MONTANA-CANS LOOKBOOK 2020

020

EDITION # 05

MONTANA-CANS LOOKBOOK

WWW.MONTANA-CANS.COM

#MontanaCans #GermanSpraypaint


MONTANA-CANS ULTRAWIDE #GAMECHANGER

photography by edward nightingale

photography by edward nightingale

MONTANA-CANS ULTRAWIDE #GAMECHANGER

MONTANA-CANS #Germanspraypaint


MONTANA

CANS

LOOKBOOK

2020

Self-reflection is a healthy habit for anyone,

but for creators to grow and develop,

it is essential. Montana-Cans as a commercial

entity that is intertwined in the

culture of creation knows that it is also an

obligation to reflect. The principals of

passion, commitment, and integrity that we

hold paramount are these days also shared

by the graffiti writers, artists, creators,

commercial and cultural partners, that we

love to work with.

The 2020 Montana-Cans LOOKBOOK,

which is the fifth of its kind, gives thanks

and pays tribute to yet another eventful

and productive year. We continued the ma -

gical path we created through the Montana

BLACK Artist Edition cans which celebrate

our love for international Graffiti Writing.

This year we featured the work of the com -

plex Hamburg artist, RAGE. A true innovator

at the top of his game who re-invented

the facade of the can that is also at

the top of its game. In an interview with

RAGE, we learn a little more about what

makes him tick and how he got to where

he is. Moving a little further south, the

next in line was Spanish artist, DEMSKY.

Nothing pleased us more than seeing

the success and prosperity of our partners

and supported artists. A tip of the hat

goes to the continuing strengthening of

our favorite Austrian partners, The Montana

Store Vienna. With a full range of Montana

products in store, day in- day out, the inhouse

gallery space served as a showcase

for many of the internationally renowned

artists we partner with, while also functioning

as a meeting place and national

platform for the creative culture of Vienna

and Austria as a whole.

Just over the water in the UK, the

world had its eyes on the BREXIT. We chose

to look a little deeper and pay homage

to the thriving UK Graffiti scene. In 2019 we

managed to shed a little extra light on

45RPM, VOYDER, and PREF ID. The design

strong and humor heavy work of 45RPM

made us smile while a little further down

the road in Bristol, VOYDER was executing

his elusive mastery. Meanwhile back in

old London town, PREF ID was busy camouflaging

typography in a way that only he

knows how. And if it wasn’t the individual

artists making things happen, then it was

the amazing run of UK mural festivals

such as Bring The Paint, showing the rest

of the world what‘s up in the UK.

We were fortunate enough to speak

in-depth with the dynamic duo and creative

twins, HOW & NOSM. The New Yorkbased

artists worked on a project in Paris

where we managed to get an insight

into both their creative and private lives.

But among many other countries, the

U.S.A beeped on the creative radar thanks

to an all-star team of international graffiti

heavyweights creating one of the big -

gest MONTANA-CANS tribute walls ever,

during the L.A. Spray day.

With all this and more, with the

Montana-Cans LOOKBOOK 2020, we say

a »thank you«, to all those that helped make

it happen. Let‘s see what we can create

together for the next edition.

Montana-Cans Lookbook 2020 Editorial

7

7 Editorial

10 Montana BLACK

Artist Edition: Rage

14 Montana BLACK

Artist Edition: Dems

16 The Montana-Cans

Logo goes Massive

24 The Sobekcis –

Twins of Belgrade

34 HOWNOSM in Paris

42 Montana Store

Vienna 2019

48 Boulevard Paris 13

54 Odeith VS.

the real world

60 Stadt.Wand.Kunst

66 Contemporary

Graffiti in the UK

74 Bring The Paint 2019

80 Introducing spanish

graffiti writer Laia

84 OSMAN – no breaks

on this machine

90 TCI – Making it last

on the lines

94 Step Out of the Arena

98 Acrylic Series:

Dmote

102 Acrylic Series:

Amber Vittoria

106 Low Bros at

Metropolink

116 POW! WOW!

Japan 2019

118 POW! WOW!

Rotterdam 2019

122 Greetings Tour

128 Montana-Cans

Production

136 Montana-Cans

Factory as seen

by Snooby92

140 Imprint

8 Lookbook 2020 Content

14

Montana BLACK Limited Artist

Edition with Spanish neofuturist,

DEMSKY

42

24

Serbian stop over. Exploring Belgrade

with the SOBEKCIS twins

54 66

80

Movers and shakers of the UK graffiti

movement. Behind the scenes

with 45RPM, PREF ID and VOYDER

98

Acrylic Series with DMOTE. Exploring

multi-mediums the graffiti way

122

Lookbook 2020 Content

#18RAGE

PhotogrAphy

Rage

Location

Hamburg, Germany

Hamburg, Germany is renowned for extremely

innovative and high quality graffiti.

Both on and off the trains. But in a city

so creatively prolific, where security is

so tight and competition is even tighter,

there is still room for one name to shine.

A name that is synonymous with quality,

innovation and dedication when it comes

to art and graffiti on trains. And that name

is »RAGE «.

Since apx. 1998 the name RAGE or RACHE has

found it’s way into traffic in many forms, on

many moving surfaces. For the 18th edition

of the Montana BLACK Artist Edition cans,

this name has found it’s way onto another major moving

surface, the Montana BLACK color, Black 9001.

With the boundaries of graffiti, typography

and fine art blurring in nearly every artwork RAGE creates,

it seemed only logical that he would be featured

as a Montana BLACK Artist Edition artist. It was thus

unsurprising that the color black, with all it’s impact,

precision and clarity, was RAGE’s color of choice. Also

bearing in mind, that black is one of the highest covering

colors in a can and therefore heavily features in

countless RAGE artworks.

It got us wondering, what makes RAGE tick?

What drives him to create artwork as impressive as it

is? Here is what he had to say.

10 Montana BLACK Artist Edition RAGE

MONTANA-CANS

The word Rage or Rache are very strong, loaded words.

When you started writing it you were 20 years+ younger.

Do you still feel any »rage« as an ingredient to your

artwork or it’s context? Or has it become just letters you

re-invent to develop as an artist?

RAGE

I have a distinct problem with someone or anyone trying

to set me limits or telling me what I should or shouldn’t

do and my stance on this has not changed in 20 years!

Unfortunately, I always feel that I am being subjected

to societal constraints and norms on a daily basis.

This occurs at all levels, the system aims to keep you

both small and quiet. Graffiti means more to me than

any old fad or some ridiculous teenage dick measuring

com petition. In my eyes graffiti represents a form of

protest against the system. Therefore, I lay more importance

in the name or moniker than I do with insignificant

combination of letters.

I have a distinct problem

with someone or anyone

trying to set me limits

or telling me what I should

or shouldn’t do

MC

Not many artists have managed consistency, quality

and output on trains like you do. How did you do it?

Have you just gotten faster, have you always found new

spots to push time barriers or have you had to become

a graffiti »MacGyver« to use gadgets and technology

to keep you one step ahead?

MC

The book »The Art of Rage« featuring your artwork may

of opened the eyes of the last few graffiti enthusiasts

on the globe that didn’t know about you before. Have

you noticed any changes in peoples awareness of you

or your art since then? Has staying stealth become

harder?

RAGE

I have no idea to be honest. As I prefer to keep my

circle small and personal I decided not have a social

media presence making it relatively easy to remain

anonymous.

RAGE

I always try to work as professionally as possible.

But most of the time, I’m just the guy that requires the

most time to finish what I’m doing, I always manage

to exhaust the comparatively short time span available

to execute my painting.

MC

The most, if not all of your artwork is based on trains.

Obviously there is a lot of preparation and strategy

to be good at that. Has this taken it’s toll on you psychologically?

To keep your ideas moving in one medium

while staying ahead of the law at the same time.

Montana BLACK Artist Edition RAGE

11

RAGE

Of course it is often very grueling and stressful but if it

were too easy everybody could do this.

MC

Is it hard for you to come up with new ideas or do they

flow from action to action?

RAGE

I often have a lot of ideas swilling around in my head

and definitely do not lack a creative output. But I often

feel like I lack both the time and quiet to either implement

or work everything out. So technically it is too

little for me sometimes. But it certainly is not the case

that I have to bend over backwards to produce my

current work.


