, more graphic. And it’s a toy quite perfect for me, i could bring everywhere, it has the size of a book, you can hide it in your school bag. It’s the ancestor of vector drawing, my first computer with illustrator.

_13__What are you goals in graffiti ?
Having fun, feeling free, my pleasure, to surprise people in the street, being surprised myself, to move, meet interresting people, share walls, ideas, to share, to chill in the streets, to observe, to act, to go over my limits, to create, to leave something, to discover new cities... graffiti is for me a way of life, when I walk in the streets, I cant help watching anyplace which is beautiful, where there would be a little tag behind a rain pipe or any place where I could put something, a telecran...I love that. Thats all. I like to satisfy my vices.
http://www.ekosystem.org/0_ITW/supakitch/09.jpg
_14__Do you have a new projects comming up soon that you can tell us about ?

I work with Koralie on an art book since a few month, it’s an interresting project. I will talk a little more about that later, It’s still too early...


_15__Any final comments ?

" Toys are in the city. Let's play to graffiti !"

[bla]

My name is Stak. I painted my 1st piece with Colorz in the late eighties in Paris suburbs.

Till 1995, i’ve painted with the P2B & VAD.

In 1995 i’ve completely stopped making classic graffiti. In that time i’ve started painting my 1st logos, it is also when i’ve painted for the 1st time a « block text ». A bit later i’ve kept on developping various work in urban space. More logo based work with a pictogram as a name.
Today, i use writing again in my work. It is texts or words that i link to various elements in order to have several reading levels

From your 1st letters with « spikes », you made an identifiable black shape with some of the characteristics of your spiky letters. Then you made that slogan serie « I’m a pleb baby !", "Most loved, Most hated", "Hardder dan Hâkkuh"... Do you know what will you do next ? Something new, or go deeply into the slogans ?

Wow, you took a quick short-cut, i think !! From 1988 to 1995, i’ve painted in a « classic » way. In 1995 i’ve begun something different, i was fed up painting in a « traditional » way : it took me a lot of time, and i had no fun anymore. In that time, that’s right my letters were quite original. I was in a band (the P2B that was, not very into New York style. We were not interested into Hip-hop and all that things. We had a punk spirit, not hip-hop, and it could be seen in our graffiti. In that time it was pretty funny to do graffiti in a different way, something against the trend. I loved that time when everybody were pissing on our style (some people pretty famous have even said, that we « killed graffiti in Paris »… !!!)
When all those guys started doing the same things as us, it was time to do something new. It was around 1995 that i developed my 1st logos, based on my letters. I went in abandoned places, and i painted there, not to destroy but with the aim to beautify. I worked with the space and about the space. It’s a bit later that i made my 1st block text « Working With ». Then from 1996 to 1998, i’ve only done pieces based on that logo i had created. I only made that, because it was the only thing that interested me.
In 1998 when we started to make pieces in the street , there were the 1st operations against graffiti (massive buff) in Paris with Hnt & So.6. Consequently we had a very strong impact with all the graffiti buffed and with our super identifiable logos. Bit by bit i realised i was a bit a prisoner with this logo, i wanted to express things that i couldn’t. To only make logos didn’t bring me anything interesting. So i decided to bring back to text and to write slogans who deal with what i was living, about what i wanted to express. All my texts have a story. At this moment all my pieces deal with the « working-class », and « I’m a pleb baby » is a kind of reference-text. You know all my work is about a kind of rehabilitation of city discredited elements. Actually, what interest me today, is to take popular connoted icons and to bring them in a different context to change their image. To achieve that, i use all means necessary : video, neon tube, photography and of course text and language. About what will be my work next orientation , i’m quite interested in making motif. They allow me to develop my work in a different way…and for the future... who knows ?
http://www.ekosystem.org/0_ITW/stak/stak2.jpg
Do you have a conscious influence for your slogans : advertissement, other artists ? Is the choice of the "impact" font a matter of chance or is it deliberate?

Yes indeed, i'm under influences, and i know where they are from. I like artists who work with language, the artists of the minimal art or conceptual artists. I like also those who are capable of using very few components in their work. I don't like decoration. At the same time, other worlds improve my work : publicity or fashion for instance... As for the "impact" font, it is a complete deliberate choice. "Impact" is the anti-decorative typo "par excellence", it is heavy, neutral, and i must confess that i like its "boorish" aspect. This is exactly what i want to express in my work and i like when the whole work is pure, without fuss nor ornaments.


