Above paintings by Itsthael

Introducing….Vancity Committee…Under above ground…
In kahoots wit her roots, repping the flyish…concious artist…real to the realish… respect due.
Welcome to the view… MRC the might rebels, pimp slappin devils.. on every and all levels…bringing you quality over matter that doesn’t matter… No need for chit chatter… like funky homemade.. banana pancake batter… and all dat… because this sister is all that… like Sly on the synth… now enter the Labrynth ..

MRC INTERVIEWS ITSTHAEL

Q. MRCPROMO: What’s good EL, how are you and what city are your from?
A. EL: Im well thank you, thanks for having me. I’m from Vancouver, Canada aka Vancity, and shes taking me to places unknown.

Q. MRCPROMO: How did you get involved with art and what’s your favorite medium?
A. EL: Truthfully, Art was something I just did when the class was in session. I always enjoyed colors and being crafty but my inspiration or shall I say, motivation was lacking. When I paint, design or draw, I use a variety of mixed media; Acrylics, Oil, Aerosols and Ink. Usually, it all starts off with the basics pencils, pencil crayon, chalk, conte’ or charcol and my favorite, sharpie! Art in general is a practice, and so I enjoy a diverse collage of artful mediums. Self expression is badass!

Q. MRCPROMO: Where do you derive your inspiration from?
A. EL: That is a very heavy question. Lol. Where is there not to become inspired? My whole life has been Art from the get-go! Look around you! Yours too! Ive been blessed to have such incredible senseis who never seize to stop igniting my flame. Aside from school, my parents were heavy into music. My mom loved to dance and my dad liked listening to Beatles. ‘Nuff said? Ha, well, its usually at that moment when I’m listening to a tune and I catch a drift where Ill pick up a pen or pencil and start sketchin out.. and not in that sorta way. Something I was feeling or related to must have triggered me to want to express and just go nuts! Aside from that, if you got the time, its real good therapy, fun thing to do with children or it can help motivate you to see life in different angles.

Q. MRCPROMO: What projects are you currently working on?
A. EL: Whoa, currently my computer is need of some RAM butta,…Lots! Tons and tons of work to be done! Im actually in the midst of hunting down an art and print space. I plan to have an art show that will showcase most things I’ve been working on the past few years but its been a bit hectic having to move from one city to city all while juggling real life sitcheeations. I can never settle I’m thinking the Saturday before Christmas Ill launch a few design concepts that Ive left on the backburner for years. I got a poetry book and a pet line called Cheeba Treats Im releasing in the new year as well! Excited for that!

Q. MRCPROMO: What materials do you often use and why?
A. EL: Pickax, samurai swords and a whole lotta paper with numbers on them. Lol my main form at the moment would be canvas, painting materials; brushes, spray cans aka Aerosols ink and Acrylic. ha ha, My main form of weaponry has gots to be the music tho- its all in the Music. Time flies by when ur lost in your art! Often, I find myself crafting outta nowhere with whatever I have around me.. string paperclips, beads..Its all about being a Mcgyver.

Q. MRCPROMO: What was the last exhibition you went to?
A. EL: Humm, I just went to the doctors office and asked myself, “where the hell I was?” I swear I caught myself walking the perimeter reading artists name and looking at their pictures. It was nice. Seriously though, Vancouver has constant art shows and battles in Vancouver. I recently went to a show at Vancity’s Fortune Sound Club, Calabash Bistro and another at EastVans Rong Shop- Shop Wrong.

Q. MRCPROMO: How do you come up with the pricing for your pieces?
A. EL: I usually like to factor in my materials used, size, and then time I’ve invested. A lot of my work has been mostly about getting out there and finding out what people value. Im still just starting out so all prices are negotiable however, some pieces go for no less than a $500. When I tried my hand at photography, it seemed a lot easier but I couldn’t get my contrast and lighting right. So, because it takes a lot longer I feel those who value the art will be willing to pay.

Q. MRCPROMO: Where can we purchase your work?
A. EL: I have a a FB Artist page and a few things on ArtPal. Im not really pushing too much on Social media as there’s lots to be updated. I also have a tumblr page under #itsthael which I use for photos, Most time its in person and at shows. My website is being created as we speak.