For your Montana BLACK Artist Edition can, was it an

obvious choice to pick the color black, or did you contemplate

other possibilities first?

RAGE:

No, BLACK was always going to be my first choice. I

pre fer to work with a relative combination of colors.

Black and white is my favourite color combination of all.

The combination creates the greatest contrast and

therefore projects a lot of power visually. I don’t require

an abundance of colors to achieve my desired goal.

MC

If you could have done anything different in your graffiti

/ artistic path until now, what would it be?

RAGE

If there were, it would be of little significance.

MC

Is there any where, any train model or any context you

still really want to paint? Or is holding it down in your

home town more important?

RAGE

Since I feel arbitrary in a system where I do not face

legal action, I remain loyal to the investigative authorities

in my city. In addition, it is far more important to

me what I do on the train and not the other way, so I

move mainly in this area.

I prefer to keep my circle

small and personal I

decided not have a social

media presence making

it relatively easy to remain

anonymous

12 Montana BLACK Artist Edition RAGE

↓ A symbol of

harmony and unity,

RAGE’s Montana

BLACK ARTIST EDI-

TION can captures

all the elements of

his work in one resolved

design on the

surface of the can.

↑ Always managing

to complete the idea

in the time allowed,

RAGE’s wholecar advances

forward in a

picturesque Hamburg

backdrop.

← Before the reward,

there is always the

work. Progress shots

of the RAGE wholecar

being created in

another picturesque

Hamburg surrounding.

BLACK was always going to

be my first choice. I prefer

to work with a relative combination

of colors. Black

and white is my favourite

color combination of all.

Montana BLACK Artist Edition RAGE

13

#19Demsky

Artist Profile

IG @demsky

Location

Lost in Space

In 1979, was the town of Elche Spain ready

for the birth of DEMSKY J? The question

remains to be seen. The artist also known

as DEMS333 aka DEMS of the »Ultra Boyz«,

aka DEMSKY, aka DEMSKY J., was the

boy who became a young man engrossed

in graffiti. For more than 30 years this

didn’t change and the young man became

the talented world-renowned artist know

for having one foot firmly planted in the

present while the other proceeds forward

into the future. All in search of the truth,

or at least the visual truth anyway.

With the description, ›NEOFUTURISM‹ de -

scribing DEMSKY’s current work, his

pursuit to form a merge between early 90’s

visual nostalgia with notions of space

that exist only in the very near future, DEMSKY is at the

forefront of optically illusive fine art. With a list of 50

countries worldwide, DEMSKY’s work spans from graffiti,

muralism, fine art, commercial and creative object

development. His open mind and current passport always

in hot pursuit of artistic conceptual development.

With a long period of focus on writing his name

in as many different ways as humanly possible, the

introduction of fluorescent color, ultramarine and white

plains as background could make the viewer believe

he is currently searching beyond the human. Like a

glitch in the matrix, DEMSKY tries to find his place looking

from the recent past to the present and beyond.

14 Montana BLACK Artist Edition Demsky

Like a glitch in the matrix,

DEMSKY tries to find his

place looking from the

recent past to the present

and beyond.

As a featured artist for the Montana-Cans Limited Artist

Edition cans, DEMSKY managed to put his stamp not

only using his art but also on the tools of his choice that

he uses to create art. In an ironic twist of fate, his futurist

design will promptly take the step from future obtainable

to valued past collectible, as the cans make their

way into the collections of savvy fans all over the globe.

Montana BLACK Artist Edition Demsky

15

The

Montana

Cans

logo

goes

Photography

Donny Doquisa

Location

Los Angeles, U.S.A.

→ Mike Giant proving

that he has still got it.

16 Production Montana-Cans Goes Massive

What goes around comes around

↓ The foundations

laid. The letter »N«

of mo»N«tana

cans coming to life

by GRAB.

The amazing world of graffiti

and urban art has many

facets to it’s existence.

On one hand, there is a global

presence. The internet

has made it possible that

someone in Rome can see

what a person in Jakarta

has just painted. But before

the internet each place

had it’s own version of our

culture, possibly with its

own slang, its own rules and

most importantly its own style being

pushed by its most active artists. In the

USA, this notion is even more complicated

as it boasts being at the origins of the

world graffiti movement. Not forgetting it

is so big, that even its individual states

functioned like independent graffiti countries

under one star-spangled banner.

One of these states where the sun never

stops shining is California. And in 2019,

it’s capital city Los Angeles played host to

one of the biggest MONTANA-CANS

murals ever made.

Production Montana-Cans Goes Massive

17

The all-star line up included U.S heavyweights

WANE, KAER, GRAB, TWIGS, TRISTAN EATON,

AMUSE, GIANT, OTHER, AWE 2 and PERSUE.

All representing their country with style

and flair, while Austrian guest artist NYCHOS, joined

the team adding European flavor. The mural focusing

on the words MONTANA-CANS was an epic project

that spanned over the rear walls of an entire industrial

complex.

For us the team at Montana-Cans, daily business

often distracts us from checking if the energy we

in vest in our work bears fruit. In the instance of the

MONTANA-CANS wall in L.A., it is positively overwhelming

and exceptionally inspiring to see »the fruits«

in the form of the artwork by these talent world-class

artists. Artists that we are lucky enough to call family.

Not forgetting the 150% commitment required by

our partners at Montana-Cans USA to make something

this amazing come to life.

We are truly humbled. Maybe this is just the

start? Either way, we can’t wait to see what 2020 has

installed.

Great People, Great energy

and very productive. Peace!

WANE ONE


↑ WANE COD with a

Montana BLACK can

in hand beating the

heat while taking a

short painting break.

→ TRISTAN EATON

putting the Montana

GOLD grey tones to

the test. Unrivaled

Low pressure precision.

← KAER at the business

end of his piece

as he works on

the »C« of Montana-

Cans.

All of you guys rocked it!

Epic weekend. A ton of

fun and lots of inspiration

was had. What a group!

Thankful for the relationship

with the company and

looking forward already

to outdoing this wall with

the next one!

AMUSE


19

1 2 3

7 8

9


4 5 6

10 11

1 KNOWS

2 NYCHOS

3 GRAB

4 TRISTAN EATON

5 AMUSE

6 PERSUE

7 GIANT

8 KAER

9 AWE 2

10 TWIGS

11 OTHER

As the dust settled and the sun went

down, it occured to all the artists

involved that this action had been

planned to perfection. Eleven mega

letters positioned harmoniously

over the complete span of the rear

side of the entire complex. Able

to be seen from far and wide, this

mural is sure to find its place in graf -

fiti history.


21



23

The

SOBEKCIS

twins of Belgrade

24 Artists in Focus The Sobekcis

artist

IG @sobekcis

Photography

Carlo Kohal

Location

Belgrade, Serbia

A city can make or break you. Its atmosphere,

its smells, the sounds it emits and

even the weather can largely define the

people who live in it. Conversely, the same

people who live in each city are exactly

those entities that contribute to all of these

characteristics. All be it using the cities

own natural traits as a stepping stone.

Artists in Focus The Sobekcis

25

When you grow up in a city like Belgrade

Serbia, it is a given that the city will

help or hinder the shaping of your

personality. In some cities around the

world, an excess of aggression, a lack of services

and the absence of funds can make life for a child about

as fun as doing homework on a Saturday. However,

ingredients like these can also be the exact required

components with the right amount of friction and

the perfect amount of determination to fuel good art.

However, ingredients like

these can also be the

exact required components

with the right amount

of friction and the perfect

amount of determination to

fuel good art.



27


The SOBEKCIS brothers are proof that you can let

your city turn you into a victim or you can choose to

shape it. The twins from Belgrade have the correct

ingredients to actively shape the cityscape of Belgrade,

taking only what they need from it to create in positivity.

If creating an atmosphere in a city was a profession,

SOBEKCIS would be the CEO’s of their town. With

relentless vigor, they re-invent the surfaces of their

surrounds over and over again in all the disciplines of

this game we call graffiti.

The SOBEKCIS brothers

are proof that you can let

your city turn you into a

victim or you can choose

to shape it.

