Tars – I started writing around 98-99 when graff mags and videos were easily accessible, so I was influenced by a lot of different writers and scenes, and went through many phases in the early years.
But I feel like my journey officially began when I met Virus and he gave me knowledge of style. Being from Vancouver, Canada, he was always a local hero, and seeing his evolution from connecting with NYC legends, really got me into style writing. I was very lucky to meet him shortly after and have him put me under his wing.
I represent AA Crew. EDK and DVS and my crewmates/teachers, Hews, Sneke and Rey pushed me to get where I am now. They kept me competitive and made me realize that our job isn’t to preserve old traditions, but to flip ideas, be original and bring new ideas to the table. This is still a work in progress for me.
As far as other people’s work that I admire goes, there’s way too many to mention. I will say, what attracted me to this art form first, and what fascinates me the most, is the work being painted on NYC subways in the 70s and 80s. Those pieces are like pyramids to me, and it’s why I continue to paint on surfaces that travel. But I’ll never get sick of painting walls, due to the impact those early 90s FC crew productions had on me. I feel like the “FC Goes To War” joint set the blueprint for productions on walls. Also, following the careers of Wane COD, Doc TC5 and Pure TFP has also made being a student of style writing a long-term dedication for me. They wrote on NYC subways, and while they’re preserving the traditions of historic crews, they have continued to evolve their styles and push boundaries.
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