interview

graffiti artist and illustrator

FF: The bottle and packaging of the perfume are in the shape of a cube. Don't you think that the square is becoming a ubiquitous figure in popular culture, also due to the popularity of Instagram?

Yes, I do see squares everywhere, maybe it's related. The figures are very symbolic, and the square is a kind of snapshot of something. It is easier to express your vision in a square space, many today use this figure in the field of design.

FF: Initially, the main function of street art was to protest against the system. Do you think graffiti is becoming mainstream because of its close association with fashion and popular culture? Remember the collaborations of well-known graffiti artists with fashion and even luxury brands, how, and, in the end, your collaboration with Lacoste?

I personally consider myself more of an illustrator than a graffiti artist. For me, these are different things - the usual drawings on the wall and the graffiti art that originated in the 1970s in New York. Representatives of that movement did not protest against something, but simply declared themselves to the world. For me, graffiti as a social tool is dead, the spirit of protest was a hallmark of graffiti in the 1970s, 1980s. Today there are many new directions. I'm not sure that the artists who created the art of graffiti wanted graffiti to have some kind of social function. But what they painted on the walls was really a reflection of the society of that time. Today there are a lot of bombers and writers who want to be seen as just artists and not protesters of the system or anything else.

FF: So you don't think graffiti has any social function?

No, I don't think that graffiti today has any social message. You don’t think much when you draw graffiti, you just want to express yourself and your vision, to declare to the world about yourself as an artist.

FF: I noticed that in some of your works there are Russian and Soviet themes.

Yes, I have always been attracted to Russian culture, primarily its visual component, especially architecture. Russia is a very large country with monumental architecture to match, which I find very inspiring.

FF: In one of your interviews, you said that it makes no sense to be in several graffiti teams. Why?

I believe that a graffiti team is like a family, and one should be alone. The most important thing is to work in a team with people you can always rely on. In 2004 my best friend Velvet and I formed the CSX team. Now we are 12 people, we all do different things, but we always listen to each other's opinion. I do not understand those graffiti artists who are simultaneously in several teams. I think they do it more for show.

Gavrilina Xenia. School №412, Moscow, Russia
Essay in English with translation. Nomination Classic essay.

Graffiti - art or vandalism?

Graffiti - art or vandalism? To my mind, professionally made graffiti is very beautiful. Graffiti is very popular around the world. If it is done by really talented people, a picture can be a work of art.

To start with, graffiti makes deserted houses, fences, public telephones more beautiful. A picture should be drawn on old, dirty and broken walls. It would be good if we can have special places for graffiti.

In addition to this, some graffiti artists want to be heard, and they try to explain something to the people. Drawing a picture, artists express themselves. They want to color this gray and boring world. Besides, there are some famous unusual pictures, which are made by the best graffiti artists. When people look at these colorful pictures on the buildings, they think of something warm and kind.

On the other hand there are some graffiti artists who write obscene words and draw senseless pictures. Some artists spoil monuments, memorial walls, tombstones, cars, metro wagons, so most of people believe that graffiti is more vandalism than art. Furthermore, if graffiti is not agreed with the city government or with building owners, graffiti artists are punishable by law.

To conclude, graffiti is an art, but it should be made by really talented people. If it is beautiful, why not? It is important graffiti to be legal. We should give graffiti artists a chance to tell us what they want.

Graffiti - art or vandalism? In my opinion, professionally done graffiti is very beautiful. Graffiti is very popular all over the world. If done by really talented people, the drawing can become a work of art.

Let's start with the fact that graffiti transforms abandoned buildings, fences, telephone booths. The drawing should be drawn on old, dirty and ruined walls. It would be nice if we could have special places for graffiti.

In addition to this, graffiti artists want to be heard and they try to explain things to people. By painting a picture, artists express themselves. They want to decorate this gray and boring world. In addition, there are some famous unusual paintings that are made by the best artists. When people look at these colorful drawings on buildings, they think of something warm and kind.

On the other hand, there are many graffiti artists who write obscene words and draw silly images. Some artists deface monuments, memorial walls, tombstones, cars, subway cars, because of this, most people think that graffiti is more vandalism than art. In addition, if the graffiti is not negotiated with the city authorities or building owners, the artists are prosecuted.

In conclusion, graffiti is an art, but it has to be done by really talented people. If it's beautiful, why not? It is important that graffiti is legal. We need to give graffiti artists a chance to get us what they want.

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"Street art won't end world poverty, but it can make you think and smile."

Street drawings have long crossed the line when they were considered only vandalism and did not carry anything reasonable, kind, eternal. No, of course, there are meaningless and most often untalented "tags" and will not go anywhere. But modern street art is already much deeper and wider than just tags, an expression of protest or one's position. It has grown and assumed, among other things, a social function.

website prepared a list of artists whose work makes cities more beautiful, and people a little better and happier.

