January 2010: Mashka in Moscow

I may complain about winter in New England, but Russia has us beat tenfold. While we're experiencing a brief thaw, the Motherland remains frigidly locked at sub-zero temperatures. Once the snow melts and people aren't required to wear hats to protect their ears from falling off, I guarantee Moscow will be flooded with street artists itching to work. No doubt Mashka will be in the ranks. She writes:

"I started a few years ago, but I've only started doing it on a regular basis in the last year and a half."
"Working alone or with others depends on my mood; each tactic has its own advantages. I'll prefer going by myself when I wanna explore something new . On the other hand, with a bunch of friends it's much more fun on an energetic & creative level, and it always leads to some unique experience."
"I'm developing my style all the time. Now, I'm just trying to paint as much as possible, making sketches and take inspiration from the best in graffiti and street art, such as: Reyes, Rime, Augor, El Mac, Os Gemeos, Lister, Kid Acne, C215 , Swoon and Armsrock. That's the best way to improve my skills & develop my style."
"When I make a big piece, I usually get to paint in a hidden spot where there's lots of flora and beauty mixed in with filth, ruins and homeless people. I love those spots that somehow absorb and reveal the essence of the city without hiding anything, for better and for worse. I also enjoy painting in open places where I act fast without thinking too much so it works out in unexpected ways."
"I wouldn't say I have a 'craziest' memory, 'cause each time is memorable for its own funny and weird encounters, or unpleasant ones as those with the police patrol. Actually, sometimes I think it's crazy enough to get up at 4, 5 AM and go out painting !"

Agreed, Mashka. You're a champion! For more photos, visit her Flickr.

November 2009: Scheme in Moscow

I'm too much of a wimp for Russia in the winter. Three hours of sunlight a day and subzero temperatures would throw me into a deep depression. However, I'd love to explore the country in the summer; there's so much street art to see! Perhaps if I make it there this summer, I'll give Scheme a call. The Moscow-based artist toys with mediums and shapes to create fresh new pieces. He writes:

"Hello, I'm Scheme, a graffiti-artist from Moscow. I have never really made normal street-art so much. I'm more of a graffiti-artist trying not to limit my art. I did my first piece in 2004 and have been painting graffiti for about five years."

"Lately, I prefer to keep my style separate from others. Sometimes it's a good experience to collaborate with different artists, but not permanently. Painting together demands a lot of organization and the result often doesn't justify costs. When you are alone, you feel freedom; it's important in art. As for pieces with common colors and background, it's hard to call that 'collaboration.'"

"My style is develops on paper. Sometimes I need more sketch time for realisation. In my way, I try not to copy forms which already exists. I'm like piggy bank which needs something new every time. To be honest, the best place for work is canvas. When you paint on it, you control everything and don't worry about any external factors like weather. Of course, good painting environment makes it better, but in my way it's important to concentrate on style. Also, sometimes after painting on walls, you find some marks on photos and already can't correct it. As for canvas, it's free for finishing anytime you want. Sometimes I also use digitals, but it looks not as fresh as handicraft."

"As for being caught by the police - I can't say that in Russia you can have big problems. Lately, I stopped painting illegally. It's better to concentrate on style than on the place where it can be realised. The craziest adventures were meeting and painting with or just spending time together with artists from my Top 10 list."

"One of the last events I took part in was in Nantes, France. It was called '20 Years Since the Fall of the Berlin Wall in Nantes'. Artists built the wall from cardboard boxes in city-center and made pieces on it. Afterwards, audiences destroyed it just like Berlin 20 years ago. The topic of my piece was 'Freedom'. You can see video and photos of my project. Ciao!"

Thanks, Scheme! For more photos and information, visit his website.