Artists in Focus The Sobekcis 29

In a recent visit to the crossroads of Central and South-

Eastern Europe where Belgrade finds itself, we saw

with our own eyes how the brothers had refined the

routine down to a simple ritual. With the quick calculation

of context, space and time, SOBEKCIS has a

handle on it. Whether Ultrawide tags where no elaborate

pieces are possible, throw up’s in front of unconcerned

passing cars or a style excursion along the railway

corridors of the concrete jungles and abandoned wastelands

of the inner city. In Serbia and beyond, the

brothers know exactly what to do and when to do it. With

quality, harmony, and precision.

Without requiring a re-boot, SOBEKCIS is equally

as comfortable in the studio creating world standard

fine art in the form of paintings, prints, and drawings,

etc. as they are touring the globe realizing larger

than life murals that radiate with color and vibrancy.

Their abstract worlds indoors have found no boundaries

outdoors. And the same is in reverse. The scale

is no issue and the most intricate details are able to

be blown up to massive proportions just as they can be

refined into minuscule beauty. When it comes to

the artwork of SOBEKCIS, it is not possible to look away.

The brothers know exactly

what to do and when to do

it. With quality, harmony,

and precision.



31



33

HOWNOSM

INPARIS

Photography

HOWNOSM / Galerie itinerrance

Artist Profile

IG @ hownosm

Location

Paris, France

Interview with the

New YorK

based Artist Duo

Born in Spain, German in heritage, residing

in New York, painted in over 70 countries

(thats right 70! it’s not a typo), Graffiti

artists, Fine artists, Commercial artists and

brothers (identical twins in fact). Sounds

complicated right?

Well it’s not if your HOW and NOSM.

Or as their mum calls them, Raoul and

Davide Perré. The twins don’t just make

art, they live it. And with the drive and motivation

to do it better, they also now

live from it. Since the 90’s HOW and NOSM

started their ascent up the artistic life

path. Starting with the classic tagging and

train writing graffiti artist path, transforming

to commercial art and ever morphing

into fine art and everything in between.

Nothing the brothers have ever done

was done in halves. How can they, there is

two of them.

→ HOW & NOSM

»Last Departure«,

60“ × 84“, 2014

34 Interview HowNOSM IN PARIS

Interview HowNOSM IN PARIS

35


Your backgrounds are of the most well rounded a graffiti

artist or fine artist could ask for. Your involvement

in graffiti alone has led you to tick just about every

box a writer(s) could want to tick. But how do you view

yourselves? Is there words or a preference of descriptive

words that you would use to describe yourselves

to those not in the know?

HOWNOSM

(Laugh), I don’t know, we don’t see ourselves better

than other graffiti artists or artists, we just have done

maybe a little bit more than others, and we have been

painting for almost thirty years now, so it speaks for

itself that we have a large body of work but, I mean,

that’s just what we do, that’s just one part of who we

are, it doesn’t make us just writers you know, I don’t

know it’s… I know what you are talking about, back in

the days we painted the trains and then we started to

do walls and legal walls and big productions and then

we started to do our art and the transition of what we

were doing from the streets into canvas so… But we’re

not the only ones, there is a lot of people who do that,

I don’t know. Maybe we stand out because our style

is very original and unique and, you know, and we are

twins. But I don’t know how I would to describe myself

(laugh) in that case, I never thought about it you know

what I mean? I like what I do, I’m glad that I can live of

what I’m doing and what I love and I never take it for

granted you know.

we don’t see ourselves

better than other graffiti

artists or artists, we just

have done maybe a little

bit more than others

MC

We as keen observers have followed the development

of your work for many years. Your achievements

aboveground and underground have been prolific and

inspiring. Do you still get to dabble in all disciplines of

your graffiti heritage? Or has your international exposure

meant your anonymity has become difficult? Do

you even still have the itch to do something under the

radar or is it »been there done that« for you?

HN

No, not really, I mean we’ve done our first year of illegal

graffiti all over the world and we’ve been in many

places like maybe like seventy countries, before many

other people we were doing graffiti there, before there

was Montana spray cans there so we got our itch out

of the system really. I mean yeah, it’s always nice when

we came over here, we were riding in the subway and

we see graffiti on the Paris subway, of course, we love

that and we look at it, we take some pictures of it but

we almost forty four years old now and have kids and

we’re focusing on our work.

↑ There is no scale

too big or small. It‘s

all just another day

out of the office for

HOW and NOSM.

MC

We understand the move to use only Black, White and

Red (and tones thereof), was born out of necessity

while travelling through South American countries. But

what was the catalyst to stay within this color spectrum

and was it a conscious decision? For example,

was there a day when you said »OK, let’s now only

use these three colors and any we create from mixing

them«? Or was it a gradual process?

HN

I guess we were doing it for so long in south America

and specially these three that at some point people

recognized so fast our style and the kind of palette

that we decided to stick with it so people can still keep

recognizing the work we paint, and after a while we

just added like different shades of paint and greys to it

and now a little bit more like purple ich into it. It’s still


the same type of colors, it’s developing slowly but it’s

still the same.

MC

For anyone that looks closely, there are a lot of individual

symbols, icons and re-occurring images in your

artworks. Are these design decisions, or is there a

dialogue happening within each painting, or with the

works as a series?

you have to paint not only like four, five hours a day, because

then it takes forever and then, you get more tired

of it. So, we usually knock of ten hours a day you know.

Plus you have to also look at the weather condition you

know, if it’s windy or if it’s gonna rain a lot, you can’t be

out there it’s too dangerous, it’s too slippery, so on this

particular wall we saw that it was gonna start raining

Wednesday, so we tried to finished by Tuesday (laugh).

HN

I mean our work always as certain messages and we

use different imageries to bring their messages over to

the public. And obviously there is some imagery that

would be used just out of decorative purposes. I mean,

we use the bottle for example as, you know, as a reference

to message in the bottle so it’s a scenery, let’s

say like a couple arguing each other that we could put

it in the bottle as a message in the bottle, and hearts or

for example re-occurring arrows, and keys, all kinds of

different images that not always have to have a specific

purpose you know.

MC

Do you prefer to create one-off work like walls, canvases

that can be reproduced like prints, or digitally

created works?

HN

Most of the work we do is drawn out on paper first so

the fine art line work is sketch on paper and usually

transferred onto the canvas or a template for working

on a building for example, so we know how to size the

mural. But usually everything is handmade you know,

some computer work when it comes to laying out big

buildings so we know where the colors go and where

looking for to save time. Yeah the most of it is free

hand and we take a picture of it and layered out of

photoshop if we wanna use a certain canvas or sketch

on a mural, it’s mainly how we do stuff, by drawing it by

hand (laugh).

because then it takes

forever and then, you get

more tired of it. So, we

usually knock of ten hours

a day, you know

MC

Your ability to move from large to small and all scales

in between is astonishing. While standing here looking

at this massive project in Paris, did you get nervous or

was it just another day in the office for you both?

HN

It’s just another day out of the office! Yeah, we don’t

get nervous, we just make sure that we are well rested

the days before, because it’s very physical you know,

it’s not like it’s a small wall, you have to crank it out,

↑ Red, black and

white. Re-occurring

in every possible tone

and shape.

↓ Well defined shapes

are outlined in

black as soft and hard

work hand in hand.


37

MC

What has been the most challenging artwork to make

to-date both physically or psychologically?

↓ HOW and NOSM

on the olympic

stadium in Berlin

HN

Physically it’s always the large buildings, like the really

big buildings obviously, because it takes a bunch of

days and the sun hits you and you have to wear the

mask and the life line around you, it’s a lot of physical

work. Mentally, I don’t know (laugh) it is what we do,

we draw and stuff, it’s a mentally… it’s not a psychological

issue or a burden, it’s not challenging, not really.

No it’s not challenging, it’s not like we’ve never done

it, we have been doing it for so long so we have our

routine and we stick to the routine and just get the job

done you know. I mean, it might be sometimes stressful

but I don’t know if it’s psychologically challenging

or something (laugh).

MC

By the looks of your gallery work, it appears as if you

are as comfortable with indoor artmaking as outdoor

art making. Do your ideas for studio / gallery work

stem from the same origins as your outdoor work? Do

you try or want to separate them in any way or is it all

the same visual conversation?

