Having fun searching through my old photos. Spent some more time chasing up interviews today and with some success! Gonna keep on keeping on!
This end of the M3 doesnt really get painted much anymore. The buff won the war. I loved seeing the new chromies that would pop up each week on this stretch of road. I believe that is my shadow in the bottom of this flick.
Was taking a look through my old photos and found this Croe chromie. Dont think it is still there. Croe recounted a hectic situation he found himself in for the book. Stories like his one are perfect as they grab the attention of a graffiti enthusiast and the general public alike.
Last month of the year
Its already December and there is still a lot to do. The temptation is to sit on the beach and let the work slide but I am persevering.
The advantage of finishing the book over the summer is that it seems that alot of painting happens over this period. Its not cold and rainy and writers are on holiday from work so more stuff seems to get done. That means more photos for me!
I have recently bought a new camera. It’s just a compact but the great thing is that it shoots HD video. I am playing with the idea of making some kind of promo video at the time of the launch of the book.
Time to Focus
My work commitments have ground to a halt so now it is time to focus on the book. I can’t wait till that day that I get the freshly printed book back from the printers.
It’s look like even though I have saved the funds to print the book I am going to start a crowdfunding campaign so that the cost per book can be brought down. So you, the end consumer, can afford the book. I will keep you updated on the crowdfunding idea but it will most likely launch on 1 December.
I think there are alot of misconceptions from the Cape Town graffiti community about what the book will be like. My central focus is to tell the amazing stories which would otherwise be forgotten and also to give a platfrom to those writers who have proven themselves through dedication year after year. I hope the book will be an accurate representation of the Cape Town graffiti without any bias to one particular group or school of thought.
So now it is time to focus on finishing this book and I expect many late nights ahead.
Busy following up the Play1 and Motel7 interviews. I remember they were in Wk? and 3C crews together. This photo is a Play character in the making for What Kind’s Write4Gold wall.
One of my favourite parts of the book so far is the Enos interview. Enos is one of South Africa’s best train writers, hitting steel all over the world.
Here is a photo of a really old Enos panel that I had sitting on my computer, not a typical Enos by any means but looks like he (or she) had a bit of fun doing it.
Transcribing
I did an interview with Falko late last year at the Blue Marlin in Observatory. I have been procrastinating with the transcribing of the interview but getting really stuck into it now. I love this quote from the interview:
Matt: “Do you have a significant chase story?”
Falko: “I have two invincible one’s”
To hear these stories you are going to have wait for the book.
The book I am doing will focus on graffiti and not street art. But you may ask, isnt that the same thing? The answer is no.
Graffiti is about writing your name more stylishly, bigger, better and in more places than anyone else. There is an intense focus on typography and letter formation. Street art, as far as I understand it, is about pushing a concept on the steet or giving some kind of message, even if that message is as simple as “I want to make this wall look more colourful”. Obviously like anything there are grey areas in between and many artists crossover between the two.
I believe that Cape Town’s most commited “wall painters” have mostly been graffiti artists and not street artists, hence the focus of this book. Even if street art is not my focus, it is still fun to look at.
This picture is of a mural in Woodstock by Black Koki as part of the I Art Woodstock mural project curated A Word of Art.
Accent theme by Handsome Code
