Introduce yourself to the world. Tell us who exactly “TEK” is, and what differentiates you from other writers?

TEK: My name is Tekar (Tek) and I am a Graffiti writer/Street Artist based out of St. John’s Newfoundland, Canada.

What differentiates me from other writers is that I don’t paint letters I paint style. I prefer painting pieces over bombing, but enjoy doing both. I write FOG (Frozen Ocean Graffiti) with a small group of other writers from St. John’s. I started painting outside four years ago as a way to avoid creating objects and to bring painting into the streets and off of the canvas.

You have a background in gallery-art, but chose graffiti over big gallery (art). Can you tell me what exactly spurred you to leave gallery world. Was there a particular moment that gave you the motive to leave or did you just want to shake things up?

TEK: I continue to be actively involved in the gallery world as a volunteer and am occasionally employed within it. I believe it is important to have spaces for people to experiment in with any medium. I also think it’s important to preserve and maintain that art left to us from the past and be inspired by contemporary and historical work. However that being said I find that many people within our society do not enter these institutions. People don’t have time, they are intimidated or simply don’t realize they exist. I have worked within several galleries and I am often frustrated with the lack of bodies within them. This frustration caused me to create outside. I am not opposed to the creation of works for galleries; I just prefer to create work within public space. Creating work in public space enables you to avoid a lot of the bureaucracy associated with working inside.

Why do you, personally, prefer ‘mural graffiti’ over text-based graffiti? I realize that an individual can be more creative with images instead of words, but I want to know, what caused you to focus on murals rather than typography?

TEK: I have never been big into typography. I have always had terrible hand-writing and I had a lot of trouble learning to read as a child. I loved the look of graffiti but I never really wanted to make letters. I have always loved the style, the shapes, and colour of the letters but I never really wanted to choose letters for myself. I find handwriting frustrating and I think that childhood resentment for language has stuck with me through the years. I don’t necessarily even want to create recognizable images either. I am more interested in creating an emotional response through shapes, colours and forms, than writing a word that people can’t identify with other than appreciating it aesthetically. One of my complaints with the art world is the wordy write-ups that people can’t identify with. If I throw away the text and leave the style people don’t need to wonder what it says or what a word means, or what the piece means. People can simply enjoy the shapes colours and forms of the work, and if I want it to mean something else it doesn’t really matter.

What does graffiti mean to you?

TEK: Graffiti is direct action. Graffiti is a way to get outside bureaucracy. Graffiti is a way to shake things up and break people out of their daily routine. For me graffiti is a way for me to bring my painting practice outside of the white cube. It is a way to make large gestural instantaneous marks. It’s going on adventures and meeting interesting people along the way. It’s bright, fast, immediate, and intuitive. Graffiti is any mark placed outside that does not have consent from the owner of the property. Ultimately what graffiti means is up to the individual to decide. I know many writers who don’t consider street art graffiti. I know many people outside of the scene who consider any mural painted in graffiti style to be graffiti. What I love about graffiti is that it doesn’t really matter what you think it is or what it means to you; someone will like it, someone will hate it, and it doesn’t really matter either way, do it for whatever reason you need to do it.

If you were to critique your work, what aspects/areas would say are your weakest points? Which ones are your strongest? How do you build on the weak areas?

TEK: My major weak point is my tendency to overwork pieces. I often push them too far and end ends up looking overly detailed and like a chaotic mess. This happens because the majority of the times I paint I paint freestyle. As I paint I try and do too much and it sometimes becomes overly cluttered and complex. Recently I have begun to try and create more variety within my marks so that the piece looks less uniform and has more rhythm. Being able to knock out solid freestyle pieces is one of my stronger points but it also causes me to develop bad habits. I find a way to paint that works and repeat it, which can limit the amount of experimentation I do. One habit that I am currently trying to work with/break is how I often favour heavy outline within my work. Outline is an easy out to clean up a piece and requires you to do way less cut backs, but this can also flatten a piece, it can be distracting, and sometimes takes away from the work.

What I have been doing lately to try and improve on not overworking pieces is reminding myself to step away from the wall more often and take time to look at where a piece is going. I also try and take some time to look at the wall I am about to paint on and plan my piece so it integrates more of the shapes that are unique to that space. I have also started trying to step away from freestyle work a little and to push myself to recreate the drawings I do in my blackbook. This enables me to experiment more within my drawings and then I am able to consistently get solid pieces when I paint. Painting freestyle is an amazing feeling, but there are many pieces I walk away from not feeling. Painting freestyle can also be a huge waste of paint. By recreating works form my blackbook, that I already love, it enables me to waste less paint and ads a level of guarantee that I will be happy with the finished product.