From september,19th, to october,15th, you'll exhibit in Bagnolet (Gallery (...) ) . Can you give us a foretaste of what we'll see there? Does the fact of being in a gallery mean that you have to sell pieces and that the wall, your usual medium, is now unsuitable?

As i have always done, i will directly work upon the walls of both rooms. I'll show news pieces and olders ones. I don't want to give you more details, but, in addition to the customary "block texts", there also will be some "pattern", which is quite new for me. Moreover i will show two videos, from which one was especially realized for this exhhibition... In my opinion, the fact of working in a gallery is not necessarily synonymous with selling. That simply allows me to win a different audience and, at last, perhaps to be taken for serious. I have no work from studio, the only pieces that could make me earn money would be pieces made for me ( like the neon lightings for instance) or the drawings i make before my interventions. I don't necessarily consider the gallery as a place of business ( maybe this detail makes me differ from the majority of the street artists ) : i'm not ready to do anything for dough. The gallery space simply allows me to develop a work which takes place in the contemporary art freely and to present it to an experimented population. I want my generation to be recognized, and this could obviously realize through the gallery. I'm not against the fact of earning money provided to one's art, but i'm against the fact of making dough at any price. My stand is very simple : for me, to customize a pair of Nike shoes is not art, it is only an eye-catching business. I don't want that.
http://www.ekosystem.org/0_ITW/stak/Brilliant.jpg
You were the creator and editor in chief of WorldSigns. Five noticed issues were released . And then the venture reached its end. Was it because of differences concerning the editorial content or because of economical difficulties?

WorldSigns was my artistic space, it was my gallery. It was a kind of platform which was allowing me to feature artists I wanted to support. This was a great experience. But at a certain point I felt bored of being only considered as a journalist ( a « maecenas ») or even as a public relations expert. Yeah, lots of events gave me the feeling it was time to stop. But above all, I wanted to focus on my own work. Take care of myself, this is what I am doing right now.


While you are exposing, a book about your work is about to be released. What will be found inside ? Your last works, or older graffiti things?

Olivier Stak, Selected Works, is a 64 pages selection of the most important stuff that I realized from 1988 to 2004 and that represent the most relevant as far as my work is concerned.

Buy it, it will allow me to pay for new shoes at Vuitton's ...
http://www.ekosystem.org/0_ITW/stak/stak.jpg
I feel it's important for you to be considered as a "real artist" , and not as a writer or even worse a graphic designer. Am I wrong?

I don't bother being considered as a "real artist", I just want to be taken seriously. I am an artist working in areas linked with graffiti. Why calling me a "writerr" while I just paint walls twice a month, or "graphic-designer" while I am not working for any brand and i am my own boss.
The word "artist" sounds better to me. It's also my full time job : I only do this and I am only willing to doing this.


Are you still interested in graffiti ? (as a participant and as a spectator)

Yes and no. Classic graffiti bores me, as much as street art does. There are a few people I am enjoying though, but hey I'm not spending days in yards & graffiti spots.


You’ve been the Artistic Director. of Nusign 2.4. An exhibition in Paris gathering more than 40 « post-graffiti » artists. The exhibition shows many artists for the very first time in Paris, and has been appreciated. But it also has been pretty controversial. What’s the balance sheet look like ?

I was not actually an « Artistic Director » of NuSign, i was just a simple consultant. My balance sheet ? It doesn’t change anything in my life. For some other, coming from nowhere but with a business plan in the head, it allowed them to meet people and get more opportunities. Anybody takes what he has to take… and the more you are hungry the more you get !


Some people think you are always bitching about commerce in relation to urban art and put yourself in interviews as a very moral person in relation to your art. How do you get your money. and if you get money
thru your art, does it never brings you in conflict. how do you deal with that?