Q. MRCPROMO: Any shows or exhibits coming up? Where can we see more of your work?
A. EL: I am having an art collab with a few other friends at Shop Wrong in Vancouver. I had to fight them to get their attention but they eventually welcomed me well with open arms! They are good peoples and always about helping the community and getting to know the people. Thats going to happen a week before Christmas. After that there’s not looking back!

Q. MRCPROMO: What’s been your greatest artistic success?
A. EL: Its actually been quiet difficult to find success as I feel I can be pretty hard on myself. Especially doin it all on my lonely. Realizing that, I understand that for the most part its because Im talented. Painting is only one of the many ways we as humans can chose to express ourselves, communicate and showcase whats going on inside and round us but we all got other tricks up our sleeves, all in due timing.

Q. MRCPROMO: Last words or shouts?
A. EL: Huge Shouts to Vancity for allowing my family to lay its roots in the city. My bredren and sistahs in the hood that came before me. Eastvan Smokes aka Urban City apparel, FWUH aka Dipt, the best radio show back in the day, 102.7 co-op radio with Maximus Clean and Angel, Rascalz, Swollen, Moka O, Vancity Nightclubs, Fortune, EastVan Moving, Archivest, Everybody in them Private school crew, St Pattys, ND, VC and More, my City Planners, whether good or bad, I loved them all. Respect!

ARTIST CONTACT INFORMATION:
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INTERVIEW: MRC Promotions
EDITOR: La Mont Reed
IMAGE: Itsthael

MRC INTERVIEWS IGNITE DESIGNS

Q. MRCPROMO: Peace Ignite Designs, thanks for taking the time for the interview. Can you tell us about your background? Where are you from?
A.IGNITE: I was born and raised in The South Bronx. I grew up in Patterson projects on 142nd and 3rd Ave.

Q. MRCPROMO: How long have you been in graphic design and illustration?
A. IGNITE: I’ve been drawing since the age of nine, I started graphic design in 2006 in an art program at Bronx Community College. I wanted to learn animation to bring my characters to life.

Q. MRCPROMO: How has your style developed since you first started?
A. IGNITE: My style has developed into a professional format since I took those classes back in 2006. I always had skill but my professor’s taught me how to clean up my style and make it stand out. I still do hand drawings but now I improve the imperfections with digital graphics on certain pieces.

Q. MRCPROMO: Can you walk us through your creative process from beginning to end? How does your artwork go from an idea to final image?
A. IGNITE: My creative process is simple, I find inspiration through music and situations I see people go through. I’ll play my favorite hip hop artist and what ever mood the song puts me in brings images and ideas to my mind. I start with a sketch keeping in mind the message I want to send, to see if my hand can copy what my mind has in it’s vision. Then I build on top of the sketch layer by layer improving line and curves with an ink pen to it’s perfection or close as possible. When Im satisfied with the inked drawing I color the picture to bring it to life. Depending on the situation I might bring the picture into a digital art program and clean up some more. I like to color my art work, colors is what draws people’s eyes to the image. Then I frame it and show it the world.

Q. MRCPROMO: What are your favorite tools of the trade?
A. IGNITE: Alor of artist use special expensive tools to get their art work done. I use a regular #2 pencil and a ball point pen for the begining process. Depending on how I feel I might use markers or color pencils. When working on large canvases I’ll use spray paint and markers to create the art work.

Q. MRCPROMO: What or who inspires you to create artwork.. is there someone you look up too for inspiration?
A. IGNITE: When I was little my moms took me on the six train to go down town. In the 80′s all the trains had graffiti on it, murals and tags. I remember one of those trains had smurfette painted on the side of it. That inspired me to draw, watching that train role in the station with cartoons on it was amazing. You can say comic books and Bronx graffiti is what started me drawing. When the trains became clean and all those writers hit the streets in the 90′s it kept me at it. Even to this day the murals that FX crew and TATS crew do are inspiration for me. Both crews helped me to increase my style, I would stand in front of their walls for hours and just stare and learn. That was before college.