What is the origin of name “Tek”? Is there a story to tell about it?

TEK: I have always been an Internet kid. Since I was small and we first got high speed I have been a heavy Internet user. The origin of Tekar is that it started out as a digital identity. I could usually register on websites with that name. When I first started making marks outside I rarely signed anything. As I continued to paint more and more I decided I needed to call myself something; so I started signing things Tekar. I couldn’t find any other writers named Tekar online and it meant something to me so I began using it. I like that is an anagram for Taker, and the “Tek” aspect can be seen as a reference to mass media and technology, but mostly it was just a name I had been familiar with for a long time.

Recently, I took a trip to St. John’s and was blown away to see so much graffiti throughout the downtown core – especially in spots surrounding Water Street and Gower Street, as well. Despite having such a strong-graffiti-presence, St. John’s is rarely mentioned when people talk about some Canada’s “graffiti cities”. I had no clue your city was active, and I feel it’s a shame that mainland Canada doesn’t recognize the contributions being made in the 709. Could you tell me a bit about the scene in your city and its progression over time. How does the public embrace the art? Who are some of the more active writers (crews)?

TEK: The scene in St. John’s is relatively young compared to most cities in the world. I’m not from the city but I know most of the writers who were born here. The scene here really didn’t start until the early 2000’s and there have been various crews that have formed & died paint since then. The main crews I have experienced in St. John’s during my time here are AVC, SYS, NTC, and RC. The most dedicated writers in town usually end up writing one of these crews and often write in more than one. AVC or Audio Visual Crew has been an influence to many writers in town. Early on they were up more than any other crew in town, Dr. West and Sois were the primary writers for that crew for a long time. Sois still writes, and over the last few years he has organized several graffiti jams within town, getting young writers paint and legal spots to practice and learn. There’s also one new crew, RTB, who have been around for just over a year, I like their style and am excited to see where they go.

I write FOG, Frozen Ocean Graffiti, I started the crew with my buddy Rayd. I had played around with the idea of joining one of the other crews in town I never felt connected to them. I paint with most of the writers in town, but outside of Graffiti we never really hung out that often. I wanted my own crew, something where I wrote the rules as to who got to rep it and what we stood for. I wanted what I wrote to represent people I hung out with inside and outside the graff scene.

I can’t talk about St. John’s without talking about RC or the Rong Crew. You can’t walk 20ft in St. John’s without seeing an RC tag. They are St. John’s biggest bombing crew. They have several large rollers in and around town and many burners. Specifically you can’t walk around town without seeing a Semy or Seone tag. Semy and Seone are known for being brazen and have had some pretty heat spots on lock in downtown St. John’s. RC is a large crew but the most prominent members are Bird, Game, Semy, and Seone.

One thing to remember about St. John’s is that it’s small. It doesn’t take a lot to get noticed here and because of that we have had several big busts in town that have had a major impact on the Graff scene. The first big bust was in 2007 and at the time Dr. West was the biggest name in town. He and several other writers were arrested and that cooled down the scene here for a while until the Rong Crew started tearing shit up.

One of the main reasons there is so much tagging within town is that we have no freight. Every Newfoundland writer’s dream is to get to the mainland and hit a train somewhere. So if you want people to notice you in St. John’s one of the major locations for tagging has become downtown. People want to be seen and for visitors to this island most people will walk through downtown St. John’s at some point. Like many cities in Canada our downtown also has a lot of abandonment due to shopping being taken to big box land, which means you can hit a spot and it will run for a while.

The scene here has continued to progress during the period I have been here. We have several great chill spots outside of the city where the majority of the piecing happens. We have two free walls within downtown St. John’s and there are some pretty great abandoned spots within town where if you’re careful you can paint without worry. Every year we have our usual batch of new toys coming up, some stay around some fade away, same as most cities, but in general the quality of work within town has continued to grow.

The majority of the styles seen within the community are lettered pieces drawing inspiration from 1980’s NY graff. If there was one thing I would be critical about the scene here is the lack of new and unique individual styles. Sure I can tell who wrote what within town but largely the styles here are drawn from other styles around the world that already exist. What I try to do is make my own style and push that and it’s my hope that other writers will do the same.