Thanks for asking this question, i never had an opportunity to talk about this. First of all, i don’t want to be seen as a moralististic person. I don't want to be the one who give lessons, and i don’t claim to know the Truth. As said before my point of view is quite simple. I’m not against making money with your passion, your art, but we can’t do anything. I think that today, street-art is sadly being eaten by the « hype » and the business. I don’t agree with all this new hungry generation, who is ready to do for anything for « fame ». Honestly, i don’t see any interest in a customised sneaker exhibition. The only goal of this is to advertise for a company who doesn’t care about art. When the fashion will be over, there won’t be there anymore. What annoys me the most, is to be used by those big companies which claim they support artists. But it’s bullshit, they use the artists for business reasons. Artists don’t create in an artistic goal, but obey to their employee wishes. I’m not totally against working with companies, but i try to think about the impact it has on my own artistic work, and what does it really bring me. I don’t want money to interfere with my art. There was a time i have more or less do anything i had been offered. Now i regret some things i have done. Money and magazine articles are very attractive, but i wasn’t doing Art, i was just decorating products. Today i want to stay focused on my art and on what i want to express and not thinking about how to sell it. Nevertheless, i sometimes work with some companies, but i don’t want my work to be turned into a gimmick. I want that the pieces are related to my artistic work (that it is not a « gadget »).

With Hnt and a few friends, you seem to be a small community sharing same esthetic tastes, very far away from hip-hop : with some particular clothing brands, a fascination for eastern-europe, for the abandonned and hard to access places…

Absolutely, i’m more into Rotterdam Terror Corps than Wu-Tang, i prefer Fred Perry than Karl Kani, i like more Adidas than Nike, I love Champagne more than cheap wine. I have more fun in « Colette » parties than in « Nouveau Casino ». I prefer when it shines than when it stinks… though i also like a bit when it stinks !


Liza n'Elias, Manu le Malin , les Spiral Tribe or… Flamenco ?

Tough question…any of this name coincides with a time in my life. But if i had to choose one, i would say Liza n’Elias for her crazy dj-sets and a bygone age.


According to you who should i interview next for ekosystem ?

You should interview someone with balls who is on the fringe of our scene, someone who doesn’t give a fuck about political correctness… Someone able to say what he loves and what he doesn’t in post-graffiti without thinking about opportunities he may lost for hurling abuse at some street-artists…

It should be pretty fun.


Any last word ?

NO HAPPY SHIT !

[kongo]

Originally posted by kongo@Dec 23 2005, 07:58 PM
bla, please go on...
yes, i was being sarcastic!

[jekl>AN]

yo that story is maDD dope but yea whats 3rd rail???

[jekl>AN]

Those are sweet sttories and interviews but whered you get them?

[bla]

can tell you that lucas :lol:

[disposable_hero]

antiks interviews rony hsa and then some pics of ronys work.
http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/453/ronyspotlightweb7lu.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/8974/2ronywall3web7yr.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/1082/rony2nd4165lv.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/75/ronycausrbth0iv.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/3453/torony0051qy.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/5947/ronyrdtrnweb6nb.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/2103/zeonreckaronyhope5jx.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[disposable_hero]

and skam hsa
http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/7613/skamspotlightweb0kv.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/3928/1baconskamwall1web6ql.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/8549/1skamwall1web6pr.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/1246/teckskamthrowsweb8cr.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/218/skamtrck9an.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/2149/skamrenzephyrweb7vs.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/9739/gemsthrowweb4as.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/9870/2skamwall2web8jm.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[disposable_hero]

those are 2 of my favorite artists..

[Kayone707]

Originally posted by tortured artist+Dec 23 2005, 03:52 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (tortured artist @ Dec 23 2005, 03:52 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Originally posted by Kayone707@Dec 23 2005, 04:15 PM
Originally posted by Welsh_Graffer@Dec 23 2005, 11:49 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-`~SNEK~'@Dec 23 2005, 02:44 PM
if you dont know, dont go painting trains...
Lmao , Please tell me , I was hoping to go paint some trains in 2006. do they have a 3rd rail in the UK???
actually no.. the third rail is all fun an games.. when u paint a transit system your Supposed to step on Every single rail because theres sensors on the ground.
http://www.nationmaster.com/wikimir/images/upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6e/ThirdRail,Metro,Washington,DC.jpg/300px-ThirdRail,Metro,Washington,DC.jpg
^see that one back there? step on that one as soon as you can to avoid the sensors going off.. now go ...GO!
HA kay's gonna get Welsh Graffer killed!!!! :lol: [/b][/quote]
jus doin my job :rolleyes: :lol:

[Tony]

you're not being very responsable kay! misguideing kids like that...geez




you're suposed to bite the 3rd rail

[AXIS]

Good thread, hopefully you can keep updating it on a regular basis.

[gun runner]

i put up jeloe flicks on the first page, couldnt get one of the train though

[bla]

Thanks for that interview DIsposable hero. Skam is one of my favorite writers too along with seen and cope2. Im gonna try to get some of their interviews.

