How does the German graffiti community stack up against heavyweights like New York, Melbourne, and LA?
My friend Adrian Nabi, who runs BackJumps Magazine, has put on one of the best urban street culture exhibitions annually for the past three years. There is a lot going on, especially in Berlin. We have world standard graffiti-style writers. Classically trained, but really pushing the borders in this field. The government, as far as I know, is not as tough on graffiti as it is in the States, but is also not very helpful. What graphic designers, graffiti artists, and comic book artists have influenced you? There are too many to count. Also, I get inspiration from day-to-day situations, ancient religious art, the Dada and Modernist movements, and Pop art. But all-time classics are M.C. Escher, Paul Rand, Herb Lubalin, Dondi White, Mike Mignola, Will Eisner, George Herriman, Walt Kelly, Chris Ware, and Basil Wolverton. Unreached are also Terry Gilliam’s Monty Python animations and Heinz Edelmann’s art direction for the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine. Is blue your favorite color? I do not really