As an artist whose style and techniques are constantly evolving, who would you say has had the biggest influence on your approach to your work? Is there a particular collection or artist(s) that you credit with helping you push your own boundaries as an artist?

TEK: I draw my influences from contemporary graff writers/street artists, modernist abstract painters, and mass media culture. Without the internet and websites like Wooster Collective and Unurth I would never have begun painting outside. Long before I made my first mark outside I was continually looking at street art and graffiti on the internet. I have always loved turn of the century early abstraction, Kandinsky (& the rest of the Blue Rider Group), the Russian Constructovists, Futurism, & Cubism. For contemporary artists I love the work coming out of the scene in Melbourne Australia, Slicer and Reka from the AWOL crew. I continually look to other artists working outside who are painting abstraction, Rubin, Alexey Luka, Poeta, Duncan Passmore, and Nelio are always inspiring to look at. I had the opportunity to meet and paint with Nelio this past summer here in St. John’s and that experience has had a major impact on my work. I’ve looked to his work for years and having the opportunity to paint with him was amazing. He gave me great advice on how to push my style.

Follow up to last question, how have you been able to separate TEK’s work from that of those influences? How have you been able to maintain your own artistic identity?

TEK: I think it’s important to follow your own intuition when it comes to whatever sort of work you do. Find a method, technique, medium, or style that makes sense to you and do it as often as you can. I make the marks that I am drawn to create; the feeling of using your whole body to create large continual bright marks makes sense to me. I think I am able to maintain my own personal style because I never try to mimic others painters styles. I draw inspiration from others, and have learned techniques from other painters, but I use those techniques in my own way. I believe if you have the confidence to just create and push yourself without fear anyone can find their own unique form of mark making. Trying to push yourself into your own painting direction is never easy, it’s a terrifying experience to continually go outside of your comfort zone and develop. You won’t always like the pieces you create but the times when everything works makes it all worth it.

I know the downtown of St. John’s is ripe with graffiti; almost everywhere you look, some sort of tag or mural can be seen. Where are some of the best spots to see graffiti while visiting St. John’s?

TEK: If you are passing through the St. John’s area and are looking for something chill and not one of our high traffic legal’s I would take a trip out to Red Cliffs. The easiest way for vistor to get there is to just Google Map “Red Cliff Rd.” It’s just outside the city — drive to the end of the road and follow the trail marked “East Coast Trail”. Red Cliffs is our 5Points. It is a series of abandoned US military radar buildings. All along the East Coast of Canada you can find these old buildings that were once part of a radar defense system known as “the PineTree Line”. Red Cliffs is chill and an interesting spot to paint in, it gets toyed every now and again but it is well worth the 20 min hike along the path, there are usually some new untouched pieces from the local painters there. This spot gets painted regularly, especially during the summer, and the view from the cliffs alone makes the hike be well worth the effort. Who knows, you might even catch me up there as I end up in that spot every couple weeks.

Final words? Any comments or ideas you’d like to share with the readers?

TEK: Yes, if anyone out there who paints wants to paint when they come through town I’m always down for a session. I’m planning on getting off this island for a journey at some point within the next year – I’m thinking about a Cross Canada Tour or perhaps a European Tour. So if you want to paint get at me. In the meantime, I’ll be outside or in my studio.

Here’s a shameless plug for my social media:

Instagram: @frozenoceangraffiti or @tek4r
Twitter: @tek4r
Tumblr: tekarworks.tumblr.com
Flickr: flickr.com/photos/fragface
Email: Tekarart@gmail.com

I also am involved in a project called “The Coloured Box Project”. Through this we aim to bring contemporary painting practices to the streets of St. John’s. If you are interested in being involved either by sending us a paste to put up or even coming here to paint send an email to colouredboxproject@gmail.com.

Push yourself. Keep inspired. Keep creating.

As we get ready to go and end this interview, are there any people you’d like to shout-out and give thanks to?

TEK: First I’d like to shout out to all the guys in St. John’s my buddies in FOG Rayd, Barek and AntiDote, the Tweak and the other NTC Guys, the whole RC crew but specically Bird, Game, Sloe, Semy & Seone, Sois and AVC they’ve been around forever and had huge impact on the St. John’s scene and to the young guns shaking things up in RTB. I’d also like to shout out to some other East Coast writers, thanks Yron and Space5 from BME for showing me a good time every time I visit Halifax; those guys have some amazing style and are always good for a round of painting. I’d also like to shout out to the boys in HCV from Moncton, I always have a good time hanging with Munk and Store. I want to send a special shout-out to ‘340′, for helping keep the East Coast graffiti community alive.