[bla]

Thanks for that interview DIsposable hero. Skam is one of my favorite writers too along with seen and cope2. Im gonna try to get some of their interviews.

[bla]

Seen is an icon in the graffiti world, he epitomizes the NY old school graf scene whilst still painting to this day. His latest exhibition illustrates with ease that he is not prepared to sit back on his considerable laurels and is still creating groundbreaking works.

Non-graf heads just can’t understand the fondness verging on adoration graf-heads feel for Seen, he is featured heavily in both Subway Art and Stylewars: the 2 most referenced texts of graffiti history. I wasn’t surprised to see several London writers I knew before and after the interview, popping in to pay their respects, get their copies of Subway Art signed, just see the man himself on his first visit to the U.K. Damn it, I seriously felt honoured to be doing this interview… and I ain’t too proud to admit I brought my 15 year old copy of Subway Art to be signed too!

LC: How long have you been painting?
LC: What first inspired you to start painting graffiti, were you always an artist, were you always into art, even before graffiti?

SEEN: I was always into drawing and into art, ever since I was Gods knows how small, I always had a pen, a pencil, markers or crayons in my hands, I was always drawing, water-paints, whatever my parents gave me to pacify me when I was a kid, I used.

LC: It might be an impossible question, What’s your favourite piece you’ve ever painted?

SEEN: Somebody else asked me that question, and it was kind of a tough question, but you know what it is? I have to say, probably my first piece I first painted on a subway car, it’s the most important one. If I had to giveaway my whole collection like I could only keep one, it would be that one; As messy and as sloppy as it might have been, it’s still my favorite, it’d be that one.

LC: What line was it on?

SEEN: It was on the 6 line, the Pelham line, they also call it the Lexington Avenue.

LC: Do you still enjoy painting as much now, or do you feel jaded at all, do you still have the enthusiasm?

SEEN: I’m still creating works, but the works have changed, this is like considered the ‘End of the Era’ this show, more or less, because this’ll be the last of the works like you see upstairs. The graf is still there but it’s more in the background, worked in the background, you have to read into the work to see it, it has moved a little bit on
http://www.ukhh.com/elements/graffiti/seen/seen01.jpg
LC: Do you like seeing your work in a gallery environment or do you prefer seeing it in a street setting?

SEEN: It’s 2 different ways there, more, it’s created a little bit different than on the streets now but still has the street influence involved in the work. But as far as the mindset, I always did I’ve always liked the streets because it was created for the streets - now it can kind of flip flop either way, on the street or inside, But I like to see it on the streets, more people get to see it, that’s important.

LC: What do you find inspiring now, like when you’re painting something, what are you thinking, referencing in your head?

SEEN: I like to see a lot of old and deteriorated things, like I’ll be walking down the street and I’ll see some rotted piece of metal and I’ll drag it all the way home. I think the brightness of things, the boldness, I did it so many years I just needed a flip and a change. Like those paintings over 15 blocks over there, you can see the deterioration of what they’ve become, I’m moving to the dark side now.
http://www.ukhh.com/elements/graffiti/seen/seen03.jpg


Seen is an icon in the graffiti world, he epitomizes the NY old school graf scene whilst still painting to this day. His latest exhibition illustrates with ease that he is not prepared to sit back on his considerable laurels and is still creating groundbreaking works.

Non-graf heads just can’t understand the fondness verging on adoration graf-heads feel for Seen, he is featured heavily in both Subway Art and Stylewars: the 2 most referenced texts of graffiti history. I wasn’t surprised to see several London writers I knew before and after the interview, popping in to pay their respects, get their copies of Subway Art signed, just see the man himself on his first visit to the U.K. Damn it, I seriously felt honoured to be doing this interview… and I ain’t too proud to admit I brought my 15 year old copy of Subway Art to be signed too!

LC: How long have you been painting?

SEEN: Graffiti wise, 32 years, since 1973.

LC: What first inspired you to start painting graffiti, were you always an artist, were you always into art, even before graffiti?

SEEN: I was always into drawing and into art, ever since I was Gods knows how small, I always had a pen, a pencil, markers or crayons in my hands, I was always drawing, water-paints, whatever my parents gave me to pacify me when I was a kid, I used.

LC: It might be an impossible question, What’s your favourite piece you’ve ever painted?

