一个街头艺术家的故事

Grace一直觉得街头涂鸦难登大雅之堂，有时甚至认为它们影响市容，只是叛逆少年和小混混用来宣泄内心不满的产物。然而，本文的主人公让我看到了街头艺术家的另一面。

24岁的英国小伙子Eightball和大家熟悉的典型涂鸦艺术家不同。他不仅在伦敦东部的街道上作画以供大众欣赏，还建立了一个网站宣传这种艺术形式。下面他将告诉我们他是怎样在街头开始其艺术生涯的。

Starting out

I started doing graffiti[涂鸦] at a really young age; I think I was about 12 or 13. I really liked the idea of drawing on walls it’s a great form of expression, so I started doing small bits of graffiti on the walls around my neighbourhood with a small black spray can[喷雾器]. At first I enjoyed drawing little characters and portraits of myself that conveyed[传达] different emotions. I tried to reflect the emotions people feel during war or through suffering, and I liked to use colour to emphasize[强调] this.

As I got older, I started meeting more graffiti artists who taught me lots of different techniques. We didn’t just doodle[乱画] or tag[加标签于] every wall and park bench we came across. We treated them all like a blank canvas and tried to create something that would make people stop and look at it like it was any other piece of art.

Getting Graffiti Inspiration

I get inspiration for my graffiti from everyday life, people, music and artists. If I see something that I like, something that I hate, or something that interests me, I’ll

graffiti about it. I love the work of Picasso, Ron English注1 and Simon Bisley注2. These artists got me interested in painting and drawing because of their unique styles, so I try to emulate[努力赶上] what they did in a more modern style on the streets for everyone to see. I don’t think art should be confined[限制] to galleries and exhibitions. Art should be everywhere you look and that is what I’m trying to promote. The graffiti artist Mode 2 is, to me, the originator[创作者] of great style and characters.

I love graffiti because it’s open to everybody, not just the elite[精英] scene you don’t have to be rich or educated. Anybody can admire a detailed colourful piece of graffiti. Graffiti is all about expression and it’s free for all to see. I started my website because I wanted to make my work accessible[能接近的] to more people. Not everyone will be able to find my work on the streets, so I wanted a portal[入口，大门] that people could use to see what I’m about and what I’m doing. It was pretty easy to set up and has gone down really well.

Bringing Artists Together

A lot of positive[积极的] things come out of graffiti. I’ve been involved in many projects locally that promote awareness of graffiti in the community. These projects have brought lots of different people and cultures together to create incredible[难以置信的] art. I think a lot more people should be educated about the art form. If people understood what we’re about and what we’re trying to do perhaps they’d appreciate it more. Defining art all depends on the individual. Some people may get involved in the illegal[违法的] stuff and some may not, but that doesn’t mean that you should demonise[使成为魔鬼] the whole art form.

Advice to Aspiring[有抱负的] Artists

Like most forms of art, it’s always important to study the origins of what you do. You can learn a lot from the early pioneers of graffiti as well as the older graffiti artists who are on the streets. If you see a piece of graffiti you like then find out who made it, track them down and speak to them. A lot of older artists take on trainees and teach younger artists their style. This is probably the best way to get into it and improve your skills.

Graffiti and the Law

I’ve had a few run-ins[（尤指与警方、官方机构的）争执] with the law but nothing too serious. This is the problem with the laws around graffiti; it’s so difficult to actually get your art across when there are so many barriers stopping people. There’s so much talent out there and I feel like it’s being held back by the powers that be[掌权者].

In five years’ time I would hope that graffiti is more accessible to young people. It’s quite hard to get involved in it at the moment without breaking the law. I’d like to see workshops being held in community centres and more open walls where artists can create their own worlds. Artists like Banksy are definitely making the art form extremely popular, and I think this will help to get younger people involved.

结下渊源

很小的时候我就开始玩涂鸦了；我想大约是12、13岁吧。我很喜欢在墙上画画――这是一种很棒的自我表达方式，于是我开始用一小罐黑色喷漆在所住街区的墙上做点涂鸦。一开始，我喜欢画一些可以表达不同感情的小人物和自画像。我想反映处于战争或痛苦中的人的感受，并喜欢用色彩加以强调。

年纪渐长以后，我慢慢认识了更多涂鸦艺术家，他们教会我很多不同的技巧。我们并不是一看到墙壁或公园长椅就会在上面涂涂画画，留下印记，而是把它们当作空白的画布，想在上面创作一些能让人驻足欣赏的作品，就像其它艺术品一样。

获取灵感

我的涂鸦灵感来自日常生活、周围的人、音乐以及艺术家。当我看到自己喜欢、憎恶或感兴趣的事物，我就会把它涂鸦下来。我喜欢毕加索、罗恩・英格利希和西蒙・比斯利的作品。这些艺术家风格各异，激发起我对绘画的兴趣，所以我也想以一种更现代的风格赶超他们，在街头向每个人展现。我认为艺术不应该被局限于画廊或展览上，而应该是目之所及，无处不在。这也是我正在努力推广的一点。在我看来，涂鸦艺术家Mode 2就是这样一位创造出绝妙风格和人物的画家。

我喜欢涂鸦是因为它对每个人开放，而不是仅限于精英赏玩――你不必腰缠万贯或学富五车才能欣赏涂鸦艺术。任何人都能欣赏一幅细致的彩色涂鸦。涂鸦完全在于表达，而且任何人都能免费观看。我创建网站就是为了让更多人看到我的作品。不是每个人都能在街上看到我的作品，所以我想建一个网站，让人们看到我的想法和正在做的事情。建立个人网站很容易，至今运作很顺利。

艺术家的聚会

涂鸦带来了很多积极的结果。我参与了本地很多宣传社区涂鸦意识的活动。这些活动让许多不同的人、不同的文化走到一起，创作出令人惊叹的艺术。我认为应该让更多的人了解有关这种艺术形式的知识。如果人们能够理解我们所做的事情以及目的，或许他们就更能欣赏这种艺术了。艺术的定义完全在于个人。有些人可能会卷入非法的事情，有些人不会，但这不意味着你应该将整个艺术形式妖魔化。

致有志者

正如大多数艺术形式一样，了解你所从事的事业的起源非常重要。从早期涂鸦先锋以及街头涂鸦艺术家前辈那里，你都能获益匪浅。当看到一幅喜欢的涂鸦作品时，打探一下作者是谁，顺藤摸瓜找到他们，跟他们聊聊。许多老一辈艺术家都会收徒弟，把他们的创作风格传授给年青一辈的艺术家。这或许正是投身这种艺术、提高技巧的最佳方法。

涂鸦与法律之间

我曾有几次碰上法律方面的问题，但都不算太严重。涂鸦受法律的约束，这是一个问题；当存在着这么多障碍时，你的艺术就难以被人们真正接受。有创作天赋者大有人在，但我感到他们由于当局的限制而不能充分投入这种艺术。

我希望五年后能有更多的年轻人接触到涂鸦艺术。就目前而言，参与这种活动而又不违法相当困难。我希望看到社区中心能够开办涂鸦工作室，有更多开放墙壁供艺术家们描绘他们自己的世界。诸如班克西等艺术家使这种艺术形式越来越受欢迎，我想这会让更多年轻人加入到涂鸦队伍中来。

注1：罗恩・英格利希是美国当代流行艺术家，作品多为广告和商标设计。

注2：西蒙・比斯利是英国漫画家。