I can’t forget to send a big thank you to Nelio for coming to St. John’s this summer – it was a wild few days.

Lastly, I want to say thanks to SensesLost.com and Matthew Johnson for doing this article. It’s always nice to see Canadian content on SensesLost and I do appreciate the recognition. Cheers.

What’s up, Diana. Rather than have me introduce you and muddle up your story, I’d like for you to introduce yourself to the readers and let them know who exactly is Fly Lady Di. Educate them, Diana.

FLY LADY DI: Fly Lady Di is a Canadian-born artist based in Toronto from Filipino parents raised in the middle class suburb of Markham, ON. She is an alter ego of Diana Reyes, the actor, dancer and visual artist known for street dancing and live painting. FLD is an artist through and through, also known for being a fashionista who JDGAF (just don’t give a fuck – *haha*). She’s a tomboy, an academic, an indigenous queen, an artistic rebel and a fly girl. She is DISCO*CUBIST – meaning that she is a vessel through which different perspectives are filtered at once. She’s probably one of the first (if not THE first) Filipina-Canadian woman you will hear about making waves as an artist of different genres.

As much as we find ourselves living in the supposed “post-racial world”, the fact remains that euro centric ideals of culture, beauty, and life are the prevailing images we are bombarded with. Being Filipino and finding yourself in a prominent role (teacher/role model), how important is for you to represent Filipino culture? **Obviously, due to you recognizable status, as a dancer, you have the pressure of being a “leader” for your people; I want to know how do you deal with that/factor that into your life? Does any of that ever cross your mind?

FLY LADY DI: These are great questions. Whenever I hear someone who is becoming increasingly famous answer the question of what it is to be a role model with, “I can only represent myself, not everyone who looks like me or is where I’m from,” I can’t help but feel the same way. There is no way one person can represent an entire diaspora, they can only represent themselves the best way they can in hopes that the messages they are spreading are well received and in good taste. With that being said, I feel like it is important for me to know who I am, where my roots are and my ancestry as I know that being in any way ‘notorious’ inherently does mean that I represent the people of where I’m ‘from’. So I do find it important, but it’s also important for people to know that I’m Canadian, and my roots are here and will always be here. Lastly, I can only be a leader to myself, if it so happens that people take heed to what I represent, then that’s a great thing, but I think it would be pompous of me to say that I am a leader of a particular group of people. Maybe a leader in the sense that I would like to attempt the impossible as an artist, or that I’m breaking ground as a woman of colour, but not much else.

I don’t necessarily want to put you in a position of be the “spokeswoman” for Filipinos and other people of colour, however, your life-experiences, thus far, have given you a lot of insight which can be very useful to helping them accomplish their goals. So with that being said, I want to ask what advice/knowledge would you impart in the lives of those people who find themselves at a “disadvantage” due to their uniqueness in a world which does not always provide equal opportunities?

FLY LADY DI: The answer to this is very simple. Be the very best at what you do, no matter what. Know what the rules are to the game you’re playing, play the(ir) game and then break the rules. Sometimes, because it’s harder for us as people of colour, we have to go above and beyond ourselves, our limits, to exceed the successes of people who may be more ‘advantageous’ than us. So work your hardest and be the best – so that you can’t give anyone an opportunity to tell you ‘no’. Be undeniable.

I want you to talk about JUMP OFF and how the event came into existence. Who is involved in the project and what is its mission statement?

FLY LADY DI: The Jump Off Dance Battle came to be when my good friend and collaborator Jojo Dancer and I met up at a coffee shop one day to discuss our plans and he asked me what I thought about putting together a dance battle and workshop, bringing our dance family from New York to Toronto for the first time. I thought it was a great idea and since then we’ve been partners and have had 2 successful battles and workshops together. It’s been fun, but a lot of work. The mission behind TJOB is to expose the genres of House Dance and Waacking to larger audience in order to gain more recognition and praise. Jojo and I work with House and Waacking respectively and sometimes feel that they are two underserved dance genres because they aren’t always the most ‘lucrative’ styles to learn – meaning there’s not a lot of work generated from knowing them. We want to, above anything, serve the art form and also PRESERVE the art form by giving our dancers the original pioneers of these styles to impart their history and mastery.