Q. MRCPROMO: Recently you released a comic book can you tell us about that project, and where can we purchased it? Will there be a follow up?
A. IGNITE: My comic book is called Determination, its about a graffiti writer who is strictly out for fame until the troubles of his life causes him to become a super hero. He wears a gas mask to hide his identity and a book bag full of graffiti tools to put fourth his message while he fight injustice. You can find my comic book on lulu.com , just type Determination by Tori Harris. Im working on book two now which should be released March 2016. Yall should check for that.

Q. MRCPROMO: Any other works you’ve released in the past or published we should know about?
A. IGNITE: I did an album cover for Circa 95 Reph Star and Patty Dukes for a song called Black Suit it on their free lunch album. I just put out a t- shirt this past summer with my logo on it. That logo is actually the gas mask on my comic book character. Which was to tie the comic book and t- shirt together.

Q. MRCPROMO: Any advice you could give someone starting out in Illustration? What are some requirements they should know about?
A. IGNITE: My advice is stay focused, write down all your goals and then accomplish them one at a time. Put yourself in a position where you can do what you love and get paid for it, but keep God first work hard and stay consistent. In order to chop down a tree in takes several hits with an axe the tree don’t fall on the first hit.

Q. MRCPROMO: Shouts or last words?
A. IGNITE: I would like to give a shout to my wife “Feenix Flames“, she’s a poet from The Bronx and my daughters “Beautiful Gift” check out their Youtube channels.

ARTIST CONTACT INFORMATION:
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INTERVIEW: MRC Promotions
EDITOR: La Mont Reed
IMAGE: Ignite Designs

MRC INTERVIEWS ASKEM

Q. MRCPROMO: Big Up Askem, what city you from?
A. ASKEM: I’m from London, England.

Q. MRCPROMO: How long have you been creating these images? School or self taught??
A. ASKEM: Self taught artist, I began about 5 years ago ..

Q. MRCPROMO: How would you describe your style?
A. ASKEM: Art you can hear..

Q. MRCPROMO: What is your favorite medium?
A. ASKEM: Water color.

Q. MRCPROMO: What inspires you and how do you come up with your ideas?
A. ASKEM: Hip Hop is my main inspiration and I draw ideas from what hip hop has and continues to give me.

Q. MRCPROMO: What do you want to communicate with your art?
A. ASKEM: The essence of hip hop, to inspire, entertain and involve others,raise social awareness and issues with race.

Q. MRCPROMO: What are you currently working on?
A. ASKEM: A new Public Enemy piece.

Q. MRCPROMO: You paint a lot of hip hop artists, who’s your all time favorite MC or Producer?
A. ASKEM: Chuck D ..

Q. MRCPROMO: Where can fans purchase your pieces? Any upcoming shows or galleries?
A. ASKEM: Via www.a5kem.com, upcoming exhibit at 40 years of Hip Hop Festival in Pittsburgh Pa. July 31st-Aug 1st.

Q. MRCPROMO: Any last words you want to share with our readers?
A. ASKEM: Endeavor to inspire at all times, the future belongs to our children.

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INTERVIEW: MRC PROMO
EDITOR: Mike-Lee
IMAGE: ASKEM

Jakuan of 360 Toy Group figure customized by P.H.A.S.E. 2

NOSFERATU BY P.H.A.S.E. 2 MRC EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Q. MRCPROMO: What is Nosferatu?
A. PHASE2: Actually with P its a vampire..big up to Lon Chaney senior the man of a
thousand faces…but in this case with an F.. Its a vinyl figure of a character of Futura 2000.
This particular model was sculpted by the daddy of the urban vinyl movement…
Jakuan 360 of 360 toy group.

Q. MRCPROMO: How do you come up with the ideas for customization?
A. PHASE2: Well first off lve always liked Fu’s characters..Generally when l get
ideas or imagine something creative l have the urge to move on it. Its
spontaneous. From outer limits.

Q. MRCPROMO: How many have you customized?
A. PHASE2: A handfull… I make them as the spark flies.

Q. MRCPROMO: Where can you purchase these figures?
A. PHASE2: Toy Tokyo in NYC or well you guys have them now so l guess people should hit you up!!

Q. MRCPROMO: Are there any other figures your working on?
A. PHASE2: A few thangs. Time will tell if and when they hit the market at large.