SEEN: Somebody else asked me that question, and it was kind of a tough question, but you know what it is? I have to say, probably my first piece I first painted on a subway car, it’s the most important one. If I had to giveaway my whole collection like I could only keep one, it would be that one; As messy and as sloppy as it might have been, it’s still my favorite, it’d be that one.

LC: What line was it on?

SEEN: It was on the 6 line, the Pelham line, they also call it the Lexington Avenue.

LC: Do you still enjoy painting as much now, or do you feel jaded at all, do you still have the enthusiasm?

SEEN: I’m still creating works, but the works have changed, this is like considered the ‘End of the Era’ this show, more or less, because this’ll be the last of the works like you see upstairs. The graf is still there but it’s more in the background, worked in the background, you have to read into the work to see it, it has moved a little bit on.



LC: Do you like seeing your work in a gallery environment or do you prefer seeing it in a street setting?

SEEN: It’s 2 different ways there, more, it’s created a little bit different than on the streets now but still has the street influence involved in the work. But as far as the mindset, I always did I’ve always liked the streets because it was created for the streets - now it can kind of flip flop either way, on the street or inside, But I like to see it on the streets, more people get to see it, that’s important.

LC: What do you find inspiring now, like when you’re painting something, what are you thinking, referencing in your head?

SEEN: I like to see a lot of old and deteriorated things, like I’ll be walking down the street and I’ll see some rotted piece of metal and I’ll drag it all the way home. I think the brightness of things, the boldness, I did it so many years I just needed a flip and a change. Like those paintings over 15 blocks over there, you can see the deterioration of what they’ve become, I’m moving to the dark side now.



LC: Do you go to exhibitions yourself, of non-graffiti art?

SEEN: Yes, I do. I go to all different walks of life, whether living or dead people, I like to see, at one time I never used to look at anything, just the idea that things puts an idea in your head so you could do something that had been done before but now I think itsa good thing to look out there. There’s all sorts of different styles out there and I never really realised that. I’ve got all sorts of art books, ones I’ve never opened, I go to Barnes & Noble all the time and buy all sorts of books.

LC: Are there any artists out there at the moment whose work you like?
SEEN: Today I like a lot of these up and coming people that are out there that I like to see, a lot of U.S. people that you probably don’t even heard of these people. there’s a Jeff (?) It’s a beautifully amazing stuff, It’s all oils, I wish I could even describe it, it’s street related but he’s not a street artist. Old Masters, like Picasso, I love to see their works, I like to see the changes they made over the years like when they first started they may have been painting people like in a normal fashion then (gestures) to the other side. That type of stuff I really really like, and that’s what I’m trying to do, not the old over and over.
http://www.ukhh.com/elements/graffiti/seen/seen04.jpg
LC: What do you think of the new generations of artists that use stencils and stickers instead of spraycans?

SEEN: I think that’s just another form of getting your name or your subject up where people get to see it. Graffiti, as we know from the spray can days, is basically about getting your name up and people getting to see it. Like they scratch the windows now, it’s just another form of, way of doing it, the cave men had hammers and chisels, rocks and chisels, like engraving. It’s good because it shows different directions, different paths down the road, it shows their not just trying to do the same thing as the spraycan days, but it is the same.
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LC: What do you think of U.K graf?
SEEN: I see magazines like all around the world, photos of what did exist, over the course of time. This trip, it’s very minimalized, As far as I’ve seen in photographs in the past, New York is the same way now too it’s very limited.

LC: Whose lettering style have you really liked, whose was memorable?

SEEN: It’s a legible lettering style, with a little twist of wildstyle, but still legible. I was influenced by Fade (??) 167, whose idea was much like mine was, to do a readable wildstyle and that’s what he was doing back in the days.

LC: Now, I’m sorry because you must have been asked this so many times, but why SEEN:?

SEEN: It was just a time where people would pick names, whether they were graffiti artists or just people who wanted to scribble their names. So I just picked a name and it kind of worked for me in the end because it’s all about being seen, to be seen, it was just a fluke it worked out; And believe me having 2 E’s next to each other. Really wasn’t that easy to work with. But it’s the name that I chose.

LC: Now my last question is, what is your favourite colour, ever?

SEEN: Green, to get deeper: it’s a Rustoleum colour called Cascade Green, a kind of 1950’s green, kind of pastel, it’s hard to find that colour.
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[bla]

This is not an interview but its the biography of cope2. (thats all i could find)


Cope 2 True Legend

Bio..