If you look too much at

other artists your work will

change and starts looking

like other people stuff

HN

We can use stuff from the studio to do outdoors and

stuff we do outdoors we bring back to the studio. You

pick up ideas and learn from certain mistakes like

doing a wall or doing something in the studio you know.

You applied it on both so.

MC

Is there any artist or art makers that inspire you guys a

lot? Does art from the streets inspire you or is gallery

work more engaging for you as viewers?

HN

There are great artists out there in general, regardless

of backgrounds you know, artist graffiti or street

art or fine art or anything you know. We have tons of

books in the studio from all kind of genres of art you

know. I guess that people’s achievements and work

effects inspire us you know, when somebody does a

lot of great projects you know, it’s like something to

you know, just try for, do that too you know. There are

too many artists out there to just pick one by now you

know. If you look too much at other artists your work

will change and starts looking like other people stuff

so you don’t want that. It’s not inspiring anymore, it’s

gonna influence you.

MC

We assume your move to NYC in 1999 and your work

with the TATS crew must have been a massive step

for your careers. But was it a big change for your life

quality? Your origins from Spain, Germany and all the

countries you have travelled to must have given you a

sense of what it means to live somewhere else. What

makes living in New York enjoyable for you?

HN

TATS crew definitely helped us a lot when we moved to

New York, one, they gave us work so we could actually

support ourselves. We have done tons of tons of

projects with them hundreds of videos, I don’t know

how many videos, but like ten fifteen videos for like superstar,

musicians, we’ve done nationwide campaigns.

So as far as the job was, it was very multifaceted and

we’ve done quite a lot of that, but at some point it was

just too much of the same work and it became less

about what our art was looking like but it was more

about what the agencies or the people that hired us

wanted us to do you know. And at some point, it was


just pretty much paint by numbers, paint this and copy

that and it just really started to neglect our own art you

know. Like we didn’t develop you know or didn’t work

on our development as individual artists. But never

the less, it was a great experience and we’re still with

the TATS crew and they’re still our family and we’re

still bullshit (laugh). Even without painting New York is

a great city you know, there is a lot of culture. I mean

there is great art you know, and many people. I mean

New York is still… We still like it, it has changed a lot,

it has lost a lot of its greediness and maybe grime.

That most people probably don’t like, but I kinda like

it, it kinda gave New York it’s unique touch. Now it’s

all become in a little bit too uniform you know, all the

neighborhoods are starting to look the same and ugly

building arises and stuff like that but I mean you can

see that in any country really, like I’m sure here in Paris

they do the same thing you know. But never the less,

we like the attitude there, we like the food, our families

are there, we’re still happy there. Are we planning to

stay there forever? I can’t really answer that question.

For now, we’re happy there.

MC

What has been your favourite place to paint? Which

has been the worst?

HN

The worst? (Laugh) There’s no favorite, there is too

many favorites. The worst is when we don’t get to paint,

or when people who invite you just don’t have the stuff

together and are totally unprofessional and of course

I can’t do my job and that’s looks bad on me so… It’s

not only a waste of time but also a waste of my money

and their money you know. But a favorite place, I don’t

know. We like coming to Paris, we like doing projects

here, we have lots of friends… I don’t know, it’s hard to

say really, we’ve been to a lot of places and have met

a lot of great people you know. It’s hard to really pick

one place.

at some point, it was just

pretty much paint by

numbers, paint this and

copy that


39

MC

Which artwork that you have made are you the most

content with?

HN

We did a cool project in Berlin, we had our artwork in

an entire subway station, like inside/outside, including

some trains, with all our artwork, and that was pretty

cool. We’ve done a big DC3 plane in Arizona, it’s in a

museum there, it’s a very big plane that we’ve made.

It’s kinda cool because you see your artwork projected

differently than just on a flat surface you know, like on

a canvas or on a wall, and I had to paint the bottom of

the plane, the wings, and different angles. But those

are just some examples really (laugh).

I mean our work always as certain messages

and we use different imageries to bring their messages

over to the public.

our work always has certain

messages and we use

different imageries to bring

their messages over to

the public.

someone to do it all for you. Maybe that also made it

easy for us to say yeah let’s get into this.

MC

Which cars do it for you the most?

HN

My own fucking cars (laugh). Yeah, my car is the best

and the faster, what kind of question is that? That’s

the all point of buying a muscle car no? They have the

most muscles in it. I do like a nice-looking Lamborghini

but it’s not my dream to have that like I don’t think

it’s as sexy as a cool American muscle car you know, it

has a proper soft to it, it’s just totally different.

you see your artwork projected

differently than just

on a flat surface, like on

a canvas or on a wall, and I

had to paint the bottom

of the plane, the wings, and

different angles

MC

Most people would be aware that you guys are identical

twins and you have probably had every question

about this thrown at you already. But outside of working

together, do you pursue solo work? Do you still do

any pieces separately? If yes, how does this feel not

working as a unit together?

HN

We don’t ever do pieces alone (laugh).

MC

Is it true that you have a love of muscle cars? If this is

the case, did this passion arise while living in the USA

or was it already in your blood? Are both of you passionate

about this or one more than the other?

Montana Cans

SPOTLIGHT

get to know:

HOW &

NOSM

HN

We both have a classic car and at the same time we

have met this guy who owns a garage and works on

old cars and restores classic cars so he told us how to

change motors and fix interiors, everything so… Now

we have nice looking classic cars. We don’t get to

drive them too often anymore because we’re always

busy, but. I mean we did a job for him and he had a few

cars for sale and we got into talking about classic cars

and became very close friends, we’re still friends and

it just was natural that we got into it, I don’t think we

had it in our blood but I mean who doesn’t like classic

cars? We just had the opportunity to work on them and

learn about them and fix them for, well saving a lot of

money because our friend has a garage and he has all

the tools that we can use. Otherwise you have to pay

How and Nosm, or Raoul and Davide Perré,

are identical twin brothers who have

become prevalent figures in today's art

world with their red, black and white

based murals and paintings. Their largescale

murals are riddled with intricate detail

while staying true to their graffiti roots.


↘ »Sun-Daze« mural

for Street Art 13

curated by Galerie

Itinerrance


41

MontAnA

Store

Vienna 2019

Location

Vienna, Austria

Photography

Akos Vincze, Leon Colerus

The Montana Store Vienna has played a

substantial role in European graffiti

history. All-be-it recent history. Since

the store’s inception, creation and then

opening in 2018, there has been more

events, exhibitions, and reasons to create

happening with their involvement in

Vienna, than happen in most capital cities.

What started as an idea to supply the

worlds greatest graffiti products has become

so much more.

↑ The Limited Edition

Montana Store

Vienna first anniversary

birthday can.

A symbol of dedication

and passion.

42 Recap Montana Store Vienna

→ »Felt cute, might

delete later«.

Anna T Iron’s playful

choice of words

kept them guessing.

Recap Montana Store Vienna

43

At the core of this successful formula is a strong

working relationship between »CONCRETE –

The Graffiti Agency«, which has its office on lo -

cation at the store. And the team from the

Montana Store Vienna itself, that are the suppliers

of the full Montana Cans assortment to the CONCRETE

crew and beyond. It made sense to work off this

synergy. What was probably underestimated in this

concept was that with their passion and connection to

Austrian and international artists, they were actually

going to make ripples in the local art world that would

end up as waves in Europe and abroad.

↑ Don‘t bite the

hand that feeds you.

Case Maclaim with a

confronting mural of

massive proportions.

← 1UP crew re-enforcing

their position as

a international united

graffiti power.

With every product line

on hand in-store, the MSV

earned the reputation of

being the most reliable

graffiti store in the country.


Let’s start at the Limited Collabo Edition of the Montana

Store Vienna birthday can. A true symbol of bold ness

and direction, the can made its way into few collections

only being available at the MSV first birthday party. With

an impact like this, it has already become a sought after

collectors can for the spray can collecting die-hards.

The exhibition space excelled with some

world-renowned feature artists that brought international

quality graffiti, fine art and street art straight

into the doors of the MSV. With subliminal artists like

Ed Nightingale, 82Eliote, Interjail and Uptown Danny,

Nomad and Ruin, Most and international heavyweight,

Felipe Pantone, the quality was outstanding and a

barrage of merchandise and limited products went exclu

sively to the MSV’s walls and shelves.

