SKEME INTERVIEW BY MTN AUSTRALIA

Here is a luxury collaboration from our colleagues from  MTN Australia. They interviewed nothing more and nothing less than SKEME, one of the most legendary writers of New York in the 70s-80s. Who did not feel identified with Skeme,  the misunderstood boy on  Style Wars?

Let’s see what he tells us in 2013, this royalty of the history of graffiti. What’s more, the interview is accompanied by succulent and historical images of various works (courtesy of Henry Chalfant himself) that make this article an invaluable document.

‘Well I joined the army when I was 17 and was away for almost 30 years so believe it or not, it’s still new and fresh to me (fame). I know what you mean by fame but I try to stay humble and grounded. I think it’s important to stay accessible to the youth and new writers because those that come after us are what keep it (Graff) alive.’

‘A piece first starts as an idea, the idea is then formulated and put to paper. Next, you gather the materials, then you plan and conduct a risk assessment. Sounds a lot like an army mission right? Well that’s what Graff gave me… at an early age I learned important organizational and leadership skills that made me successful in my professional life.’

‘Mom recently asked me to take her to a show (which I did and she liked it!!!) at Gallery 69 in NY that I had a piece of work in… she surprised me…I thought that was great!!!’

‘The paints today are dope… I used Montana Colors paints on all the new joints I’ve done since I started painting again, its good paint, tons of crazy colors, covers well, drys fast, and low on the drip factor and best of all its made for Graffiti writers and aerosol artists. So I don’t wanna say new guys got it easy… but … new guys got it easy.’

‘today’s stud is tomorrow’s old fart. So 30 years from now, the Old Skoolers will be in diapers and the new skoolers will be the Old Skool! That’s the way it goes.’