The beginning…

I was born in the South Bronx. The home, the motherland, the Mecca of hip hop. I started writing graffiti back in 78-79. Influenced by my cousin Chris. He tagged Chico. He wasn’t a huge writer, just a local. I remember him always having a huge marker called a Pilot. He always had it in his draw. At times I would take it when he wasn’t home, go under the stairs or the rooftop of my grandmothers building and just tag my nickname (Nano). Then in 79-80 my cousin took me on the subways. The 4 train was in my neighborhood. I remember taking the back car from Mosholou Parkway to the last stop (Woodlawn Rd). As soon as the doors would close he would make sure the last car was empty and just start tagging all over the train. On the ceilings, the doors even the subway maps. I remember seeing other tags on the insides. Writers like Ban2, 2Rape, Ojab, Die, Lie, Duro, Dondi, Duel, Base2, Zephyr, Fuzz one, just to name a few. My mother and I traveled quite a bit on the subways and I was always looking at the outsides, seeing huge names really blew my head. The writers I remember were Fritos, Mark198, Dr. Pepper, Killer56, Comet, Blade, Popeye, Tracy168, Deli167 (who was Ban2), Lee, Seen, Pjay,

P-nut2, Medisco92 and my idol Mitch77. That’s what really inspired me to get deeper into graffiti.

I lived on Dekalb ave. and the kids on my block were all writing. There was Kop, 2Bang, Sofe, Piz, 2Sweet, 2Go & Rop. Then you had TSR (The Squad Rockers) down the block, Soe, 3D, Al, Duel, Harm187 & Coe. I always had drama with these punks. They always tried to jump me. Until I beat down Duel and Coe. You also had The MG Boys, Jem, Jay, Mark198, Dee3, Russ75, Mite, Rust, Cuda & Kit17. These guys always had huge pieces in all the school yard walls. One piece I loved was this fat P-nut2 in JHS 80.

P-nut2 had fame on the Welcome Back Kotter show, so that inspired me but Mitch77’s Tue burners and straight letters on the 4 line really inspired me. Man his style was ill. The best at the time. The first time I went to the writers bench at 149st Grand Concourse, I met Bear167, Gman, Smiley149, Ban2, Tye, Lane, Post, Or2, Rex167, Lie and many other writers. It was crazy seeing all these whole cars roll by. With burners by Dez, Shy147, Skeme, Kel1st, Cos207, Case2 & Tkid. I mean whole car burners after whole car burners. That was also deeply inspirational. I’m thank GOD for blessing me. To live it believe me it was a blessing.

While going to the 4 yard I met a lot of writers. I met Trap and Rip7. Later Rip7 taught me how to break dance and Trap and I became pretty tight. By then I was also writing Cope2. It was a name that my best friend gave me. He used to write Kope and The 2 I got from Ban2, cause he was the king of the insides.

I remember several writers writing “King�. I wondered why, so I asked Trap why so many writers wrote “King�. Trap told me that it meant that you claimed this line like a King. That meant you had the most tags on the insides or throw-ups, burners and blockbusters on the outsides. So I said Hmmm, that’s a challenge.

I early 82 I started my own crew KD (Kids Destroy). The crew was Kope who later became AM1, Spel, Reo, Milt, Skeet R.I.P., Kie R.I.P. (GOD bless their souls and thanx you both for the memories, good and bad, they will be cherished till my last breathe, see you at the crossroads) and Ston3.

We started to rock the 4 line. My man AM1 quit after getting busted on the Kingsbridge lay-ups one afternoon, Sofe and I got away. Kie and Ston3, kinda got into chilling and smoking blunts. Me, Spel and Reo started rocking a lot of silver whole cars and burners on the 2’s and 5’s. Ston3 and I kinged the insides of the D’s in 82, then moved on to the 1’s.

At one point we killed all city rack spots, hardware stores & Martin Paint stores in Yonkers & White Plains. It was paradise. I loved it. But Spel and Reo kinda died out and I moved on to destroy the lines. During that time, I had a couple of partners… Trace2 & Keep, then I met Cone, Ley, Race5, Melo (TNF crew The Nations Freshest). Cone, Ley and I did a couple of cars, but by late 82’ early 83’, I was King of the 4 line. I mean I destroyed it. Writers like Mitch77, Ban2, and Blade also killed it. I remember Blade living on my block. I always saw him cleaning his car, coolin with Maze and Dolores. Man
Blade put the smack down on the 4 line, with blockbusters.