Shelves being the keyword, the MSV’s shelves

and racks delivered available Montana Cans product

day in, day out. With every product line on hand instore,

the MSV earned the reputation of being the most

reliable graffiti store in the country.

With all this happening under one roof, it

seemed only fitting that the store’s first-year birthday

celebration be one of the most major parties Vienna

has ever seen featuring worldwide legends like

1 UP, Nychos, JBCB, Lugosis, Strato, Case MaClaim,

Anna T-Iron, Walze, and the Spraycity Rotating Wall.

In actual fact, it was too big too put under the MSV

roof. »Spray all day, party all night« was the motto as

art, music, food, and diversity were celebrated in abundance.

Congratulations Montana Store Vienna.

↑ A collectors item

even before the party

came to an end. The

striking Montana

Store Vienna limited

edition 1st anniversary

can was only

available at the party

and MSV.

The exhibition space excelled

with some worldrenowned

feature artists

that brought international

quality graffiti, fine art

and street art straight into

the doors of the Montana

Store Vienna

→ The graffiti community

and beyond

came from everywhere

in Europe to

help the MSV team

celebrate.

↓ Local and international

acts adorned

the stage of the MSV

1st anniversary party,

rocking crowds of all

orientations.

»Spray all day, party all

night« was the motto

as art, music, food, and

diversity were celebrated

in abundance


45

Edward

Nightingale

at Montana Store Vienna

↑ A new classic,

Edward Nightingale

captures the prize

and the imagination

of the Viennese

train writing scene

head-on.

Edward Nightingale has been impressing audiences

with his ›in the moment‹ photography for many

years now. Nightingale is not just a documentor

of graffiti. He is one of the most prolific train

writing documentors in the world. Edward Nightingale

does not just document finished works. Although this

is an integral part of graffiti on trains, Nightingale’s

ability to capture a mood and a moment without being

outside of it, is second to none. For many writers he

is as equally important as the person standing next to

them painting the train.

»Von U bis V« (From U till V)

↑ »Von U bis V«, the

catalogue for the

Edward Nightingale

exhibition has become

a Viennese art

catalogue for eternity.

For many writers he is

as equally important as the

person standing next

to them painting the train.

With so many actions and moments now framed in eternity,

Nightingale was invited to have a solo exhibition

at the Montana Store Vienna’s, in house gallery.

The show called »Von U bis V«, opened on October 18th

to an inspired audience. With his first visit to Vienna

occurring in 2009, Edward Nightingale is somewhat familiar

with the local terrain, including the subway system.

The exhibition also featuring a wall sized

print of the front of a Vienna Subway car, was also complimented

with an exhibition catalogue also titled,

»Von U bis V«. With the surrounds of racks full of

Montana BLACK, Montana GOLD and Montana WHITE

cans, the show seemed right where it needed to

be. Each guest leaving with the feeling of having had

an insight to a very well documented secret world.


82Eliote

at Montana Store Vienna

↑ In action while

preparing his show

at MSV. 82Eliote showing

where graffiti

meets abstraction.

↓ No unnecessary color

needed. With black

and white 82Eliote

creates a worldly palette

without baggage.


47

Boule

Paris

13

48 Artists Street Report in Focus BOULEVARD The Sobekcis PARIS 13

vard

Galerie Itinerrance

taking Parisian

street art to

new heights

Profiles

www.boulevardparis13.com

www.itinerrance.fr

@galerie_itinerrance

Location

Paris, France

Photography

Montana-Cans / Alexander Krziwanie

Street Report BOULEVARD PARIS 13

49

How often have you read an article where

something is claimed to be »taken to new

heights«? More often than not it is not

meant literally. In the case of the »Boulevard

Paris 13« project, it is not only meant symbolically but

also literally.

This year Montana-Cans began its support

of the project initiated and coordinated by the now-famous

Galerie Itinerrance is essentially taking the

world-class street and graffiti rooted contemporary

artworks that they show and sell, and bringing them to

the outside of the white cube (their gallery) onto

the streets of the 13th Arrondissement in Paris. For

what is now a focal point for Paris‘s street art audience,

the region is now known as Paris‘s open-air urban

art museum. While in Paris for the event, we were

shown around this creative new art precinct by project

co ordinator and Galerie Itinerrance curator, Mehdi.

2

1 David de la Mano

2 Faile

3 D*Face

For what is now a focal

point for Paris‘s street art

audience, the region is now

known as Paris‘s open-air

urban art museum.

1

50 Street Report BOULEVARD PARIS 13

3


51

4

5

6

52 Street Report BOULEVARD PARIS 13

7 8

The scale and gravity of the artworks are

immense. Whole apartment building facades spanning

over uncountable meterage of wall space are reinvented

far beyond its functional role as housing. With

international artists such as Shepard Fairey, Invader,

D*Face, Seth Globepainter , Conor Harrington, Hush,

Daleast, Add Fuel, C215, BTOY, Cryptik, Tristan Eaton,

Ethos, Faile, How and Nosm, Inti, Jana&JS, David

De La Mano, Maye, M-City, Pantonio, Roa, Sainer, ST4,

Stew, and Vhils, this year we had no choice but to visit

and see it for ourselves.

Standing aside and watching as participating

artist SETH GLOBEPAINTER set to work, his artwork

unfolded as we enjoyed the surrounding painted spaces

in the classic elegant ambiance that Paris is famous for.

4 Shepard Fairey

5 Inti

6 Invader

7 Shepard Fairey

8 Seth Globepainter

The scale and gravity of

the artworks are immense.

Whole apartment building

facades spanning over

uncountable meterage of

wall space are re-invented

far beyond its functional

role as housing.


53

ODEITH

VS

the

real

world

54 Artists in Focus ODEITH

artist Profile

IG @odeith

Making

the

unreal

come

to life

Regardless of the language a person spoke

when growing up, practically everyone

has a memory of playing the game »Eye

spy with my little eye«. For the portuguese

artists ODEITH, this concept was pro -

bably not rewarding enough as the selftaught

artists matured to create murals of

animals that he saw in his mind, that only

he could bring to life.

Born in 1976, at the tender age of 15 he dropped

out of school as an untrained self-taught

graffiti writer. ODEITH’s path was most likely

similar to that of many graffiti artists of

his generation. The following years creatively would see

him explore classic graffiti lettering until a crucial turning

point in his career came in 2005. Using a tecnique

called anamorphosis, ODEITH’s graffiti roots took a drastic

swing from letter-based art to the realist portrayal

of animals of all forms. This style he pushed, molded

and perfected to what he later coined as »Somber 3D«.

Using a technique called

anamorphosis, ODEITH’s

graffiti roots took a drastic

swing from letter-based

art to the realist portrayal

of animals of all forms.

Artists in Focus ODEITH

55



57

It didn’t take long till his newfound passion of

utilizing some of the most difficult and challenging

surfaces, angles and perspectives possible made him

one of Europe’s most unique public artists. In 2008

his decision to close his tattoo shop and move to London

was possibly the moment that ODEITH’s artist profile

went global.

Now based in Lisboa, Portugal is not the sole lo

cation of his art. A globe trotter, to say the least, his

artworks can be seen on walls all over the planet just

as prolifically as in group and solo exhibitions in the same

manner. So when you next look at the strange dilapidated

corners of abandoned buildings and think to your

self »Eye spy with my little eye« ask yourself what ODEITH

may be seeing?

When you next look at the

strange dilapidated corners

of abandoned buildings

and think to yourself »Eye

spy with my little eye« ask

yourself what ODEITH may

be seeing?


Montana Cans

SPOTLIGHT

get to know:

ODEITH

Sérgio »Odeith« was born in 1976 in Damaia (Portugal).

It was in the mid-1980s when he used a spray can

for the first time. He painted some signatures and doo

dles on his neighborhood walls. But only in the mid-

1990s, Sérgio had his first contact with graffiti, while

some graffiti writers painted outside their neighborhood

(Carcavelos), where graffiti had a strong movement.