I want to congratulate you on being featured in a recent issue of Chatelaine Magazine; that is huge accomplishment, especially within Canada, where the magazine is iconic. Now, for those who do not know the background story (or may not read the publication), what is the significance of that particular feature, in the publication, and secondly, what does it mean to you, personally?

FLY LADY DI: The significance behind being featured in Chatelaine Magazine as Ms. Chatelaine is that in the 82 years the magazine’s been in existence, I am the first Filipina to be featured in that section. This makes me ecstatic not only as a Filipina but as a Canadian woman, representing the diversity of my home country. Also, I’ve had a fair share of press – there was a time in New York when I went to Barnes and Noble and opened 5 magazines at once which featured me – but being in Chatelaine means a lot because it’s literally the #1 woman’s magazine in Canada. I know that for sure because several people from age 30 to 70 have come up to me saying that they’ve seen the article, or that their Mom subscribes to it, and so on. I feel like I’ve gained a bit more respect from older white woman, which is interesting because I often feel regarded by them as someone ‘lesser’ or undeserving of that kind of attention. But now with this article, I get all kinds of greetings from women I’ve never met before in my life all of the sudden saying my article should be framed and in the dance studios I teach at!

I want to switch gears a bit, and talk about motivation, as I’m interested in learning about an individual’s ability to find a breakthrough in life: Delays are not denials, and although they may appear to be similar, many people tend to get discouraged and see a setback as being proof that a dream/goal cannot be reached. I want to ask you, what motivates to keep going? You are in a highly competitive environment, and I have no doubts there are times when obstacles may look insurmountable. How do maintain you drive to succeed? Where does the inner-strength come from?

FLY LADY DI: The goal is really the motivation. Because I am competitive by nature (I get a kick out of being among the best), I tend to create missions for myself that are seemingly impossible. For example, my current goal is to be a lead in a series – when has such a role been given to a woman of colour? Or to be more particular, when has an Asian woman held a lead role? The way things are set up, it does seem impossible (or unlikely), but it can happen! It will!

Acting, painting, dancing, and writing (blogging) are some of the different hats you wear; in essence, you are a modern-day Renaissance woman. I want to know more about your motivation to pursue all of these art forms came from. You mentioned it being “the goal” but I wonder what drives you – towards “the goal”- and keeps you wanting to expand your [artistic] resume?

FLY LADY DI: Like a lot of notable people, many of my endeavours never came with a plan. I tend to become restless easily; I have a lot of interests, so I often take it upon myself to learn as much as I can about something new and then use it to express myself. As an artist of multiple facets, it’s fun to find new outlets, and rediscover old ones, too; especially the ones I’ve been fostering since childhood. I guess the motivation comes from expression and keeping things fresh.

I want to go a bit further with the “expansion of your resume”: You have established yourself as a dancer, and are recognized as one of the top performers in Canada. A lot of people would stay in that lane, but recently you made the choice to get involved in acting and music (DJing). What is about acting that peeked your interest, and what is it you hope to achieve with this medium?

FLY LADY DI: I really chose acting because as an artist I want to use my face, body, and voice to express myself further. Acting is a different ball of wax! Using your voice to express yourself along with text is a good challenge for me because I’m so used to using my body only. I want to represent women of colour and I feel there aren’t enough of us being presented in the acting world — especially Asian women, which I mentioned earlier.

I mentioned DJing, in the last question, but didn’t get to ask an actual question about that career. I want to know the story behind your move to become a DJ. Obviously, music has close-ties to your dance background, but what made you want to get behind the turntables and spin?

FLY LADY DI: It actually all happened by accident. At my birthday party, a good friend of mine, who was playing music, had to go to the bathroom so he gave he a flash course on how to use the program he had and so I started playing. I started playing music and the people were really feeling it. This happened again, another time, when my DJ crew and I (The Vortex) were playing at our monthly party at Cold Tea Bar in Kensington. At first, I was kind of scared and somewhat hesitant to play – being a neophyte and all – but once I started to perform, everything turned out to really well. Afterwards, I was getting compliments and people were asking for business cards. From that point on, I decided to get focused and learn how to play for real. My cousin DJ C-Note, who has been deejaying for 23 yrs , helped teach me the basics, and that is how I learned to mix-music on wax and Serato. It’s still a learning process but I am getting better and better. Not to brag (too much *haha*), but I am being booked to perform at some pretty dope gigs. It’s a really cool blessing, which came out of nowhere; all stemming from my 31st birthday. As for my “DJ name”; like all of my performance names, I use “Fly Lady Di”, just to keep the brand consistent. I also like “DJ Short Stack” as well, *haha*, but Lady Di is the one I’ll stick with. My typical playlist consists R&B and House (obviously), as well as Hip Hop from the 90’s up to now. Of course, Funk is fun to play, too – it gets the crowd excited. I have also been getting a lot of support from some DJs whom I have looked up to for years – such as DJ Spinna and the legendary Bobbito Garcia. It’s honor to be recognized by people you hold in high-esteem. It’s a blessing.

