Loveliest day in Paris. Spring is upon us.
I'll be back on African news tomorrow at RFI and for a while but in the meantime I need to put a hint of Bristol here...
Listening to Tricky (and more of the Bristol pioneers, I admit), I'm reading about Nick Walker - soon coming to Paris for his exhibition (see previous post a few days ago) - and his fellow street artist friend from West England, famous Banksy.
And whoever quote Nick Walker and Bansky, all the more together, cannot not have a thought for their reference and Bristol graffiti pioneer: Mr 3D.
Hence, hereunder is an interview with Bansky published on his own website's archives, see here:
http://web.archive.org/web/20120103163406/http://www.banksy.co.uk/QA/qaa.html
And of course a few of my pictures from Bansky's graff in Bristol here:
"Mild Mild West" in Stokes Croft
Famous Banksy stencil on Part Street
Banksy on himself and D
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheating to use stencils?
Stencils are good for two reasons;
One - they’re quick ; two - they annoy idiots.
Why are you such a sell out?
I wish I had a pound for every time someone asked me that.
Is Banksy just a big brand these days? Do you even paint your own pictures?
It’s not supposed to be a brand, which is why people in advertising think it’s such a good one. I paint it all myself unless its illegal, in which case I’ve never seen any of it before, your honour.
Is Exit Through the Gift Shop real?
Yes.
Are you still friends with Mr. Brainwash?
I like to think so. When I asked him what he thought about the film he said “This is a cult movie, this is a classic movie, this movie stands alone – like The Godfather.”
Did you paint over Robbo’s piece and have him beaten up?
His piece in Camden had been dogged for more than five years by the time I painted that spot. It’s a real shame about his accident and I hope he fully recovers. I would never deliberately cuss Robbo – he’s a graffiti legend.
And he’s bigger than me. Click Here
Did you rip off Blek le Rat?
No, I copied 3D from Massive Attack. He can actually draw.
Do you need an intern?
No thanks.
Why are you so annoying?
It’s not all my fault, sometimes they make it up - I’ve never vandalized a war memorial, painted Kate Moss’s kitchen or visited the Playboy club with Ashley Cole wearing a skull mask.
What artists do you rate?
Käthe Kollwitz is my favourite. Partly because her drawing style is so beautiful, and partly because she thought being an artist was self-indulgent crap and became a doctor in an orphanage instead.
Can you donate a picture for my charity auction?
What are you? Blind? In which case maybe. I mostly support projects working to restore sight and prevent eye disease. Or as I like to call it ‘expanding the market’.
faq@banksy
Please don’t follow me on facebook or twitter because I’m not on there.
Stencils are good for two reasons;
One - they’re quick ; two - they annoy idiots.
Why are you such a sell out?
I wish I had a pound for every time someone asked me that.
Is Banksy just a big brand these days? Do you even paint your own pictures?
It’s not supposed to be a brand, which is why people in advertising think it’s such a good one. I paint it all myself unless its illegal, in which case I’ve never seen any of it before, your honour.
Is Exit Through the Gift Shop real?
Yes.
Are you still friends with Mr. Brainwash?
I like to think so. When I asked him what he thought about the film he said “This is a cult movie, this is a classic movie, this movie stands alone – like The Godfather.”
Did you paint over Robbo’s piece and have him beaten up?
His piece in Camden had been dogged for more than five years by the time I painted that spot. It’s a real shame about his accident and I hope he fully recovers. I would never deliberately cuss Robbo – he’s a graffiti legend.
And he’s bigger than me. Click Here
Did you rip off Blek le Rat?
No, I copied 3D from Massive Attack. He can actually draw.
Do you need an intern?
No thanks.
Why are you so annoying?
It’s not all my fault, sometimes they make it up - I’ve never vandalized a war memorial, painted Kate Moss’s kitchen or visited the Playboy club with Ashley Cole wearing a skull mask.
What artists do you rate?
Käthe Kollwitz is my favourite. Partly because her drawing style is so beautiful, and partly because she thought being an artist was self-indulgent crap and became a doctor in an orphanage instead.
Can you donate a picture for my charity auction?
What are you? Blind? In which case maybe. I mostly support projects working to restore sight and prevent eye disease. Or as I like to call it ‘expanding the market’.
faq@banksy
Please don’t follow me on facebook or twitter because I’m not on there.
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On soon-to-visit-Paris Nick Walker
Entretien - en français - dans Les Inrocks cette semaine, extrait :
Nick Walker, le “Vandale” et pionnier du street-art, s’expose à Paris
Tu te souviens de ton premier mur ?
C’était derrière le marchand de journaux, dans mon quartier, en 1992. J’avais 22 ans. Je venais de voir à la télé le clip de Buffalo Gals, de Malcolm McLaren. Ma génération y découvrait le graffiti, notamment le travail de Dondi White, qui est mort depuis. Je rêvais, comme lui, de délimiter les lettres à main levée. Ça a été comme un virus pour moi : j’ai acheté des bombes de peintures, je me suis lancé à main levée. J’étais sous influence des New Yorkais qui peignaient les trains de banlieue, par le livre de Martha Cooper et Henry Chalfant qui racontait cette épopée. Je n’ai commencé les pochoirs que plus tard. Grâce à 3D de Massive Attack, c’était le premier artiste que je voyais utiliser ce médium, il faisait notamment des portraits de Robert de Niro. On traînait beaucoup ensemble, mais pour moi, c’était de la triche, le pochoir. Jusqu’au soir où nous avons repeint ensemble un vieux pub de Bristol et soudain, grâce à ses pochoirs, il a transformé Maryline Monroe en Margaret Thatcher. Ça m’a secoué, ça paraissait si moderne, comme Warhol, mais avec l’énergie et l’esprit du graffiti. Je lui dois cette transformation dans mon style.
3D a toujours été très politisé. A-t-il tenté d’infuser cette révolte dans ton travail ?
Il est plus fûté et informé que moi. Longtemps, mon travail n’a été que satirique, basé sur un seul personnage, le Vandale, qui racontait des histoires. 3D, lui, était vraiment un pionnier, en street-art comme en musique. Il jouait dans ce sound-system, The Wild Bunch, qui est ensuite devenu Massive Attack. Historiquement, depuis les grandes heures du commerce maritime, il y a toujours eu des liens privilégiés entre Bristol et New York. Les gars de Wild Bunch recevaient des cassettes, des test-pressings des mois avant tout le monde. Les sound-systems de Bristol étaient à la pointe, comme les graffiti artists, tout ça progressait en même temps. Nous bossions tous dans les rues, dans l’illégalité. Si bien que ça m’est même arrivé de peindre en direct pendant que jouaient des mecs comme DJ Krust… J’ai même essayé de faire de la musique avec mon propre sound-system, mais ça ne progressait pas, il m’a fallu choisir.
Vicious Beauty, du 19 mars au 4 avril
Signature du livre The Art Of Nick Walker le samedi 21 mars à 16h
Galerie Brugier – Rigail, 40 rue Volta 75003 Paris
Signature du livre The Art Of Nick Walker le samedi 21 mars à 16h
Galerie Brugier – Rigail, 40 rue Volta 75003 Paris
Nick Walker's website:
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On art pioneer 3D
He claims this recent painting is his favourite of his:
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3D faces the wall
by Beezer
Most famous:
Bristol, 1984
by Robert "3D" Del Naja:
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More of his graffiti from the early days here:
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Conclusion:
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