VENTS 137
Hi, I go by the name vents137, I’ve been writing for 24 years. Trying to narrow down a few of my favourite writers is an impossible task, and it would be all too easy to reel off a list of New York classics from the 70s and 80s, who will always be the mainstay foundation for what I’d personally call the best graffiti. I’m conscious to not look too much at contemporary illustrators for my drawing work as I want to keep it a derivative of the original cartoonists and animators of the 60s and 70s, and not be too influenced by current trends. But that’sdefinitely harder with graffiti and I’m hyped on looking at all the wild stuff that’s getting painted now.
I got in to Graff through skateboarding and I think the way I look at painting is similar to how I looked as skating back then. Watching vids of dudes skate 20 stair rails with mad tech tricks was cool and all but the simple raw street cruising bits was what actually got memotivated. For me a writer who takes that simple smooth flow and gives it a unique moderntwist are where it’s at and these guys, who are in no particular order, have all the bases covered and simply ooze funk.
Sigma
What can I say, this guys does it all, the cartoon funk, the loose 70s flow, the playful mix of illustration, characters and a little bit of ‘carefully
considered’ anti style. All mashed together and all too often found emblazoned across a whole car!
Heis
Let’s face it Heis is a letter master and style don. Every inch of his work is precision perfect, colour selection is unfathomable and steeped in classic structure and yet looks so effortless. The sort of writer that just makes you feel like you’re a toy every time you see their work because the levels are so high!
Aster
I don’t know many of my friends who wouldn’t put aster on their top 10 list! I’m pretty sure if you Google ‘funk’ you’ll just get a selection of his pieces!
Characters, colours, bubbles and flow, everything sewn up and with a work rate that will make you feel dizzy!
Faipe
What is it, it’s wild style?! Faipe is that NY stalwart, the epitome of classic graffiti with a psychedelic overtone. Every piece is a treat for the eyes with wild colour combo’s interspersed with rock and roll characters and the most solid letters you’ll find. Oh and they’re always in the freshest spots!
Mike
You know what there’s not much I can say about Mike’s work that any photo of it from a tag to a whole car can’t tell you. He’s a train monster and as hardcore as it gets in every aspect, with the scars, story and life lessons to back it up. I couldn’t even contemplate a mile in his shoes, but everything I see fills me with positivity and makes me enthused to keep walking my own journey in this Graff game.
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Check out the artists mentioned in this feature
#1 SIGMA @space_odyssey_2001
#2 HEIS @heis_one
#3 ASTER @drunkykong_fmk
#4 FAIPE @f_creeeps
#5 MIKE @lifetoy