PANTONE INTERVIEW

Being part of the crews UB and DOCS, Pantone (Valencia) is one of the most powerful names of the spanish graffiti scene. His outstanding work in art and graffiti has forced us to make this interview…

What is graffiti to Pantone?

A considerable part of my life to be honest, the romans used to say that the 24 hours in a day should be divided into 8 hours of work, 8 hours of spare time and 8 hours of sleep. The first two has a tight relation with graffiti.. I don’t  usually get to dream that much.

Lets talk about youre style… what is having a style to you? Name a couple of writers that could be represented for having style?

Style, in whatever form, has to do with good taste. the ability to compose determined forms and make them work aesthetically. On the other hand, personally, it makes things more interesting if a nice style also has some type originality to it, it creates attention and gives the style a touch. This here is a key to good graffiti.
however, this is complicated since the rules of the game to graffiti has been created a long time ago, and therefore it is also quite easy to bend its rules when it comes to bringing new expressions into it. Even though if this isn’t  something that worries me personally.

Styles more connected to the aesthetics of traditional graffiti are more casual, fresh, even fun, or kind of dancing in its movements. Lately i feel like this has been interpreted by many as a easy way to get closer to the ideal of style, not to say that its that simple. For example Sawe…he rocks, but the most others don’t impress me. And on the other hand there is a lot of flow in the more technical pieces of Dems, and in his more ‘dancing’ styles too. Look at a highlight made by Spok, a tag by Bloke, a panel made by Ayer, a detail like an eye made by Sozyone, a intervention by Neko, a fade by Rosh, and so on.

I  think its good to go close-up on the sense of beauty, and not limit yourself to old and traditional conceptions of what style should be.

And you’re style? where does it come from? The effects you give you’re pieces, do they have a meaning beyond you’re aesthetic sensation?

As i said before, my style has sprung from both graffiti as much as many other things that is not considered graffiti in itself,  obviously there are external influences. Surely its redundant to say this, but of course  everything you see around yourself inspires you and becomes part of you’re visual expression. this is always useful when you are open to things and are able to use it in you’re own way. I believe it reflects in my style that I’m a quite open minded guy when it comes to graffiti aswell as in women, drugs, moral etc..

The effects I give my pieces came out spontaneously, and I conceptualized it recently one day I while I was visiting the bathroom. Answer two questions that marks graffiti, what is having ‘flow’,  and what is to ‘shine’ more than the others? mercury is something that has both effects.

What writers do you dislike? and generally in graff, what is it you like less about the culture?

There are no writers I dislike, everything is ok, its good there is variety. diversity is wealth! I like most of it no matter what category.

The area of Levante (Spain east coast) has always been a kind of a cradle for well spoken of writers.  what is the difference between the scene there from the rest of the state, what characterizes this area in graffiti?

That one is complicated… I don’t believe there is such a thing as a “spanish eastern” style or a general characteristic for the area in itself. I wouldn’t be able to pin a style to any zone at all on the scene today. There might be a predominant vibe or attitude to it,  but it has a bit of everything. Nowadays with globalization and probably because of the internet, we can’t speak of area-related groups and styles and have to look at individuality first.

What does your crews represent to you?

Well, exactly that. they represent me, and i represent them. its a bilateral agreement without failure.

Explain to us what you’re artwork wants to transmit and how it links to your graffiti…

In the case of Veneno44, we have been creating a concept we share between me, Dems and Sozy, we leave flying, we came flying (hay explicar esto alberto), …. I’ve been working around the idea of the things we leave behind and the things we bring with us on my trips to 44 different cities. The connection to my graffiti is obvious. The concept is wide and lets me play with thousands of updated thoughts and ideas, traveling and graffiti is the essential leit motiv.

Next expo that we open at Vicious Gallery is called ‘MURCIÉLAGO’ (bat). Bats are animals that comes out at night dressed all in black. During all painting-history artists have selected a determined color to work with in their bright studios. Writers work in darkness, and many times we have to write name of the color on the top of the can to be able to know wich color is wich.  So the idea for the show is a bit the writer as a bat, swell as the wink to the city of valencia. We can also definitely say that my studio-work has a lot to do with my graffiti, its no mystery, 16 hours a day.

It was very surprising and interesting to see the installation of the “alien floor” ,in the exposition Veneno44, with the UB made with melted metals, can you explain this piece?

Thank you. Its the welded version of what i do in my graffiti. I explained earlier what mercury represents to me. I got mails about how its illegal and dangerous to have mercury in a open gallery since it can create cancer and so on.. ITS PLASTIC!! You can buy it and bring it home without any problems.

I remember the work you made with LUCE using balloons. He used an experimental alias and you used a writer alias. where do we put this? art or graffiti? what is the limits of both art and graffiti?

This is true. back up to what we talked about before, that what I do in my studio has everything to do with what I do as a writer of the simple fact that one has absorbed the other. Some time ago I knew how to separate the two, I did two different things for each terrain, but today this has become impossible. And I am not the only one that this has happened to.

What is the most important thing that graffiti has taught you?

Maybe to steal/getting for free and not having to work a lot… and also to teach my eyes to see new ways of how to understand the city.

Youtube a song…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK2-lIPbLlk
It’s no waste, “to be bohemian, poet and a ….”

Is there anything you regret having done?

No regrets!! errors should be called experiences!

What would you like to be asked in a interview?

Exactly what you just asked me!

Last words?

As a genius irish man once said, ‘one can survive everything, nowadays, except death, and live down everything except a good reputation’. This is the problem of accepting to be interviewed!