His first experiments were to paint illegally on

the street walls and mostly on the railway lines of

the Sintra line. The passion he had always shown for

drawing found a new purpose. The evolution was

impressive due to the dedication to painting large-scale

murals in Damaia, Carcavelos, and in many poor neighborhoods

of Amadora city.


59

Stadt.

Wand.

Kunst

1

Festival Profile

IG @stadtwandkunst

www.stadt-wand-kunst.de

Artist Profiles

IG @okudart

@czolk

@zoonchez

@case_maclaim

@peeta_ead

@quinte55enz

@jensrichter.art

Photography

Montana-Cans / Alexander Krziwanie

Location

Mannheim, Germany

There are many street art festivals that

have popped up in the last 10 years. The

time for street artists, muralists, and

artists creating public art to shine and

prosper has never been better than now.

But what about the locations where these

festivals are taking place? Are the residents

benefitting from the newly decorated

streetscape?

1 A fear of heights is

not an option. OKUDA

reaches to the upper

areas of his monumental

sized mural.

The Stadt.Wand.Kunst (SWK) festival in

Mannheim Germany can clearly say it is the

case that the locals are benefitting from

the renaissance of their city. Why? Because

the locals themselves are identifying with the art -

works that are now at home in their urban space. This

sense of identity may be good curation, or maybe

by chance as the artists themselves come from exceptionally

diverse backgrounds.

In 2019 again the mural bar was raised and the

city became a better place to be. Or at the very least

to look at. Some of the works created in 2019 were by

local residents CZOLK and JENS RICHTER, Spanish

colorist OKUDA, fellow Spanish artist flying the intercultural

flag RUBEN SANCHEZ, Italian 3D illusionist PEETA,

the German duo QUINTESSENZ and Frankfurt’s own

cultural observer and realist painter CASE MA’CLAIM.

With a growing awareness of street art and mu -

ralism increasing in what was once a blue-collar city,

the many residents of Mannheim including immigrants

can now relate to the images they see on their walls.

Many identify with the messages, motifs or even the

colors used by the artist of which some come from the

same part of the world that they too originate from.

60 Recap Stadt.Wand.Kunst

2

2 The completed

work. »Girlslove«

by Oscar San Miguel

a.k.a. OKUDA

3 4

3 The vibrancy of the

Montana GOLD color

range was the

optimum ingredient

for OKUDA to exercise

his Spanish flair.

4 The artist in front

of his work upon

completion. Adding

a little sunshine

to the Mannheim

sub urban environment

and to the

homes and lives of

many residents that

inhabit the area.

Recap Stadt.Wand.Kunst

61

5


6

5 Another completed

mural. This time

»Intercultural Balance«

by Spanish artist

Ruben Sanchez aka

ZOONCHEZ.

7

6 »Fenster zum Hof«

by local Mannheim

artist and resident,

CZOLK. Not only a

homage to his city

but also to it's music.

7 CZOLK at work,

concentrating on

some important

details of the female

figure in his mural.

8

8 Relieved and content

for a job

well done. Ruben

Sanchez takes

a moment to smile

and reflect in

front of his completed

artwork.

With a growing awareness

of street art and muralism

increasing in what was

once a blue-collar city, the

many residents of Mannheim

including immigrants

can now relate to the images

they see on their walls.


63

9

10

9 CASE MACLAIM,

depicting societies

youth as slaves to

technology in his mural

»The Pied Piper«.

10 CASE's use of

positive and negative

space creates a

deception in how big

the work really is!

11 Residing in Venice,

Italy, PEETA 's work

finds itself on some

suburban Mannheim

architecture that

is not at all similar

to that of his own

neighborhood back

home.

12 Something to

be proud of, PEETA

stands in the Mannheim

sun as it bathes

on his finished artwork.

the locals themselves are

identifying with the artworks

that are now at home

in their urban space. This

sense of identity may

be good curation, or maybe

by chance as the artists

themselves come from

exceptionally diverse backgrounds.

11


4 12


65

1 2

ContemporAry GrAffiti in the UK

More than just

the hub of London

3

4

Artist Profiles

IG @pref_id

@voyder

@45rpmwhat

Location

London, UK

PhotogrAphy

Jordan Katz / Montana-Cans

Voyder

45RPM

PREF ID

66 Street Report GRAFFITI IN THE UK

5

Graffiti and its peripheral disciplines happen everywhere,

every day, constantly. Some cities are famous for

their train scene, others for the mural seen. But in an

area as diverse and populated as the UK, there is always

a little (or a lot) of everything happening all at once.

With most of its terrain being connected by land, travel

is easy and a UK artist can be just as active in the south

as they can be in the north at any given time if they

can transport themselves from place to place. But there

is one epicenter that all gravitate to at some point.

No other city on earth ticks quite like London. And as

such, no other creative scene nurtures graffiti, urban art,

street art and fine art quite like London does.

6 7

1 Permanent or not,

in cities like London

where legality is fluid,

there are always

Halls Of Fame that

come and go like this

one in Shoreditch.

2 Not dissimilar to

any other design

or fine art studio,

PREF’s workspace

does not give away

his graffiti heritage.

3 In this homage to

the Montana

MARBLE EFFECT

red color, VOYDER

brings illusion to epic

proportions.

4 Some of the best

places to paint are

those that are off

the beaten track, as

PREF shows here

while walking through

the inner suburban

jungles of London.

5 Inspiration

comes in all forms.

You just need to

have your eyes open

to realize it.

6 Striking, clever and

funny. 45RPM’s

walking hand design

proves that the pink

and black color way

are always in fashion.

7 Using bomb imagery

while dropping

street bombs.

45RPM can connect

the visual dots on the

street just as well as

in the studio.

Street Report GRAFFITI IN THE UK

67

But it is not all blue skies and happy days. The many

spots surrounding the city’s South and East

are cloaked in a blanket of uncertainty. Although

there are clear legal open halls of fame, what

is one day a legal wall can the following day be a place

for on the spot fines and being escorted away. Even

this, however, adds to the city’s charm and gives more

kudos to those artists that manage to rise above the

norm and take their artwork to more openly celebrated

spots and later the world.

One of those spots is Shoreditch in East London.

A known meeting point for street art, graffiti, and

fine art lovers, if it isn’t the great food and cool bars

that get you hooked, then maybe it’s the wall you’ve got

to paint that is frequented by the many street art

tours with international visitors. All recording your work

for instant multiplication online in cities and countries

far and wide.

The list of talented writers from the UK could

go on for miles and miles. But in a creative hub like

London, not everyone stands out. In 2019 we had the

chance to get a little closer to three extremely talented

writers who are holding the torch up high for UK graffiti.

Those artists were 45RPM, VOYDER and PREF ID.

8

9

Although there are clear

legal open halls of fame,

what is one day a legal wall

can the following day be

a place for on the spot fines

and being escorted away.

8 Big Brother

watching, or a graffiti

artist in disguise

getting a photo of

their illegal painting?

In his design work,

consciously or not

45RPM triggers

feelings and emotions

from the graffiti

game.

9 45RPM extending

on the timeless

graffiti notion that

»everybody’s got

their own arrows«


10

Take yourself back to 1999. Not quite London

but not that far from it either, 45RPM started his

quest to merge humor, graffiti and illustration into the

unique style that he boasts today. His self confessed,

»Goofy Nonsense« not only brightens any surface

he graces, but it also brings a smile to your dial as

characters interact with the letters he has perfected.

10 Outline, Montana

GOLD cans and beverages.

The classic

combination for a day

at the wall. Umbrella's

not included.

His self confessed, »Goofy

Nonsense« not only

brightens any surface he

graces, but it also brings a

smile to your dial as

characters interact with the

letters he has perfected


69

The space some writers

use to package one

word into is for PREF the

op portunity to encapsulate

a complete phrase.

11 PREF exhibits

confidence and comfort

in the materials

and tools he uses.

The result, a precision

that shines through

in triumph on his

final artworks.

11

12 Although it may

say »THE END«,

visually it is a

beginning. The right

phrases and word

combinations

become the keys to

new forms and artworks.

13 With a »less

is more« approach,

PREF often uses

less colors and more

tonal variation

within the color, or

colors used.