At which venues are people most likely to catch one of your DJ performances?

FLY LADY DI: As I mentioned earlier, I have a monthly party, on Sundays, at the Cold Tea Bar in the Kensington Market (60 Kensington Ave. Toronto, Ontario). When possible, I do the odd show with my crew The Vortex (Jojo Dancer Zolina and MC Illa Brown are my cohorts). I also play at Happy Child, and I recently played House music at the cypher floor during the 2013 Manifesto Festival, in September. I’m proud to say I have a lot of gigs lined-up, at the moment, so it’s hard to remember everything (laughing) *smiles*.

Thus far, what would you say has been the biggest honor for you, in relations to your art?

FLY LADY DI: Probably having my work hang in a group show at the Art Gallery of Ontario is one of the largest esteems of my career. Being featured on CBC a number of times and Ms. Chatelaine isn’t bad for national recognition either. But, I’ve been going to the AGO to look at art since I was a kid, so to have my work hang there and to say on my resume that I’ve shown there is a big deal for me.

Currently, you live between Toronto and NY, and know it is subjective to compare and contrast the two cities, yet I am curious to know how (if in any way) the two cities have benefited your work? Obviously, they provide different opportunities regarding exposure and creativity; tell me what the cities have meant to you/your career?

FLY LADY DI: Well I’d be remiss to say that both cities didn’t have any impact on me as an artist. They both absolutely did. At this point, I’ll have equally lived in both cities for the same amount of time, maybe longer in Toronto. It had been my childhood dream, growing up, to live and flourish in The Big Apple, and when it happened to me it was as if I was just living my destiny or claiming what was already mine.

New York benefitted my work in that it’s the media capitol of the planet, and so that most of what I did got automatic international exposure. Also it didn’t take much for people to put me in numerous print magazines from here to Tokyo, because the access was just that great and that easy. I also built relationships with people who worked at magazines, which gave me the chance to appear numerous times in most of the magazines I was featured in. And also, being around a lot of hyper-cool likeminded artists didn’t hurt either as I collaborated with ones I felt I could exchange with on a certain frequency. That is something I have yet to find here in Toronto, although there are tons of amazing artists here too.

Toronto benefits my work in that it’s home and the more work I pump out the more I get to represent Toronto – a city that has been under recognized for so long and ‘at the brink of an orgasm’ for years. I feel like now we are finally starting to get love and have our own identity and be comfortable with ourselves instead of looking to other cities like New York or LA to see what’s cool. So hence everything that I do, whenever I become recognized for it based in Toronto, automatically gives Toronto more recognition as the place to be!

Shout-outs? Any individuals you’d like to salute? Do you have any final words to share before we go?

FLY LADY DI: I, of course, wanna give big ups to my beloved Big Norm, for being by my side even before we got together. He has been my cheerleader since day one and I hope to be the same for him as an entertainer. If it wasn’t for Norm introducing me to everyone in Toronto, I wouldn’t have known anyone and I wouldn’t have felt as ‘at home’ here as I do now. I felt like such an alien when I moved back here from Brooklyn years ago, but now it feels like home. And final words, racism is wack, don’t do it bro!

For more on Fly Lady Di.
Go to her website: flyladydi.wordpress.com
follow her on Twitter: twitter.com/FlyLadyDi

The graffiti artist HelloMelo has an upcoming art show opening in San Francisco titled “Sleepless Nights”. The show opens on Saturday, August 17th 7–10pm at Campfire Gallery. Along with the opening of the show, there will also be a live painting session on the Saturday starting at 12pm before the show.

Defining myself as an artist and what I create is connected to the “rogue” and “risky” behaviors I feel destined to be a part of. As a child, I was captivated by the colorful graffiti and allure of the unknown. I desired to claim Detroit with skill and precision, changing styles, materials, and always pushing my art to the next level. I enjoy portraying characters with a deep sense of reality, conflicted with a free flowing, heavily contrasted, intense, and colorful vibe that every person can connect to. Many people talk about life and struggles that happen in the ordinary every day goings on. I try to emulate my feelings concerning society and norms, my world, the connections we have with our man-made world versus the natural world and how we imprint ourselves in it. “You make your own mark on society; let it be your best.”