October 2009: Zuk Club in Moscow

If you spot a zebra on a Russian wall, chances are Zuk Club pasted it there. (ZUK stand for "Zebra Flies Everywhere" in Russian). The group consists of seven friends: БРИТВА, Seda, Brain_Made, Potato, Molesh, AcidBask, and Omeman. Together, they drink, paint, and party their way across the country. Don't be fooled by their wild style; while Zuk Club members are always down for a good time, they insist "In life and creativity, we don't search for easy ways." They write:

"We began to make street art in 2005. Back then, it was just stickers,stencils and small posters."
"We are a group of 7 artists. Each person has his own style, but most of our works are done together."
"Our style is a mix of graffiti, our own drawings, and something we take from geniuses like Esher, Breigel, Picasso, Margriete,Dali. Now, we absolutely love to use optical illusions in our works and, if it's possible, to make it monumental."
"We love to explore something new: new walls, streets, countries. When we paint, we make it a show or party with our friends."
"Now that we've opened the gallery called 'Loft-Number-One', we want to make an exhibition with some street art artists. Next year, we want to have our second annual festival called 'Street Art Week'."

Cool, guys! For more info, check out their website.

October 2009: 0331© in Moscow

In the United States, 0331 is a special unit within the Marines in charge of crew-served machine guns. In Russia, 0331© has to do with bombing, but not the explosive variety. Instead, this artist is all about graffiti and street art. Mixing old school standards with clever locations and style, he decorates walls (and trees) all across Europe. Today, he shares some photos and adventurous stories. He writes:

"I started with posters and stickers in 2001 and since that time I developed myself in different areas.
In most cases, I paint alone. It helps me to express my feelings, but I also I like painting productions with people whose art I really appreciate!"
"In my opinion, 'style' is only a cage in which a painter puts himself with his own hands. I try not to stop at what has been accomplished and I am constantly searching for some new ways of expressing visual compositions (ideas, types)."
"I adore when a place inspires me, but as such places are very hard to find in urban life, I've chosen forest and trees. I think that every painting and every picture must match the place where it is painted. It must create a composition, a harmony - that's what street art is for me."
"This summer my friend from Saint Petersburg and I had to spend a night in the police station in Paris. Getting arrested for tagging is pretty crazy. We tried to run from them, but they took us for a drive in their car, tried on handcuffs, and even beat my friend at the police for us to confess. Finally, at 7 o'clock in the morning, we left Paris for Vitally. Because of (or thanks to) the corruption, it is much easier in Russia; one can pay and do what ever he wants."
"I do not like to speak about the future or about plans, things which do not exist at present moment. But maybe this winter I'll introduce two new street art projects. Rock on! See you!"

Thanks a million, 0331©! For more info, visit his Flickr or website.

May 2009: Moscow

When I was in New Zealand, I met a lot of awesome people, one of these folks being Oliver. Currently, this linguist is teaching English in Moscow. After following my blog for a while, he shot me an e-mail with some photos and stories of his new digs. He writes: 

“I've been living in Moscow for over seven months now. Even though that's longer than Meg has been compiling her blog, I haven't, until now, seen one piece of street art in this city. I did see a wall of tags from a train window as I travelled north out of Moscow in January, but it didn't have any artistic merit that I could discern -- all it did was leave me thinking about how much this tiny, industrial village suffered, like so many others, from Russia's transition from communism to market capitalism. What I found last week was far more up-beat.” 
“The wall depicted in these photos backs onto a long, side-by-side row of garages, which service the oh-so-Russian block of flats that can be seen behind it. In the interests of economy, I've had to reduce the selection of photos to a representative sample, because the wall, covered completely in paint, was enormous. I spotted this wall on the other side of a busy road as two friends and I made our way from the Metro station to the Russian Museum of Palaeontology. Thinking, first, how impressive this wall was, then how unusual it was in this city of pastels and concrete, I insisted on taking photos of them on our way back from the museum.” 
“I don't know much of anything about art. I don't know anything at all about street art. However, this isn't to say that these works don't conjure up some sort impression for me -- that impression being that street-art and graffiti represent another stage in Russia's cycle of ambivalence towards the West.” 
“From at least the time of Peter the Great onwards, Russia has alternated between open interest in the west, and outward rejection of it. (If you’re interested, the novel Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev depicts the ideological conflict between Liberals and so called Slavophiles of the nineteenth century quite nicely).  During the days of the Soviet Union (while street art was developing in the U.S.A.), Russians lived in what was essentially a closed society; before Gorbachev began implementing reforms in the 1980s that would open Russia to the rest of the world once again.” 
“The massive display of street art in these photos -- an art form with its roots firmly planted in America (not to mention the depictions of Western pop-culture) -- implies to me that, on the updraft of perestroika, Russians are once again looking to the West for inspiration. Or, at the very least, the underground art scene is.” 

