ecb aus Koblenz weilt zur Zeit in den Staaten und hat wie bereits zur letzten Visite in der Mutterstadt ordentlich beeindruckt. Robotskillwill hat ecb in New York einige Fragen zum gestellt und dieses Interview geführt. (engl)
Over his 20+ years as a graffiti artist, Germany’s ECB has done it all: traveled the world, painted with some of the today’s best living artists, published the book Straight Lines (Gingko Press, June of 2004), and has established a strong international career in the gallery world. Yet when you meet him there is none of the bravado often seen in artists with only a modicum of his success – just a very humble guy with a love for painting…and New York pizza. Yesterday, after a long day of painting in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, he was kind enough to sit down and answer a few questions for The Street Spot:
TSS: Can you share a little about your background: where you’re from, how long you’ve been painting, and what kind of formal training (if any) you have had.
ECB: Hendrik “ecb” Beikirch from Koblenz, Germany. Started spray painting back in 1989, went to University for Art but left before I finished. Anyhow, I would say my background is classical graffiti writing, even though it might not be really visible in my work today. Art wise graffiti taught me the most, far more than any school or University could ever do.
TSS: Do you feel that there is much of a difference between painting in Europe vs here in the states? How have your experiences differed?
ECB: In terms of the tools there is hardly any difference nowadays as you can get all the supplies we got back home over here as well. Over here people would show their emotions more than they would do back home. So if someone likes what you are doing he will let you know. This direct feedback is what makes working in public space interesting to me.
Photos: Molotow, Robotskillwill, ecb
