hello friends, fans, foe and hustlers,
been awhile, i've been busy, looking for work, hustling, slinging, doing my best to keep my head above the water. i've written three articles this year so far. low numbers to be sure. but i'm going to post them for your reading and viewing pleasure!
enjoy!?
CB
It started like this: recently i was approached by a local newspaper about graffiti and taggers. The poor writer didn't know where to start, so i explained it as clearly as possible in as few words as possible. have a read!?
Hi _______,
tell me more about your article.
also, a tagger is not a graffiti artist. there's a world of difference. a tagger is like the first steps to becoming a graffiti artist. a tagger is a vandal. a graffiti artist is just that, an artist that has taken years to develop a style and perfect what they do. kids start out with a "tag" to become known throughout a city.
if they become "citywide" that means people across town know who they are. then if they're serious about it, they start working on a "piece" meaning graff style letters that represent their name. usually it starts out as a "bomb" or "throwie" style letters, the big bubbly style first associated with philadelphia and then new york. after awhile and practice they keep developing their style and become more intricate, gradually moving towards a west coast L.A. style of writing that is nearly illegible to the untrained eye.
this is called "wildstyle," and there's some great graff movies out there on youtube. "kings and toys" which refers to a starting out graff writer as a "toy" and an experienced one as a "king." another great movie is actually called "wildstyle" and documents the explosion of this gnarly style of graffiti art at it's epicentre of venice beach, california. there is a hugely successful group of "writers" from l.a. called "the seventh letter," google them. they've got a fashion brand and crew of writers such as saber, revok, ewok, pose, and many more that form a globally renowned "crew" of writers and streets artists. they are the realm of kings.
then there is "street art" which is the wildly creative trend of people who don't do "letters" but actually create art pieces instead, a totally different genre that features skills and strengths on "characters" which is basically like letters, to full blown art masterpieces such as things done by blu, how and nosm, david choe, dabs and myla banksy, james jean and many more.
there are also awesome street art festivals around the world that feature the work of some of these artists such as the "under pressure" festival here in canada that happens in ottawa and or montreal, nuart festival in stavanger, norway, Fame festival in grottalagie, italy, pow wow! in honalulu, hawaii, Art basel in miami, and many more around the world. i myself have been pretty fortunate to be invited and have painted across canada doing "street art," from victoria, vancouver, kamloops, kelowna, penticton, vernon, grand forks, calgary, prince albert, regina, brandon manitoba, winnipeg, toronto, sault st. marie, hamilton, ottawa, hull and montreal.
so, to get from being a "toy" to a "king" takes many years of dedicated practice drawing out your name, developing your style and then many hundreds if not thousands of dollars. the average graffiti piece in terms of "letters" can be between $50 to $150 you see on a train or a wall, and a street art mural even more. cans of paint are not the crap "civilians" paint with, such as krylon or rustoleum, that's from the 1980's, because there is now a global market on graffiti art with companies started by graffiti artists and writers that create acrylic based, high pigment colours paint starting about $6 on the low side per can to upwards of $10 and $12 a can of 400 or 500ml paint. there are also low and high pressure cans for different paint styles, as well as a plethora of "caps" meaning the paint nozzles used. belton, montana, kobra, ironlak and more are some of the major global companies that make spray cans specifically for street art.
at any given time i'd guess kamloops has about 50 to 100 taggers, the most active age is probably grade 9 to 11 and then they usually stop. these are disenfranchised kids who feel they have no voice or power and tagging represents that. it's a way for them to rebel. to get known. to feel something in a society they don't feel included in. when they go beyond that and get into creating "pieces" meaning larger scale graffiti art or words, it takes maturity and practice and money. doing street art isn't cheap. so, as for practicing street artists in the loops, i'd say there's less than 20. most people stop once they hit their 20's or they move on in life to other communities.
to me, kamloops needs what are known as "free walls," and major cities in canada have them, they provide safe, creative opportunities for youth to express themselves on large walls on created spaces or abandoned buildings or whatever. here in kamloops, if you want to graffiti art, you have to risk your life. walls are few and far between and involve finding a space to paint that is abandoned, unsafe and populated by homeless people, drug addicts and more. i've painted at places where you have to deal with homeless people that are sketched out and have mental health issues, addiction issues, alcohol issues and can be violently aggressive towards anyone. then there are broken bottles, needles, crack pipes strewn about that you have to be careful about. all just to paint peacefully on a wall in a place no one will ever see, but it's fun and relaxing once you get past all the other madness.
i had a graffiti art show last year in kelowna at the alternator centre for creative art and part of the exhibition was showing that side of street art, the stuff you have to deal with just to paint. a free wall would be a safe place for youth to showcase their skills and talent without risking their lives. but it probably won't happen until the kid or grandchild of a city councillor or mayor gets hurt, then it'll become a priority. god i'm jaded. haha. ottawa has a massive legal wall. ottawa. think about that. haha.
does that help?
if you have anymore questions contact me, i'm about to start a mural at the kamloops aboriginal friendship centre next week! i've got a couple others ones in town, one at the emerald centre downtown, the former rendezvous hotel, and behind Kamloops Immigrant Services on the north shore, that one is massive, i think 125 feet wide!
cheers,