Thanks, Oliver! Best of luck with the rest of the year! He hopes to travel around Europe this summer, so I'm crossing my fingers that he'll stumble on more street art soon.

2008 and Summer 2007: Moscow and NYC with Loco Fox Army

No cutesy comments from me today. We're skipping the appetizer and heading straight to the main course. Hailing from Moscow, Russia, Loco Fox Army has a lot to say. He writes:

"My name is Loco Fox Army (I also write FearTheRipper). I’m from Moscow, Russia. I got obsessed with illegal graffiti since I first saw a Dirty Hands video in my childhood. For me, writing on illegal walls was and still is a serious source of adrenaline and also the way to get into a duel with the system and win. I’ve never been too interested in writing fonts. What really inspired me the most were characters. I tried to invent a cool character – simple as possible but original, stylish, and vivid. I wanted a character that could be painted around as throw-ups but that also could give me an opportunity for more complex pieces. And, last but not least, I needed a character that could express my own opinions and ideas. So Loco Fox was born."   

"I started writing Loco around 2005-2006, pasting stickers but mostly doing throw-ups. For me, throw-ups are the essence of illegal writing. To stay up, you have to do a lot of them in risky places, be quick, make’em look good, and be ready to come back and repeat because the city buffs everything in a moment. I’m pretty far from thinking about myself as “graffiti writer”, “artist” or any other cool names people like to call themselves. I’m the guy who draws Fox everywhere he goes and tries not to get caught." 

"From an early age, I was deeply involved in DIY hardcore/punk movement, anti-fascist action, and skinhead culture. (I do hope that the readers know that despite the ugly mass-media propaganda, real skinhead culture is strictly anti-racist and actually is a product of black and white unity, based on working class ethics and black music, such as ska and reggae). It’s a well known fact that today Russia has a serious problem with neo-Nazi movement, which is backed up by the authorities. Living in Russia, you can get crippled or killed just for the “wrong” accent or skin color. Neo-Nazi thugs often attack punk rock shows, because they see them as a threat to their sick propaganda. There is a real war going on in the Russian streets today, while the government and puppet mass media do its best to hide the facts." 

"That’s why Loco Fox Army always tries to express strong anti-fascist, anti-authority message and Loco Fox himself often appears as an anti-fascist skinhead. My friend sand I are also involved in a movement called G.W.A.R.P. – Graffiti Writers Against Racial Prejudice." 

"Loco Fox Army tries to support anti-fascist movement and DIY culture by any possible means. For example, in 2006 I was asked to create a cover for an international punk/hardcore compilation called Planet Of Friends. The compilation was a benefit for Alem Assefa, a guy who was beaten into a coma by Neo-Nazis for being black. All the proceeds from the record went to support him and his family. In the summer of 2008, Loco Fox Army created a logo and a flyer design for Courage Fest, the first big open-air anti-fascist hardcore festival in Moscow."  

"Loco Fox Soldiers can be seen not only in Russia and the former Soviet Union. In the summer of 2007, I made a short trip to New York where I tried to hit everything I could reach. My friends from Big Apple say that some of the Loco Fox Soldiers are still up. A short video about this tour can be seen here."  

"My plans for the near future? I'll continue supporting my culture and spitting in the faces of fascist authority. Ultimately, I'll go on a world tour." 

All photos courtesy of Loco Fox Army. For more information, check his MySpace or his new website.

Thanks so much, Loco! And to all my Russian readers, благодарю вас за вашу поддержку! Tomorrow's post is guaranteed to blow your mind, so get ready. (Hint: check your calendars).