With an air of seriousness and a very definite

commitment to typography, we also had the privilege

to delve into the world of London artist PREF. With

twenty plus years of experimentation under his belt,

PREF of the ID crew continued amazing onlookers

in 2019 with his re-invention of phrases that are cleverly

camouflaged within words. The space some writers

use to package one word into is for PREF the opportunity

to encapsulate a complete phrase. It is not only

visually satisfying but also sports a built-in message.


12 13

With twenty plus years of

experimentation under his

belt, PREF of the ID crew

continued amazing onlookers

in 2019 with his reinvention

of phrases that

are cleverly camouflaged

within words.


71

14 Graffiti artists

spent decades run -

ning away from

poor quality watery

paint. However with

the aid of premium

quality Montana

GOLD TRANSPARENT

colors, the contemporary

VOYDER

knows exactly how

to make transparency

a winning aesthetic.

14

15 Mask, gloves,

Montana GOLD and

a ladder. The basic

must-haves in

the VOYDER tool kit.

Originating from the English city of Bristol our

next impressive artist VOYDER, took us back to visual

mastery of days gone by. Similar to that of renaissance

times, in a quiet moment alone he informed us that

a 2–3 year hiatus from graffiti was exactly the time he

chose to hone his skills with a brush. The result when

back on the cans was a transformation from overworked

graffiti paintings to precision-based strippedback

style. A re-birth of such for him which took him on

the path he is on today.

in a quiet moment alone he

informed us that a 2–3 year

hiatus from graffiti was exactly

the time he chose to

hone his skills with a brush.

15


16

Apart from the streets of London themselves,

with top-end locations to see art like The Tate Britain,

the Tate Modern, BSMT Gallery, and Stolenspace, it

is no wonder the city creates such diverse and eclectic

talent. Whatever your need for inspiration or the creative

period that you are influenced by, London has it

all. And for artists like VOYDER, PREF, and 45RPM, the

proof is in the pudding.

16 With a keen eye

and a solid understanding

of

composition and

scale, VOYDER

ex hibits skills simi -

lar to that of a

renaissance painter.

Whatever your need for

inspiration or the creative

period that you are influenced

by, London has it all.


73

Bring

The

PAint

Profile

IG @bring_the_paint

Photography

Bring the Paint

Location

Leicester, U.K.

Slap bang in the middle of England is the

beautiful town of Leicester, which also

happens to be the home of the heavy-hitting

biannual graffiti and street art event

called BRING THE PAINT. 2019 saw the

second installment of BTP which was celebrated

with an international line up

of world classed artists that would make

any camera go, »click«.

↑ Innovations stations

as DOES from NL

trail blazes through

uncharted visual

territories.

← The best of both

worlds. VOYDER

and ACHES push

illusion to its limits.

→ It’s all worth it in

the end as the

VOYDER and ACHES

collaboration

starts to take form.

74 Recap Bring the Paint

↖ PHILTH exploring

the space beyond

the letters.

→ In a return to Bring

The Paint, SMUG

takes his previous

achievements

and blows them off

the scales.

← Don’t take your

self too serious when

making art. Or at

least not all of the

time.

Recap Bring the Paint

75

Whether up on ladders, on scissor lifts or

at arms length at ground level, Bring The

Paint had every type of urban art covered.

Classic graffiti letter science rubbed

shoulders with paste up’s, street art and

muralism. Some of the worlds best have

made the journey to Leicester, England, to

»Bring The Paint« and their style.

↑ With ease, Flying

Förtress makes

the play between illustration,

good

de sign and great

graffiti look fun.

↓ 45RPM, making a

quick get away

with his iconic robber

character.

Gra

ffiti

JAm

2019


← WON taking over

a whole building

facade with his famous

Asiatic themed

dragon styles.

↙ At Bring The Paint

all scales are covered.

Whether standing

on terra firma

or up a scissor lift at

10 meters.

↓ »Making one for

the team«. 1UP showing

it’s not always

about the individual.


77

↖ Cult cinema classic

»The Warriors«,

gets a Yard Warriors

makeover.

↑↑ GENT rises to the

occasion making

use of some difficult

vertical space.

← One of Italy’s

favorite train writers

BRUS proves he can

rock the bricks just as

good as he does steel.

↗ HOMBRE brings

German efficiency

to the game doing a

massive one

man piece carrying

his beloved Montana

BLACK cans.

→ Old meets new.

Classic graffiti and

good design a plenty

at Bring The Paint.


1UP / 2KOLD (DDS) / ABUZ / ACHES / ALEX RUBES /

BOOGIE (TAD SML) / BRUS (SDT) / CORE246 (RM GW NHS) /

DEYS (YWS) / DINER (FYS) / DOES / DOWTA (DNF) /

DRAX (WD PFB) / FLYING FORTRESS (JBCB) / GENT (48) /

HOMBRE (SUK TRS TA) / HOW & NOSM (TATS CRU) /

INKIE (KTF ASK KOST (YWS) / LEWSE (ADNS) /

N4T4 (NEVER READY) / MONO (FYS) / NOMAD CLAN /

OUST (TSP DFN WGS GW) / PHILTH (NEVER READY)

RUELO (NFA) / SAM GRUBB / SKANK (NFA) SOKER (ASK) /

STOE (SMT) / SMUG / STRAID (FYS YWS) /

TASSO (MACLAIM) / VOYDER / WON (ABC) / ZINER (NFA) /

ZOMBY (DDS)


79

Introducing

Spanish

graffiti writer

LAIA

Doing it alone

in Barcelona

Artist artist Profile

IG @iamlaia

Location

Barcelona

↑ From markers to

spray paint and back.

It’s all one big creative

melting pot for Laia.

→ When you’re Laia

and you have got a

wall and some spray

paint, then you have

what you need to

create.

↓ Laia’s graffiti roots

are the foundation of

her ideas. Cartoon

characters merge

with clever design

and raw street edge.

There are many stereotypes

in the world. Graffiti

is not exempt from this

with lots of unspoken rules

and regulations. This

is why any contemporary

adult writer cringes at

the thought of defining an

artist by their gender.

Gender doesn’t predict or

define good style.

80 Artists in Focus LAiA

What stands out from the

crowd with Spanish born

writer and artist LAIA, is

not just that she is a talented

artist with style and concepts

that are engaging and aesthetic.

And most of all not that she is fe

male. What is noteworthy and inspiring

is that she started this whole

graffiti journey alone. Not moving in

the security of a crew and not

paying attention to any limits or

constraints that graffiti culture may

carry with it. Apart from graffiti,

ignoring negative stereotypes is

what LAIA does best.

This free-spirited writer

was born in Barcelona in 1984. Still

residing in the city, her interest in

graffiti was awakened in 1999. The

natural progression from bombing

to piecing occurred and before

long in 2000, the markers in her

tool kit were accompanied by spray

cans. The then 14-year-old took

to the streets alone as she decided

she wanted to »get up«.

Artists in Focus LAiA

81

82 Artists in Focus LAiA

In total ignorance and com

plete absence of influences or

guidance, LAIA started to master her

craft which 20 years on is still part

of her daily routine. Although

not outgrowing the streets, LAIA

also became active in galleries, online

and in the studio. What was

a city-based thing became an international

affair with participation

in Graffiti events and jams taking

her through her country and abroad.

As with all dedicated writers,

connections become friends and

actions strengthen friendships. For

this talented Spanish writer, even

with 20 years of hard work behind

her, the world is her oyster and

we are bound to see a whole more.

The then 14-year-old took

to the streets alone as

she decided she wanted

to »get up«.

← As comfortable

with a brush and a

bottle of Montana

ACRYLIC paint as

she is with a can and

a wall.

↓ Her hand finished

printed works take

her creative edge

onto paper as well.

She started this whole graffiti

journey alone. Not

moving in the security of a

crew and not pay ing attention

to any limits or constraints

that graffiti culture

may carry with it.

Artists in Focus LAiA

83

84 Artists in Focus OSMAN

No brAkes

on this

mAchine

Photography

Osman

Location

Worldwide

The word OSMAN has nothing in common

with a fully loaded train trundling down

the line with no brakes. But maybe the German

graffiti artist »OSMAN« does. This

style machine knows no boundaries. In an

ever forward moving quest for graffiti

innovation, there is almost nothing he

hasn't mastered or tried. On this machine,

there are no brakes!

