Tagging

Peter, Davina and I signed up for a Graffiti Class at Crib KL. I really wanted to go because I've always like graffiti. It's an art form that I really love looking at and can't help but admire the amount of talent and work that goes into each piece. So, this was a perfect opportunity to learn something about graffiti.

The two people we had teaching us was Ian and Mun (Ian a.k.a Turf and Mun a.k.a Kos [as in K-OS: as in Chaos]).

Anyways, they were both really nice and they taught us a lot about the history of graffiti. It's relatively new, starting back in the 1960's. It started off in the US and soon expanded to all over the world. One really great  artist I've heard of is Banksy. He's done some really thought provoking stuff.

Anyways, they got us to start off by coming up with our own tag. Basically, it's a name/signature. For example, Mun's tag would be "Kos". So when paints, he'd tag his stuff with that, basically signing his piece. We had to first pick a name and then start off by writing it down. Then, we were suppose to develop it. Play around with the words, stretch them, tweak them, add stuff to them, and do whatever else to make them look unique. The best part is that your tag doesn't have to be legible to anyone but yourself.

Of course, Pete was in his element. All this sketching and creativity with a pencil thing. Dav and I were like fish out of water. We both started off just writing our names on the paper (because what else could we do, right!?). After a while, with Mun giving a few tips here and there, we both came up with tags that we were happy with:)

For the next part, they divided us into 4 groups and asked us to design a piece for Crib KL. They wanted us to come up with a piece for the word CRIB. We sat outside, in the garden; each of us working on one alphabet. My group wasn't too bad. Our words looked really good on their own but when it was put together, they still looked good but didn't necessarily flow well together. But still ok la.

Mun then showed us how to use the spray cans. He taught us about shadowing and outlining. Filling it and flaring. It was very exciting. After Mun was done teaching, we proceeded to paint our design onto their walls. It was really fun. Davina's group had this triangular house thing going on and Pete's group was inspired by PacMan. The other group was really good too. I think theirs looked like a really graffiti piece compared to all the others.

Davina's group (left) and Pete's group. And next to Pete's group, Peter proceeded to add his tag (the one in purple)

The really nice one (left) and my group. Mun did the 'Q' when he was teaching us. Also, if you look closely, you can see my tag in between my group's piece and Mun's Q, just above the tiny arch.

Anyways, I did the R. I think it looks really ugly but I am proud of it. I'm sure you can see that my groups piece is the worst. No flow, messy and no real idea. And I still like it!

I had tonnes of fun. It's pretty difficult to create art and even more so to do it on walls. My respect and awe for graffiti artists only deepened with this class.

Ok. Done :)
I'm gonna leave you with this piece right here. I have no idea who did it but I think it looks amazing. I can't even draw a face this well with a pencil but these folks can do it with spray cans. Respect.

If you want to go for something like this, check out the CultureRun website. They have tonnes of other classes and workshops you can go for. It's perfect.