HelloMelo

Campfire Gallery
Craig Zaretsky and Rachel Ybarra, Partners & Curators
3344 24th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415-800-7319
info@campfiregallery.com

The graffiti artist Victor Reyes has an upcoming show titled “Down For You” at Known Gallery in Los Angeles. The show opens February 23rd, 2013 and runs to March 9th, 2013.

Russia’s Nomerz has become well known in the past few years for his amazing street art. He seems to find the perfect buildings and structures, and then brings them to life with faces in his trademark style. His art is largely figurative but goes beyond the usual faces he’s best known for, and he has another distinct style that is far more colourful. Global Street Art caught up with him to ask about his art, the buildings he brings to life and his contrasting styles!

Knowledge from Nomerz

Nomerz is not part of my name, it’s just a set of letters. But over the years the letters have grown to have a strong meaning to me. I have always loved to draw, from my earliest years. I started graffiti about 8 years ago. I saw it on the street, and I thought – I want to try it. I liked it, so I switched from paper to the wall.

I paint in the street, in public spaces, but I do not position myself as an invader of the city or a destroyer. I position myself as a creator. With my street art work, I fill the urban emptiness. I am inspired by the process of painting, city, people, music, movies and art by other artists. All this is interesting: it pushes the creation of art works.

My main direction now is to work with the features of the object. And the main project I’m working on now is a series called “The living walls”. I have other projects and drawings too. I just don’t show everything. I study design at the Arts and Humanities Institute. I’m curious to experiment and to try new things. I’ve also made some color-experiments (you can see on my website), but it’s not all that I do!

I travel a lot on my country, and I always try to draw something in each city. So my characters have appeared in different parts of Russia. I think objects that work for my living walls project are everywhere, you just need search. All cities have their own characteristics, but there are also details that unite all street artists in the World. I think we all share an invisible bond.

For now my main place to create is on the street, but it is not the only place for my ideas and projects. I’ve participated in some of gallery projects too.

I usually paint in abandoned places where there are few people: where I will not bother people, and where other people would not stop me. And when I do work in public places, I try to do them quickly and at night. I’ve never had serious problems with the cops. Besides, sometimes I work on legal grounds under various festivals. I do not know how people relate to my art work. Most of the reactions I’ve heard, it seems people like it. But people are different! Maybe they annoy someone, or some people are frightened even. Some people may just not notice them and just pass by.
I have many plans and projects, I want to travel and paint. And I’m doing an interesting video-project, which I’m not going to talk about it in detail yet. I hope everything will work out!

Thanks for your interest, Nikita Nomerz.

References
nomerz.blogspot.ru
nomerz-art.livejournal.com
www.flickr.com/photos/nomerz
twitter.com/nomerzone
facebook.com/pages/Nikita-Nomerz/157087174412516

Introduce yourself to the readers. Who is Radio? Where is he from? What is your mission statement – related to art?

My name is Johnny Collins, also known as Radio I’m from a small town of Kernersville, North Carolina. Radio was a nickname that I got in high school when I was a freshman and since then it has stuck. My mission is to be not just a regular artist but an artist who takes the conventional styles of art and expand it to new heights.

How would you go about taking conventional styles to new heights? Do you have a particular strategies or is too early to share that info?

Pretty much taking all of the artistic styles that I’ve known and blend them to the point of creating my own unique style. I have no strategy at this point because I’m usually like to be sporadic when it comes to doing art, its more fun that way rather than planning it out, usually whatever I’ve planned to draw or paint never works out the way I intended it to be.

Tell me a bit about your hometown, Kernersville, North Carolina. What is the overall art scene like in the area?

To be honest my hometown is very quiet; there isn’t much to do. On the other hand, the art scene is at Winston and Greensboro is growing everyday yet -at the same time- I have difficulty showcasing my work because it’s not the typical style you would find here. Still I won’t complain because my work is unique and gets noticed more because it is different.

Talk about the influence Andy Warhol has had on your art. Of all the artists you could look to for inspiration, what makes him so relevant to you?