Q. MRCPROMO: How can someone contact you for your works?
A. PHASE2: [email protected]

Q. MRCPROMO: Any notes to be emphasized?
A. PHASE2: Sure why not ..Yo Agitate non believers and posers…? Facts on Aerosol history.. The Subway and Writing Culture is a culture and became a movement as a result of what started in NYC!!! Funk what you heard. NY writers from NEW YORK supporting whoever from wherever else and otherwise are faking funk and whoever else is on that route have got it twisted like a Twizzler!! Yeah battle rocking/up rocking started in the Bronx with P. 2 & electrified movement long before anyone currently telling the history was even dancing or on the scene! I’ve said it for years… HERCULORDS ROCK ON!! .. GREGORY DISCO WIZ…SISCO KID THE ORIGINAL COLDCRUSH BRO & ANTHONY CLARK A#1 ROCK ON!! SASA!!!
WE DON’T FAKE FUNK WE MAKE FUNK….

ARTIST CONTACT INFORMATION:
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INTERVIEW: MRC Promotions
EDITOR: Mike-Lee
IMAGE: Nosferatu By P.H.A.S.E. 2

Here in part 2 of this 2 part series P.H.A.S.E. 2 takes time to explain some of the myths and misconceptions represented in popular B-boy / B-girl culture today: These are the facts… Graffiti is some social term that was developed (for the culture) somewhere in the 70s. (IZ THE WIZ)

Writing is indeed a movement. Throughout most of its existence many writers’ signatures have possessed qualities and characteristics unto itself and not conforming to the “basic way” of writing. This has been accompanied with the masterpiece, the mastering of spray paint the ongoing creation of style, and evolution of the letter. All of the aforementioned, even without, but surely with the expansion of the cultures’ curriculum beyond writing, ascends it above the descriptions stated within the confines of the commonly used reference.

Writing: Technically it begins with the signature and proceeds with the masterpiece. Both have their stages of metamorphosis. Then there is the throw up. The signature and masterpiece would be considered writing’s main or major components. The masterpiece is the dominant of the two forms. Far from science or theory, they are its makeup and primary elements.

Writing is centered on names, words and letters. Combined with the objective of their execution, this creates the product and the overall makeup of the writer. Writers agree without a doubt, that there is an attitude and commitment within the soul that accompanies being a true writer (as well as being true to the culture) that one’s volume of work, brandishing a can of paint, or going through the motions can in no way replace.

One’s use of spray paint is not an automatic right of passage into the ranks of writing. In the aerosol domain a writer would be one whose main function is painting signatures or rendering pieces of any style, simple or complex. Aside from those ever so important redeeming qualities, an individual’s concentration in those aforementioned areas would still account for their being known or labeled as a writer.

Let us again clarify the total spectrum of our subject matter, “Writing,” (signatures, pieces – complex, intricate and other style lettering and throw ups). Apparently aerosol writing is a derivative of the alphabet; but the instance of its evolution and transformation weighed in its entirety exceeds the limited curriculum of the alphabet. Undoubtedly the user of the aerosol can is an integral part of the culture that must also be recognized. Outside of writing the culture has extended itself and now consists of other forms connected to, as well as removed from its original format (writing) and this too must be recognized. The appropriate terminology that describes this atmosphere in relation to all of the aspects within it’s “Aerosol Culture” i.e.:

“I am a bomber, strictly throw ups … quantity” … “I do a lot of animation … B’Boy style characters” … “Hard-core … totally into crazy letters” … “I hit all over … with signatures” … “You name it, abstract, surreal, fantasy scenes” … etc.

Based on one’s perception of what art is, all of the ingredients within Aerosol culture can be “classified” as art or “AEROSOL ART.”

ARTIST CONTACT INFO:
Website | BNR Article

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ARTICLE: P.H.A.S.E. 2
EDITOR: Noiseman
IMAGE: P.H.A.S.E. 2

* Graffiti pl. (from Italian graffiare, “to scratch”)
1. A scribbling on an ancient wall, as in Pompeii
2. A drawing or writing scratched on a wall or other surface

The Break Down: Let us focus on the word “graffiti,” a term commonly used in reference to “Aerosol Culture” the multifaceted movement which evolves around the use of the aerosol paint can.. and to “writing’ (one of its many aspects as well as the source from which Aerosol Culture originated). Undoubtedly, from the very beginning and quite officially, writers referred to themselves as “writers” and what they did as “writing,” for the simple fact that this is what they did. In their own unique way, they continually reinterpreted the English language to their liking as they saw fit. This terminology was complimentary to their lingo to accentuate it, and was sufficient and in tune with their acknowledgement of it as “an everyday activity.” Thus all was null and void of any urgency of “further appropriation.”

