Vik Interview

by Matthew J

“One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done.”
- Marie Curie

From Warsaw to NYC, the artist known as Vik has spend the last 3 years creating a body of work that speaks for itself. An accomplished artist on her own and as a member of TD4 (The Deadly 4mula) crew, her style -which is definitely influenced by traditional NYC graffiti- manages to stay true to the past yet has the boldness to evolve into something fresh and reborn. Vik took time out of her schedule to share her thoughts on earning respect within the culture, individuality, artistic growth, her love of photography, and even Orthopaedic Neuro-Rehabilitation (you have to read the article to understand that one *haha*).

Wow, only 3 years in this “game” and she is still evolving; both artistically and more importantly as a person. One cannot help but wait, with much excitement, to see what the future brings.
This is Vik … salute.

Hey, Vik. How are you, today? I want to thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to participate in this interview. To start things off, I’ll just get you to introduce yourself to the readers.

Vik: My name is Vik, I’m 23 years old. Living in Brooklyn, New York City. Proud owner of 3 cats. I can’t believe that you actually want to write about me, and even more I can’t believe that people will actually read this interview. So lets get started…

At the age of 8, you and your family moved from Warsaw, Poland to NYC. What were the circumstances behind your family’s choice move to the USA?

Vik: I don’t really know… my parents felt that by moving they will do me and my brother the favour of exposing us to more opportunities. And a better quality of life; something better then what we had back home. We didn’t live in the best of neighborhoods, but definitely not live the worst either. We moved to Brooklyn in the early 90’s and we have lived there ever since.

Now that you are a young adult, do you have plans of going back to Poland, to write?

Vik: Yeah, I will travel anywhere to write as long as walls are standing. Would I move back there to live? Probably not. I feel like I haven’t done enough traveling just to paint, but I don’t have an infinite spending limit at the moment.

You’re a part of the “TD4″ (The Deadly 4mula) crew and being part of any crew definitely has it’s positive and negative aspects for any writer. Some people conform to the group and as a result have difficulty establishing their own individuality outside of the crew/company/etc. How are you able to be in TD4 yet maintain your individual style? Do you find it difficult to be yourself as opposed to a carbon-copy?

Vik: Often people do conform to similar styles when they are in a crew. I feel like in TD4 all of us have different and distinct styles but we still come together when its time for productions. I don’t find it difficult to stay outside of conforming to the people I write with. I’m not concerned with having a piece that’s really wavy or really angular because that’s “my style” and because that’s what the rest is doing on that wall. I will become concerned when all my work starts to look too similar. Every time I paint I do my best to try out something new, sometimes it works and other times its just something I learn from. I’m constantly looking to paint with different people, because everyone has a different way of doing things.

It’s great to see crews come together and translate a common energy on to a wall. But you also have to be able to stand strong outside of your crew and make a name for yourself.

In the bio, from your website, you mentioned, ‘wanting to work with any artist, regardless of their talent level’; with that being said, who are the top three graffiti artists, you’d most like to work with? And why?

Vik: If I could paint with any three artists, they would be:

1. Dondi
2. Iz the Wiz (R.I.P.)
3. Futura

Because, these are some of the very first graffiti artists I have been exposed to when I started learning about the roots of graffiti and their work amazes me till this day. The same way when I first saw it, if not even more now.

Public perception of graffiti is often linked vandalism. It is true, some people do vandalize, but those people do not represent the entire culture. There is an art to the culture, which many outsiders, don’t seem to understand. If you were to educate the public on the difference between vandalism & graffiti, how would you do it? What would you say to them?

Vik: I think at the end of the day its just a matter of what is legal and what is illegal. Both require time and effort and dedication. I appreciate both to a high extent. You don’t like it? Sorry to hear that but it’s probably going to stay up till you take it down! Haha.

What, so far, would you say is the greatest life-lesson you have learned as a result of graffiti?

Vik: Fuck what people say, just let the work speak for itself.

Have you work any commissioned pieces?

Vik: I’ve gotten a few jobs here and there, if I wasn’t so focused on my school education I would like to devote more time in putting my work out there. But since I will be graduating in December, I can make plans for bigger things next year. I plan to really devote myself more to my work and expand my style like I haven’t been able to in the past 2 years.

