The word concrete is well known in graffiti world as one of building materials. However, in East Europe, which is our area, Concrete means something more. Concrete is an East Europe Graffiti Magazine from Poland, that nice country next to us (Czech Republic). Following is an interview with one of the creators of this magazine.
Interview is supported by QUEENS.cz
A simple question to get us started - what does Concrete Magazine mean to you?
I feel like it’s my baby, a kid who could be 11 years old now.
The market these days, at least for us, is supersaturated with thousands of graffiti fan pages, instagram profiles and other blogs, does it make any sense to publish a paper magazine? Do you feel the influence of the net?
Yes that’s true, everybody likes the free things that the Internet offers us and the quick graff updates from all over the world. At the same time it loses the exclusivity that our magazine gives, we are trying to present the stuff that hasn’t been shown anywhere before, we select the very best stuff from those regions of Europe that are not so well explored.
We make reports from places where graffiti is just being born or starts developing. This is what differs us from most of the magazines and Internet blogs. I think that our readers feel that the magazine is special and they wait the whole year to see our next issue. For sure the Internet wins with paper, it’s the end for traditional magazines with not many pages that show us things that are available for free with the use of web browsers.
Tell us something about the history of this magazine, after all 12 issues is not a small number, it seems it’s been around for years.
I started the magazine in 2005, it was the period where most of the magazines from Poland or Eastern countries were dead. Mags like Uwaga, Brain Damage or The Terrorist quit and there were only very few foreign titles like Xplcit or Bomber which showed some stuff from our countries but they didn’t offer too many pages.
We went on first trips to Ukraine, Russia, Belarus. We saw new, fresh, developing scenes and I wanted to connect the whole East Europe with one magazine. When you travel through this region, you can feel almost the same vibe, most people are friendlier but at the same time poorer. It definitely differs from the clean and sterile Western countries. There are also fewer problems with the police and the buff. So I wrote to all the guys who we had met during our tours and that’s how the 1st issue was born.
Of course, there’s another question connected with history- how do you see the evolution of graffiti culture from the first release of Concrete Magazine up until now?
I see that graffiti is still the same game, but for example, in our country (Czech Republic), a lot of graffiti writers have become artists, and they have exhibitions in galleries all around the world.
Our magazine shows mostly the illegal form of graffiti, 90 % trains. This is what real graffiti is to me. Of course some people grow up, they start their careers in galleries or just paint legal walls. This is fine as long as they still do it with passion. We just show what the core of graffiti is and that there is no point in mixing all other things… Besides that we have a limited number of pages…
Are you involved in graffiti culture in the same way as the creators of this magazine,?
Yes, I think without that we could never convince so many people to help us and send us their photos.
Have you ever had any problems with authorities concerning the magazine? Asking where you get the pictures from, or trying to ban this mag?
Not yet. Our magazine is legal and registered, we just show the stuff that is sent anonymously.
The magazine is East Europe graffiti oriented, can you tell us something about your point of view on history - East block and West block and after the fall of the iron curtain?
The Eastern countries were isolated for many years and since the end of communism era and the fall of Berlin wall we have been trying to catch up with the Western world. The East is still hungry and we develop fast.
What about graffiti vs. street art thing, do you care?
Its the same as skateboarding vs. roller-skating. No comments.
Of course, some questions about lifestyle - your favorite brands, shoes etc:
Fashion - I’m not into it very much. I used to have a Carhartt store a few years ago but that’s past. Right now I don’t care too much about such things.
Food - all nice street food that you can find in many countries
Spray cans - what is avalaible
Alcohol - (Poland is famous for vodka) - I preffer local beers.
Any plans for the future? Maybe Concrete spraycans, Concrete wear?
No big plans, we are not a big company that has got plans for next years. We will see what the future brings.
Some message for the end:
Peace to all the guys who are supporting us with their photos, without you Concrete magazine wouldn’t be what it is now.
Jonni Cheatwood’s work is often in the form of geometric abstraction, but his recent series entitled Grace displays his unique take on self portraits. By pouring brightly coloured acrylic paint down a black and white image of himself he’s created a rather striking set of abstract images that maintain his anonymity.
Artists: | Website | Blog | Tumblr | [via: Acidolatte]
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