Writers have always defined themselves by and through that which they expressed, henceforth, the notion to appropriate and create a “verbal atmosphere” to describe the activities in and around it (bombing, racking, biting, piecing, hitting, etc.) as well as letter styles (softie, hump, mechanical, bar, soft bar, etc.), has been a common “practice” throughout its 25 plus years. It was afterwards that newspaper articles surfaced referring to their writing as “graffiti,” that the terminology latched itself onto the culture as the appropriation for it, as well as stigmatizing it into an abominable controversy.

This has always been a case of the powers that be, more concerned with denouncing and attempting to obliterate something before they even attempt to understand or relate to it in any way shape or form. Their initial recourse was to take a negative approach towards it. How could they appropriate it having never cared about it to begin with? I find it ironic that people today, especially those involved in the culture refuse to recognize the magnitude of what’s taken place and what has been created by the existence of writing and this subculture.

This wasn’t like an invention or something that you painstakingly take an initiative to label or assimilate. In any event it happened naturally and instinctively. The real problem from the start is that, every time the media introduces rhetoric to the public at large, we eat it up like free chicken and buttered biscuits. It seems as if it’s not “popular” to dismiss it, they’ll just continue to abide by it. What we need to respect and wholly understand is that this is our creation, our child, our responsibility, and not someone else’s. Whatever good it’s prednisone got coming to it, or however it should be represented or appropriated, it isn’t going to happen, if technically it’s left up to the same people who have a legacy in the practice of lying in general and relating to circumstances less associated with them and their interests, with a lot less concern or compassion for it. You’ve got to be totally out of your mind if you think even for a second that it will.

ARTIST CONTACT INFO:
Website | BNR Article

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ARTICLE: P.H.A.S.E. 2
EDITOR: La Mont Reed
IMAGE: P.H.A.S.E. 2 ART

About The Artist: From New York City, the artist known as P.H.A.S.E. 2. is a first-generation writer with roots in the subway art movement and the larger hip hop culture that developed in the Bronx in the 1970s. He pioneered the “softie” bubble letter in 1972, which made up the earliest subway masterpieces, and provided the foundation for many other letter styles introducing arrows, curls, twists and other connections. As an innovator of what he calls “wild lettering,” P.H.A.S.E. 2 was prolific on the New York trains. He was also an important cultural connector, and he designed many of the flyers for the early hip-hop events that brought together the top DJs, MCs, breakers and aerosol artists from the South Bronx.

Before becoming a writer, P.H.A.S.E. 2 was also an early b-boy or innovator of “breaking,” which he describes as a freestyle movement that took dance beyond the norm. He feels a heartfelt connection to Asiatic culture and has a love for martial arts, its physical dynamic, spirituality and discipline, as portrayed in the choreography of nizagara the kung fu movies that were popular among young African Americans and Latinos in the 1970s. “Martial arts movies came on TV every Saturday in the ’70s and ’80s—you got a good dose of them through kung fu theater and VHS tapes,” P.H.A.S.E. 2 recalls. “In a certain respect it was part of us through our embracement of movies like Five Fingers of Death and Bruce Lee’s movies as well, like his character Kato in The Green Hornet.”

P.H.A.S.E. 2 has always drawn, and he remembers portraits were some of the first serious drawings he got into. For the Wynwood Doors in 2010, he used markers to paint kung fu stars from the 1970s. “It was my symbolic and due homage to the art and the movies,” he says. Among the figures we see are the faces of Angela Mao, who was the first great female action star in Hong Kong films, Gordon Lui, Ti Lung and Sammo Hung. In contemplating, finally, the tribal warrior sculptures of the artist’s design, we may discover themes of inner strength and self-discovery in his work.

Source – The Wynwood Walls

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ARTICLE: The Wynwood Walls
EDITOR: Noiseman
IMAGE: P.H.A.S.E. 2