March 2010: Tec in Buenos Aires

During my teen years, I visited a friend regularly at Hartford's children's hospital. She was sick for many months and spent many a day staring at a bland grey wall. What I never understood was why a hospital for children could be so dull and lifeless. Fortunately, Tec agrees. In addition to his street pieces around Buenos Aires, he's also decorated a local children's hospital. Today, he explains how he got his start and what's in store for the future. He writes:

"I started painting on the street in back in '88 by promoting my rock band, Ocote. We sounded like AC/DC, but with a touch of humor. We just made tags using some colors. At the time, we only had blue, black, white, and red. We had an English green, too, but I didn't like it. In '92, I took a trip to Barcelona and bam! I took a train from the airport and had the greatest visual experience of my life."

"The walls on both sides of the road were full of graffiti, colors, abstract shapes, and spray. I realized that they were names and signatures of people. When I returned to Buenos Aires, I went to Macario, a friend in the neighborhood, and showed him the photos. Since then, we've never stopped."

"When I'm painting, I love to work with friends. I love working where it's ugly and the context is mixed with painting."

"I developed my style thanks to the confidence and support of my mother who told me my drawings were nice and hanged them on the walls. Through the power of design, I made my own iconic style; I love figurative images."

"Right now, I'm in preproduction of a road movie. This is a documentary about painting Route 9 that runs from Rosary
Córdoba, my hometown."

Gracias, Tec! Follow his film's progress through still shots on his Flickr.