Spin TFS also King’d the 4 line. I loved his simple styles with the white highlights.

But Delta2 and Sharp murdered the 4 line. They made me step up my game. The insides were getting killed by Sash, Des & Pate and that was after Rex167, Cep and Trap Kinged the insides. You also had Duel, Warring with Ban2. It was ill. I then went on to other lines.

As I moved on to the 2’s and the 5’s, which were getting painted white at the time. It began a new era for me. Cone TNF & I started to destroy the line. Cone worked in a Bodega up near the Bronx Park East station. Cap MPC and the MPC crew would go into the bodega to buy 12 packs of beer. When Cap met Cone, he asked Cone if he could meet me. It was an honor to know that Cap wanted to meet me. I had heard many stories about Cap… How he chased my boy Swan3 with a machete and that Cap would go to the yards with a pump shot gun and just seeing how he destroyed the subways going over everybody. It was kinda ill. I told Cone, "cool I’ll meet him. " As I met Cap, I also met Rook, Caban, Pove, Dose, Flint, Rock161 and Doc. It was phat meeting these guys.

Cap and I kinda clicked. He would talk about some of the bombs he did. It was just ill coolin with Cap. Then one day he gave me a throw-up outline and I just rocked it. (This is the throw-up I use today) Watching him have wars with writers like Quik, Sach, Duro, Dondi and Min RTW was ill. (I loved Min RTW’s NE throw-ups. That kid is the real “True legend�)

I then got down with MPC, that’s when things shit got crazy for me. As soon as I started hooking up MPC, I got dogged by Duro, Plus, Min, Roni, Second, Kilo and a bunch of other writers. This was going on as I was having a war with Neo, Nog, Rec127, Ghost and the RIS crew. I was loving it, till that day I was bombing the 4 line lay-ups and I ran into Swan3, Booze, Rac7 and Tkid. Tkid pulled out a bat and swung that shit at my head. Quick and Tkid told me to stay out of the Ghost yard with that MPC shit. They also said to tell Cap the same. So I did…

Then there was a showdown at Fashion Moda in the Bronx. Cap stepped to Tkid on the Ghost yard issue. Then shit got crazy. Cap and Tkid got into a big fight. Some people say Cap won, some say Tkid won. Who knows and who cares. Tkid gets props for being the only writer to fight Cap.

I kept bombing, but I was getting a lot of my shit dissed because of MPC. So I stopped repping the crew. It was nothing personal toward Cap, I just had to look out for myself. I guess Cap took it the wrong way and got pissed, cause before you knew it the whole MPC crew was going over me. By that time Cone and the TNF crew had quit. So Pove and I started killing shit. He didn’t get involved with all the drama, cause he was down with MPC. Plus he was busy repping his crew GU (Graffiti Unlimited). Pove was a cool cat. He had the 2’s and the 5’s locked down. Seen and Blade were also killing the white trains. They were the first to smack them with huge flat black, fat cap tags on all the panels. This was in late 82’ early 83’.

Towards late 84’ early 85’ writers like Dero, Wane, Sento, Key, MK, Wips, Wen, Cav, Jase & Poem were killing the lines with silver and colored whole cars, while I was killing it with throw-ups. You also had TAT’s cru. They had been rockin whole cars out there since 83’. Tkid, Bio, Mack, Cem2, Kenn, Raz, Shame125 & Brim were pulling off some of the fattest whole cars at the time. Right around that time I met a dude that wrote Quick. Not the original RTW Quik, but a guy I met through Pove & Sept. Quick and I became tight and became partners. People were buggin how I was writing with this other Quick. But he was a real ***** and that’s all the matters to me. We also both had drama with Med and Fayde. He was bombing highways, so I got into bombing highways. Then I showed him how to hit the subways and we rocked the 2’s and the 5’s, they were good times I had with Quick.

You know come to think of it I had drama with everyone back then. I remember these two crazy mother fuckers from Hunt’s Point called 3Cee & Drift TSU. Them *****s hated me. I also had all the new MPC writers Elf, Ed, Echo, Not & Mazz going over me.

It was wild but I was still on top.

I remember Trim KD. That was a wild *****, crazy and he was hilarious. I had new *****s down with KD at the time. Saze, Alroc, Part5, Vine R.I.P., Rea, Just (the real Just) and 100’s of other writers.

All this looking back reminds me of my ***** Nic NST R.I.P., we used to puff blunts till our heads popped. We did acid, dust, cocaine. I did it all boyee. 81’-85’ were the golden years. The Fun House & Roxy’s it was banging.

Then in 1985 Pjay was released from prison. He and SeenUA went on a rampage, smacking the 6 line, then the 2’s and the 5’s, they even smashed the 1 line. They were just going over all my shit. So that started some real shit. I had always respected those guys. Then they started a crazy war. It was fun. The only thing was by that time the train era was dieing. Sho, Dome and DC3 TDC crew were rocking the 2’s and the 5’s towards the end. The silver bullets were coming in and all the old trains were on the way out. The CC’s, J’s and M’s were the last trains left. Saze, Even, Med KBK and I started to smash what was left. At the time the real Kez, Raze, and Seze were killing it while having a war with JA. And other writers like the Dole, Suey Rab and Den CAC crew, Chino BYI, Ghost, Trim TNC and Tekay were hitting the last of the graffiti trains. By 88’ the subway graffiti era was dead and 100’s of writers that had been writing since day 1 kinda quit and just disappeared. Some got into positive things, some got into drug selling and some got into using drugs, some went to prison and some passed away… I went through my own dramas in life, but I always kept on writing.

Then writers like Lilman, Moster, Arise, Crises, Bio & Lase were smacking gates. But it was Eaze, Joz & Josh5 who really took it to another level. These guys hit every single gate through out the city. Joz and Eazy were the original street bombing kings. So I got into bombing the streets. I then became tight with writers like Pjay, Med, Rob and many, many more…

I have bombed and had war with the best… Cap, Pjay, Seen, Joz, Bom5, Easy, Delta2, Trap, Ja, Json, Pove, Dero, Ghost, Ivory, Flite and many more.

In the late 80’s and early 90’s I got into painting permission walls. A lot of writers were getting into permission walls. Getting into productions was kinda cool, you know getting older and maintaining a family, doing legal walls was a lot less stressful. But I still did illegal shit here and there. I mean subways are in my blood, I was hitting them from time to time.

In 1993 Per FX and I went all city with throw-ups. I had been rocking the city with tags. Then I started rocking pieces on walls with my man Jez.

Threw the 90’s I painted some of the best productions in New York, with the best crews… TATs, UW, COD & FC which has been around since 82 and which I am honored to represent today. Some of the FC members like West, Psycho & Dash are the realest people I have ever met. I have also painted with the FX crew, one of the best in the late 90’s.

Through my life as a graffiti artist I’ve had some of the best partners… Spel, Cone, Delta2, Pove, Quik KD, Saze, Jez, Nic NST, Trim KD, Trap, Dero, Pjay, Ovie, Quest KD, Need, Per, Tkid, Muse, Ivory (who is a real *****) & Key just to name a few.

I have also influenced 100’s of writers, even my younger brothers Deso wrote Skep for many years but really never got into graffiti. He’s more into the rap element of the hip hop scene. My younger brother Jee had more love for graff. He even has his own crew which he started with his partner Spek. Spek idolized me very much. So I took him under me wing and showed him how to become a God Of Destruction in the same way Cap & Pjay showed me. But in this hateful, disgusting, evil world we live in, Speks life was cut short. I’ve lost a lot of friends and family through the years but losing a person like Spek was and still is a very deep scar in my heart. I will cherish every second and moment I ever had with him. He will always be missed and he will always be in our hearts. GOD bless your soul Tim, I love you little brother... Rest in peace….



Some of my accomplishments and future plans…

In 1999-2000 Abstract Video produced one of the best and purest graffiti video documentaries of all times. “Cope2 Kings Destroy� this video rocked and shocked the entire world. It was a masterpiece. The video has some of the greatest rappers of all time… Fat Joe, KRS1, Flava Flav, Rakim & Kool Herc and writers like Seen, Pjay, JA, Json, Tkid, Ces, Chino, Daze, west, Flite, Per, Ivory, Ban2, Ink76 and many more. It’s a must own for graffiti artist. It was an amazing adventure filming the documentary. I’m very thankful to Tommy Marron & Philip Thorn for creating the video, which is also going to be released on DVD soon, with new footage. Be on the look out.

I have also stepped into the Gallery scene.

I’ve done back drops for r