I would say the biggest influence Andy Warhol has had on my work would be the reminder to find ways of show art beyond a gallery. His example showed me how to make my work not just a conventional [art] piece but something that can be worn or become something that is part of an average person’s life. Warhol was a visionary; always looking outside of the box, so by studying him and his methods, I have expanded my possibilities (artistically). I am going against the grain and I feel that gives me a huge advantage.

As unique as we all are, individually, we also have different motivations for doing what they do. Some people want fame and fortune, while others undertake particular tasks simply for the love of it. I want to know what motivates you to stay driven and connected to art; especially on during those days when it just doesn’t look like things are working out? How do you keep a centered focus?

I have to remind myself that I’m doing this because I can inspire not only you (my supporters), but everyone out there who likes my work, as well. Those people help me to stay motivated and keep moving forward. Realizing that drives me to become not just a regular artist, but an artist who could mentioned in an art history book. To be honest there are lots of artist like me but very few become ‘legends’. I want to reach that legendary level and that is how I stay motivated to excel artistically.

We talked about Warhol’s influence, your motivation, and your hometown. Now I want to deal with style; your style. How would you describe the art you are currently making? When combining your motivations and influences, what style do you ultimately utilize?

It’s very hard to describe my style. If I were to categorize it, I would say, it’s like a combination of pop art, street, graffiti mixed with lots of cartooning. But to be “safe”, I will tell you that it’s contemporary. I’m the type that likes to create a discussion of my style. I think it makes me and my work more of a mystery (laughs).

And with that mystery, surrounding yourself and your work, do you ever feel compelled to explain things to the audience, in order to have them understand you better?? It can be frustrating to see/hear people misinterpret your work. Does that [misinterpretation] bother you?

If I feel if the audience has misinterpreted my work or the final result quite didn’t match what I had envisioned then yes, I would explain the meanings to them. Right now, at this point, I haven’t had that problem but there have been times when a person looks at the art and can’t figure out what I made. Of course, I would explain the meaning. If there is a disconnect between the audience and my word, as an artist, I feel I should explain it to them. However, if the audience says nothing, I’ll let the art do the talking.

Aside from visual art you make music. Tell me more about that creative facet and what are your aspirations with music?

I’m music producer. It’s a hobby of mine; nothing too serious at the moment but I do make Hip Hop and Electronica instrumentals mostly. It’s something I’ve been doing since I was senior of high school. I’m in the process of releasing an LP of mostly instrumentals that I’ve been working for a while.

Artistically, where do you see yourself in the next five years? Will your focus be with visual art or will you lean more on the musical side?

This year has been the start of my artistic journey. I’ll be focusing on my art because that’s what I’ve always done but music has always been lurking in the shadows. Once I have a stable career as an artist, I would like to focus more effort into music but, for right now, I’m running with my art

You’ve been selling some of your work on canvas. How has that business side of things been going? Where can people reach you and see more of your art?

I occasional do, but, right now, it’s been trickle effect on the sales. Right now, I’m building my website where people can access to my work easier and purchase it. As of right now I’m working on my website and that should be up in the beginning of 2013. That is where I’ll be selling my shirts, prints, and more. Be on the look for that. In the meanwhile, people can look for me on twitter: “@radiotheartist“.

Any last words? Who are some people you’d like to shout-out or acknowledge?

I just want thank you for the interview and for giving me the chance to be seen. Every little thing that gives me an opportunity to shine is appreciated a great deal. Most of all, I want to say THANKS to all the people who are supporting me and to all of my fans out there who help keep me going. I am truly thankful for all of that and more.

For more on Radio The Artist, check him out on Twitter: @radiotheartist

Known Gallery in Los Angeles is hosting a group show titled “MAD SOCIETY” the opens on December 9, 2012. The show will feature new works from the artists: REVOK, RETNA, POSE, RIME, RISK, REYES, PUSH, ASKEW, ROID and ZES. Pieces include foraged geometric collages, pop color creations, politically-charged critiques, vivid abstractions and much more – with each blending traits and techniques learned years prior with acquired knowledge and masterful style procured from decades-long collaborations with one another.

Here’s a video recap from the art opening of “Hello Kitty, Hello Art!” at Known Gallery in Los Angeles.

Watch as the graffiti artist Push sets up for his recent show that opened last night at Known Gallery in Los Angeles.

Here’s a preview for the graffiti artist Pose’s upcoming solo show “Hello Kitty, Hello Art”. The show will feature artwork by Pose inspired by Sanrio characters. The one day pop-up show is on October 14, 2012 from 1pm to 6pm at Known Gallery in Los Angeles.