How important is it for you to study graffiti? Living in NYC, surrounded by so much art I’m sure the influences and culture [of graffiti] are very apparent. For you, how important is to be a student of the entire scene? Do you find many of the current NYC artists honour the traditions of New York’s graffiti past?

Vik: Of course, many traditions are still alive. NYC has a very rich history in graffiti, a history that’s still being written. It’s important for many of the upcoming “new generation” writers to know where and how it all began and pay respect to the people who put the foundation down and still support the art. Some of the new writers want to come in just doing burners and forget how to do straight letters.

WORD ASSOCIATION : I’ll give you a word or phrase and you just give me the first statement that comes to mind.

Motivation : now
Something you can’t live without : my hands, my eyes
Last book you read : Orthopaedic Neruo-Rehabilitation (Great read, I encourage all to buy this book…. yeah right!)
First tag : since paper and pen
Song that best describes you : Anything by The Doors
Biggest dream in life : to get paid to paint forever
Biggest fear in life : not becoming the artist I want to be
Victoria (the person) : Sometimes
VIK (the artist) : Always
HWDP (from Warsaw) : haha, zawsze!
Aspect of your work you want to improve : How I deliver the message, and finishing
Family : a select few

As an artist you have begun to branch out into graphic design and photography. As much as some people do Not see the connection there seems to be a strong link between graffiti artists and photography. What is your inspiration for picking up the camera? Where do you hope to take that medium?

Vik: I’m interested in photography for the same reason I’m interested in graffiti. When I take a photo it’s because I want people to see what I see. If I see something that makes me feel a certain way for that one split second I want to capture it, and share it with others. Art has the power of invading your space and making you feel, unconsciously.

Surely you must realize how talented you truly are artistically. However, I once read that you don’t really like your work that much. Why is that? There must be a perfectionist within you. And if so, how does that push you to improve your style? Some artists would just quit, but you keep evolving artistically. Could you explain that?

Vik: Well, I don’t like my work. [I feel like] I’m never satisfied with what I do. Mostly I blame it on my lack of skill. I’m not saying I put out bad work or anything … its just never as good as I set out for it to be in the beginning. I’ll come with my paint and set out to do the best piece ever and visualize it in one way, but somewhere in the process it takes a life of its own and once it’s done it’s nothing like I planned it to be. The only thing that’s consistent is the colors of paint I came to the wall with.

I feel that “my style” (whatever that is) has not really evolved yet, and its nowhere near what I envision it to be yet.

This is NOT meant to be patronizing in any way, so please keep that in mind. I have no doubt that being a female in the world of graffiti has it’s pros and cons and despite the heavy contributions of women within the culture, the respect is still spread very thin. With that being stated, do you find it difficult to get sincere respect based on your artist merit rather than your looks or the so-called “novelty” of being a female writer? If so, what sort of changes do you feel need to made in order for females to get that respect? I ask because I know some ladies who are getting props more so for their gender as opposed to their ability.

Vik: I don’t judge peoples work by the way they look, and no one ever should. I know I get respect from writers when I drop a piece and people look at me all crooked and say “You did that ?! For real?!” And then I lose all respect for them when they say “You’re mad dope for a girl.” I mean, seriously, are females born handicapped from being able to paint just as good as the boys? Graffiti is just not as appealing to most young women as it is to men. I don’t use being a female to my advantage when it comes to graffiti, that’s why I don’t paint in my bikini. But on the other hand I’m not fucking butch either and just because I’m in a predominantly male field it’s not going to dictate how I dress! I don’t want to be known for what I look like. I want my work to be known for what the work is itself. I’m not going to hide what I look like either. When I’m finished with a piece I don’t sign it, VIK: 5′4, Blond, Green Eyes,SWF!

With that said, no changes need to be made for females to get respect. You want respect you have to earn it the same way everyone else does.

Lastly, when all is said and done and people look back on your career and body of work, what would you want people to say about Vik? What sort of legacy do you want to leave behind?

Vik: As long as people can look at my art work and it evokes an emotion of some sort I will be satisfied I guess. I do what I do for me. I want to take a moment to say thank you for interviewing me and to anyone who was interested enough to read more about me.

For more about Vik, check out:
www.viknyc.com
www.myspace.com/vickievodka