Yesterday I published an article with a brief history of the Meeting of Styles in Italy during these last years, in which I wrote about Chas LoveLetters and his participation at the edition of 2014 that will take place in Milan and which is organized by the Nuclear1 crew.
During this week I had the pleasure to interview him with questions to which he answered very specifically and in a detailed way.
Enjoy it!
Giada: You started doing Graffiti in 1989 in Holland when you were very young. What was the graffiti scene like at that time? Who has influenced you the most?
Chas: Very different from today. Off course in that “pre internet
age” everything was much more a discovery. When I was going to another city I
took photos of all the pieces that I saw and studied them at home. Nowadays the
young writers have already seen everything on internet. That destroys the fun
of discovery and being surprised. ..and they don’t even realize that they are
missing out on that great feeling!
But
hey: what can you do about it? Nothing!
Another
big difference is that nowadays the graffiti scene is divided in “sub scenes”
like the legal scene, the train writing scene, subway writers scene, street art
scene etc.. When I as young everybody was doing everything. Painting in a hall
of fame and also painting on the trains. I really liked that mentality and I
still do. Legal or illegal..it’s both fun!
There’s
a lot of writers that influenced me when I was young. I think the biggest
influence was Ces53. In my opinion the best writer in the netherlands in the
early 90’s. Great styles on walls and trains..I loved it!
G: After a period of time in which you stopped doing
graffiti, like for seven years, you started again and contributed to the founding
of the LoveLetters crew, which is very famous all over the world for its
members and its style. Can you tell us more about this crew and the story
behind it?
C: The LoveLetters crew was founded by Nash and Does in
2006. Before that time we were already painting a lot together and I said to
them on lots of occasions that we should be in a crew together. They were never
very positive about that idea so it was a bit of a suprise when they called me up
one night and asked me to join the freshly founded crew. I immediately liked
the name LoveLetters. It’s a name that everybody remembers easyily and it
stands for what I believe in. It’s all about the letters!
 |
| Does, Chas |
Soon after that Tumki, Biser, Rusl, Dater, Ozer and Sean2 joined the crew. And a little bit later Dare joined also. It was an honour to have him in our crew. ..and his death was a big tragedy.
Every
now and then I do a Dare piece. It feels good to keep his name alive!
The
latest addition to the crew was dutch writer Puaks. A very stylish bloke!
 |
| Dare by Dosek and Chas, Basel, 2013 |
 |
| For Dare, 2013 |
G: Your style is characterised by the use of voids
letters, the use of colourfoul shades and of letters that seem to be like 3D
but actually they aren’t, because everything is realised through the use of
colours. It’ s also very nice to see that you usually play with A and H,
sometimes by merging them together, sometimes not. Can you tell us more about
your style and when you started doing void letters? How do you relate your
graffiti pratice within the urban space?
C: I think there is a strong connection between the
personality of a writer and the style in which he does his pieces. Just like my
letters I have opened up more and more over the years .
In my
pieces the letters have a strong connection to eachother. One letter reaches
out to the next. The other one is supporting his neighbour. There is a lot of
teamwork going on in my piecesJ.
 |
| Chas, Duisburg, 2013 |
At
first sight my letters can look complicated but when you give them a closer look
you will discover their friendly forms. I love subtile colour schemes . Not
going for the easiest solution but giving it a bit more thought.
..and
yes: The surrounding of a piece is also important. I don’t paint in Hall of
fames very often anymore. Too much colour..too much distraction. Abanonded
places are better. The piece can interact with the surroundings.
 |
| Chas, Venlo, 2012 |
G: Historically Graffiti in Europe were very different
from the ones in the USA, because for instance it’s were the 3D style had
started. The LoveLetters now is a well respected crew all over the world and
it’s characterised by these new ways of using shades and of making the pieces
opened up as if they had been exploded. Do you think that the LoveLetters are
now influencing this new way of making graffiti in Europe? Can you tell us more
about the crew style?
C: I don’t think there is one
“LoveLetters style”.
When
we started out in 2006 our styles were very similar. All very detailed and
clean. But over the past years everybody has had personal growth..And off
course not everybody was growing in the same direction. So nowadays not all
members are active anymore. Some are more interested in other types of art,
tattooing, graphic design etc..
 |
| Chas-HMX Area51, 2013 |
Dater,
Does and me are the members that are the most active now but our styles have
also developed in different directions. I think that’s a good thing.
Sometimes
I think this whole “crew thing” is a bit strange. Let’s face it: Graffiti is
one big ego show. Every writer wants to be the best and stand out of the crowd.
Nothing wrong with that..I love the competition!
But
it’s a bit of a contradiction trying to put all these individualists in a team
right?
Nevertheless
I am still proud to be a LoveLetters member and I will keep on representing.
 |
| Chas, Groningen, 2014 |
G: I knew you have been invited to the Meeting of Styles
in Italy for 2014, which is organized by the Nuclear 1 crew in Milan. What’s
your expactation for this event?
C: I love to come back to Italy! In the past years I had
some good times when I was painting in this beautiful country.
I also like the line up of this MOS. It’s good
to see some good friends again..and there’s also a bunch of people that I
haven’t met yet. I’m looking forward to meeting them!
 |
| Venlo, 2013 |
 |
| Chas de Hogt day, 2014 |
Interview by Giada Pellicari
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento