Bombing Science: Hey Task, how’s it goin’?
Task: Its not that bad, in fact things are probably the best ever.
B.S: What crew(s) do you rep? Tell us a little about the personnel involved…
Task: Let’s see… well there is just 2 that i’m in, i’m not really a crew collector kinda guy, so your never gonna see a long list of letters after my name. But the crews i’m in, are definately important to me, Laws, and Black Diamonds. Those are the ones. and the personnel is fresh, Laws- News, Supher, Dmise, Enks, Paser, Codak… most of these guys are fully fucking retarded. Seriously-watch a youtube from dmise, or go to codaks website, or bench trains and try not to catch paser rollin. A lot of effort in this crew. Black Diamonds, that’s on the low…… that game is for the selln, not the telln. lol-strictly friends and fam.
B.S: Where do you hail from? Do you still live there and, if so, what’s the local scene like?
Task: I’m from near New Orleans, and im in New Orleans now. Scene? well…. it’s kinda awesome, most of the graffiti rides, the cops arrested the buffer. It doesnt get much better than that. up is down in this city. Please feel free to come see for yourself. New Orleans is the hottest city in the country right now- not just graff, the stars are just lining up these days. There was that hurricane, but all that did was make me like nola more.
B.S: Tell me how you got involved in graff- what first sparked an interest? How long have you been painting etc.?
Task: Comic books got me into graff, sorta. Weelll, every true comic nerd wants to be a comic illustrator and i was no dif, i wanted to draw wolverine slashing it up sooo bad, or x-o man of war melting, or chop it up like keith giffen but i could tell that wasn’t my thing and after i realized that someone had the full responsability of doing the letters i tripped out, i was like- i can totally do that!, so logos and letters were the first stuff i was really good at, and since trading comics at school and drawing in class got me separated from a social life and clear perception of reality,,, right off the bat. (aside from being the trashiest kid on the block.) and once i picked up on skatboarding,.. it all clicked., i would swet the throw ups and the trash tags in thrasher soo hard. it all made sense for me. at one point i thought i would have invented graff it hadnt already been around. So i got busted tagging in like 95., and i kept doing it and getting busted and doing it and getting busted., i was the worst., it was soo obvious i was doing it. i was the only kid in the suburb with multiple convictions. i’d get busted, do the community service, and the cops would find old stuff and try to pin it back on me again. not talking to the cops in front of your parents is weird.
B.S: Favourite comics/characters?
Task: Comics- 90’s x-men,, and anything joe quesada. or stephen platt. Characters- transformers, arnold swartzanger..(i don’t know how to spell his name. how embarrasing, we kikit on the reg..) robots, cyborgs, the future, anything on fire or exploding, made in standard size bolts, america- fuck yeah
B.S: ‘Task’ seems a very appropriate moniker for a graffiti artist to adopt- was there any particular reason behind the choice?
Task: I was partial to the letters, they looked good together, and it wasnt done well by anyone yet, so to get a classic type name, was really a score. and after a while your name kinda becomes you and takes on your personality… or viceversa. Some old friends told me they didnt like me after i “became” Task- being the alter ego has its drawbacks.
B.S: Your style has changed quite a bit over the years, but one constant that I felt from looking at your work is a kinda grimy (meant in a good way), abstracted take on traditional graffiti… You seem to have shrugged off the standard formula of fill, 3D, one-stroke, and yet your pieces never lack flow, funk, or shape… Was it your intention from the beginning to do something different or did the style and process evolve naturally through years of painting?
Task: My stuff is definatly grimey on purpose, i love grime, ive always wanted my style to be unique and have that fantasy sci-fi look, so i flex the brain for new aproaches all the time, but still trying to keep a clasic look. Good graffitti looks good forever, soo if i try to make classics instead of flavor of the year, im happy with it… Yeah man- the formula is gone, i dont even think in terms like 3d or borders,, all that stuff is gross to me. even colors are retarded. Someone will be like “what colors are we doing?” and im like- “chemical fire, propane not diesel and melted metal, ore not machined, not polished.” Are we doing explosions? Fuck yeah we are!!! But sometimes i do bust the traditional elements anyways,- out of repect for graff in general. Dont forget the letters, i believe in that shit. there is nothing worse than an insult from a graff purist, and them being right- Oh Task cant even do a strait letter, hahahah. So i keep a few tricks up my sleeeve for the nay-sayers. When my stuff gets too crazy ill get back to basics. Grail dares me to do one stoke shit all the time, he keeps telln me ill never go back to cuts. but i have cuts in my illegals soo… i figure that one stroke shit is for classy guys and or old schoolers. im way off the mark on both of those.
B.S: You do a bit of canvas work too, right? These seem to be even further abstracted than your wall pieces- how is your approach different when attacking a canvas?
Task: My canvas stuff is the most abstract of all my art so far, it’s not graff on canvas, graff on canvas is gross. If I was gonna do a peice, I’d go paint a wall. I use car paints and car painting tools to do it. When everyone started getting into tattooing,,i got a job at a bodyshop. It seemed like a good idea, and most writers are too lazy to do real work like that. so now i kinda have this art thing that would be really hard to bite., and im really into spraying paint. plus the process adds extra degrees of difficullty and i dont have the restrictions of letters or graffiti, its still design and its not bound by letters.
B.S: Tell me a little bit about the motorcycle painting- I’m assuming they’re airbrushed- how did this come about? Is biking something that interests you?
Task- Totally airbrushed. totally cheesy, totally awesome. Fire, metal flakes, shiny… where the gold at?
Yeah im on a Harley D. I definatly see a Ducati street fighter in my future.. maybe a Monster or a Triumph speed-triple… but im not giving up the Harley.
B.S: Who are some of your favourite artists?
Task: Mostly friends, ive always liked my friends stuff the best., rite now its Grail, Paser, Harsh… Oh and comic artist.. Jim Lee, Joe Quesada, Frank Miller, Steven Platt, 90s stuff. Boris is cool, Giger, you know the drill…
B.S: How do you see your graf progressing? Are there any plans in the pipeline or any clear ideas about what direction you’d like to see your work go in?
Task: Im a burner guy… so thats never gonna change. But there is definatly something else brewing. Next year is gonna be a big one, I dont wanna give away too much info.
B.S: Any last words?
Task: Graffiti is the coolest way to ruin your life. Its really bad for you and makes you crazy. Its real fun.
B.S: Shouts?
Task: the New Orleans Saints!!!, and Timber
Links:
www.under-developed.com www.electricarteries.com and hopefully taskills.com sometime soon, look for my flickr, its got some of my oldies on it.