His project "Living Walls" is known far beyond the borders of the country; his works are regularly included in the world's best street art collections. Good-eyed creatures of Nikita, organically inscribed in space, playing with the shape of the walls, already exist in many cities of Russia: in his native Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Perm, Kazan, and so on.

Alexey Menshikov

Alexei Menshikov, an artist from Penza, decorates the streets of his city with funny drawings, successfully fitting them into the surrounding landscape. His positive characters will not leave anyone indifferent and charge with positive for the whole day.

This talented street artist from Russia is an adherent of a surrealist style that permeates all his work with a thin thread. The subjects of the works are very diverse - from drawing representatives of the heroes of subcultures and various phenomena to surrealistic and fairy tale motifs.

Slava PTRK, an artist from Yekaterinburg, is a real experimenter who often chooses strange and unusual objects for his works. All his drawings and installations are an encrypted message, a call to turn on the imagination and think about the problems of our time.

Another artist from Yekaterinburg, famous for his unusual and topical works, often associated with political events.

Moscow street artist Zhenya 0331C (Ozzik) is used to comparing what is painted in his hometown and on the streets of the world. This helps him realize why he creates his work. For Ozzik, street art is a complete art, an opportunity to convey feelings or emotions through what you can do.

A young, productive and damn talented graffiti artist from St. Petersburg. He works in the technique of photorealism and creates bright, unforgettable characters.

Andrey Adno was born in 1986 and now lives in Kaliningrad. The artist claims that graffiti has never been his main source of inspiration. He is close to the old school of graphic design, the Soviet poster and everything that balances on the verge of graffiti and conventional art.

Morik & Aber are tough Siberian guys with vast drawing experience behind their backs. Turning their hobby into work, and creating masterpieces where they are asked.

Throughout the history of graffiti, humanity has tried to deprive it of the right to be called art. After all, any fool, armed with a can of paint, is able to draw some kind of drawing on the wall. Nevertheless, street artists continue to amaze us with their bold and bright paintings, each time convincing the audience more and more that their creations deserve to be called art. Looking at the examples of graffiti below, you can see for yourself.

12. Take cover under my umbrella

This great example of graffiti is the brainchild of British artist Seth. Such paintings truly decorate the city. The bright colors and originality of the pattern as a whole are definitely impressive.

11. Too late


Banksy, the most famous street artist in the world, has gained popularity thanks to his huge collection of provocative and controversial drawings, which he leaves in various parts of the globe. And although this artist has plenty to choose from, the simplicity and at the same time the power contained in this drawing is truly impressive and makes you think about global problems. The drawing can be found on a wall near the Regents Canal in North London.

10 Leaf Me Alone


A Spanish artist named Pejac proved that often the simplest ideas are fraught with unprecedented beauty. He uses a special approach, using the missing components of objects in his drawings, creating real masterpieces from them.

9. Peek-A-Boo


If you don't look around carefully enough, you will pass by without noticing this cleverly hidden drawing, located in Bangsar, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur. It was created by the Lithuanian artist Ernest Zakharevich as a tribute to the memory of a late street artist from Russia.

8. Love is love


Stick is a street artist based in London, widely known for his cute drawings that describe various situations in life. Here is one of his paintings, painted in Brick Lane, an area of ​​Bangladesh notorious for constant racist clashes. The picture shows a Muslim woman holding the hand of a European.

7. Lizard King


This huge reptile came from the hand of an ROA artist in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This graffiti is widely known among the street art community, and never ceases to amaze with amazing detail in the smallest parts of the picture.

6. Five points


Drawing, located in the Queens area of ​​New York, has become a real Mecca for street artists around the world. The 200,000 square feet of building wall surface here are covered in graffiti. Unfortunately, in August of this year, it was announced that the building was to be demolished soon.

5. Under the bridge


As we all know, real masterpieces are often obtained from the most ordinary and unremarkable things. And this is exactly what happened to the artist under the nickname Dome in Karlsruhe, Germany. He turned the nondescript support beam of the bridge into a huge arm that supports it.

4. Flutter like a butterfly…


..sorry like a bee. Many of you are probably familiar with this image. Boxing legend Muhammad Ali's commemorative punch, recreated in the video game Street Fighter, is depicted on the door of a garage in Paris.

3. Your choice


The talented artist Nuksuno Xan did not let any item from this fence go to waste. The tree, the brick wall and everything that was nearby fit into the amazing picture he painted on the wall in Fort de France, in Martinique.

2. We need food, not football


This touching drawing of a starving child was painted on a building in Spain. This drawing is just one of a series dedicated to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which was intended to draw people's attention to more important issues than sports. Despite the importance of this graffiti, it was soon removed.

1. Like, like, like...


In the late 1980s and early 90s, the topic of propaganda for the rejection of television was popular among graffiti. Someone Tomas from Ferentino, Italy, decided to revive this tradition and created a drawing calling for abandoning the obsession with social media. The main source of inspiration for the creation of this graffiti was the popular social network Facebook.