Originating out of the German-style mill

Stut tgart, since 1999 OSMAN has been mixing

and shaking up letters and words with

any tool that comes into his hands. No thing

creatively is taboo except for the sin of not trying.

With just as many countries under his belt as styles,

OSMAN’s name is on the honor roles of many crews in -

cluding HCCB, DTS, and W2D.

Regardless of whether a painting is a new style,

or old, there is always a little something special in

the ingredients that are uniquely OSMAN. Whether it be

the placement of the tags, some bubbles in the 3D

or his creative use of the unique Montana MARBLE

Effect cans. His is a style unto its own. Having the op -

portunity to see a little snippet of otherwise seldom seen

steelworks was one we couldn't pass up. As this machine

keeps plowing forward through the fodder of »been

there done that« graffiti, we take a moment to analyze

this innovator and appreciate what is already buffed.

Artists in Focus OSMAN

85



87



89

Making

it last on

the lines

Taking freight train writing seriously with

the TCI crew

Location

U.S.A.

Photography

TCI CREW

Many graffiti movements across the world

spawned and multiplied thanks to heavily

populated cities with commuter train

systems that kept the people moving. For

a long time, the freight train system

was in the periphery as for those in these

cities, their goals and expectations

on the metro systems were often not

complete ly achieved before their careers

as writers came to an end.

90

Artists in Focus TCI Crew

For many writers in cities

without their own city train

coverage, the freights

were where East met West

with everything in between.

In a country like the U.S.A, the freight train system

has even more weight than one would think. It

is one of the only ways that all the microcosms of

train writing graffiti connect on this massive continent.

For many writers in cities without their own city

train coverage, the freights were where East met West

with everything in between. The TCI crew originating

from Madison WI, are amongst these entities that take

the freight train game to the highest level. We were

lucky enough to get some words from the horse’s mouth

directly to help understand what TCI crew is all about.

↑ At mincto conet ut

ommolecte imilignimus.

Edit, ulparit as

ullesed


91

As the freight train graffiti movement got rolling

in the early 90’s, styles from both coasts began to

arrive in small towns throughout the states. Towns like

Madison Wisconsin, where TCI’s Hybrid, Heat, Sever,

and Intel were exposed to styles from the likes of Sinister

Sein5 out of the Bronx, and Charlie Porno from LA.

The connection freight trains provided was

essential in the development of styles, friendships, and

networks across the country.

The TCI approach to trains is to execute a

production with professional efficiency and to have

The connection freight

trains provided was essential

in the development

of styles, friend ships,

and networks across the

country.

92


fun while doing it. Every step of the process is well

planned as members work together to burn.

Train Champs Inc. embraced the concept of the

»End to End« early in the crew’s development. When

two writers are painting a train, they share by painting

either side and putting TCI over the doors. Combining

competitive lettering with elaborate backgrounds and

themes are a trademark of the crew as they dominate

the lines with a reputation for quality freight train graffiti.

Freight trains are a great surface to paint, but

they are constantly exposed to a changing environment

as they travel through the USA. Having a quality

spray paint that covers well and doesn’t fade is essential

to making sure our work lasts on the lines.

With quality like this, the future of freight train

graffiti looks very bright. With a conceptual approach

and a »quality and quantity« result, if you’re in the USA

or Canada, there is bound to be a lot more TCI product

rolling through your neighborhood in the near future.


TCI

TRAIN CHAMPS

INCORPORATED

Est.1993, Madison WI

Freight trains are a great

surface to paint, but they

are constantly exposed

to a changing environment

as they travel through

the USA. Having a quality

spray paint that covers well

and doesn’t fade is essential

to making sure our

work lasts on the lines.

93

Step

Out

of the

ArenA

2019

1

Location

Eindhoven, Netherlands

Photography

@lukedaduke

Graffiti Jam in Eindhoven

For every yin there is a yang.

The Step In The Arena

graffiti festival in Eindhoven

Netherlands is no exception.

Logically the artists

that step in the arena need

to step out. But there is

no half-steppin!

1 Riot1394 keeping

it warm with some

three dimensional

letter trickery.

2 TelmoMiel abstracting

this image of a

young female figure.

2

94 Recap Step Out of the Arena

3

Step Out Of The Arena (SOOTA) took place shortly

after the creative hangers of SITA started to fade.

This time staying in the home of SITA, Eindhoven,

SOOTA was like the aftershock to the earth -

quake that was SITA. Confused? Don’t be. The artists

still hanging around after the main event got together

to rock a concept wall that was not located at the

SITA site. The Montana GOLD and Montana BLACK

cans that were still warm from the days before were at

the ready for a color connected afterburner.

4

3 In progress, NovaDead

has Biggie

Smalls on the radar

for some creative

re-invention.

4 Attention to detail.

Even after the main

event, Russia's

Zmogk took his work

equally as seriously.

5 Reser from Italy

making light work of

his time away from

home.

5

Recap Step Out of the Arena

95

6 7

6 Ladders at full extension

as complete

wall space is utilized.

7 Jos Hoppenbrouwers

keeping the

cultures connected

with a street version

of his Nike Air's.

8 Pauks flying the

Dutch flag with some

classic yet contemporary

graffiti style

writing.

8

The Montana GOLD and

Montana BLACK cans

that were still warm from

the days before were at

the ready for a color connected

afterburner.

9 French artist

Babs creating some

extremely impressive

cutting edge contemporary

graffiti.

9

96 Recap Step Out of the Arena

The artists in control

of the cans were:

10

Made 514 (ITA), TelmoMiel

(NL), Chas (NL),Neist (FR),

HrvB (D),Rate (BUL),

FatHeat (HUN), Dater (D),

Mister (NL), Fleks (NL),

Dart (SE), Aroe (UK), Babs

(FR), Nilko (FR), Bios (UKR),

Zmogk (RUS), Truba (RUS),

Novadead (B), Puaks (NL),

Saker (ES), Fork (HUN),

Beyond (NL), Ceser 87 (ES),

Reser (ITA), Riot1394 (D),

Norm (D), Fokus (FR), Kush

(NL), Jos Hoppenbrouwers

(NL), Real (NL), Toren (ES)

& Angel26 (HUN)

10 Nilko's work of a

street smart gorilla

image brought a

touch of animalia to

the concept.

11 »Stopping all Stations«.

Swedish train

writer Dart makes a

welcomed abnormal

stop on the static

concrete wall.

11

Recap Step Out of the Arena

97

98 Acrylic Series DMOTE

DMOTE

video

montana-cans.blog/acrylic-series

artist Profile

IG @dmoterola

Photography


↑ Large or small,

scale is no issue

when transcribing

ideas on one substrate

or another.

← As »at home« in

his studio as he is in

the streets, DMOTE

hits the black book

surrounded by color

and ideas.

NEW

YORK

It’s been a long time since Australian graffiti artist DMOTE,

has actually been based in Australia. It has also been

a long time since he was only known as DMOTE. With a

bag full of words and brain full of ideas, the title Graffiti

Artist is not really enough to encompass the wide array

of skills he exercises within his art making practice.

The now New York based artists is still as active as he

ever was in the creation of traditional letter based graffiti

style writing. His graffiti artwork has come a long way

through relentless doing, re-inventing and self reflection.

But so has his fine artwork. A body of work that is

hard to compartmentalize. Hard to put in a little box and

call it something that everyone understands. For this reason

he was the perfect candidate for the Montana-Cans

Acrylic Series.

Acrylic Series DMOTE

99

o

n our journey with him, it was clear that it

would start where it all began. The streets

of New York. With a sent of the city and

Montana BLACK and Montana GOLD

cans a blaze, DMOTE laid down the fundamentals for

what was to become a classic graffiti canvas. And

this time with the word SHANK. The ACRYLIC markers

and ACRYLIC paint refills were out and shaken, at

the ready for creating. A full spectrum of colors were

used and DMOTE showed no confusion as he grabbed

each color instinctually, placing the right color in the

right context for a vibrant yet harmonious color scape.

With a love of robust round tips, he even turned to the

Montana Empty Marker products for various application

possibilities. With a refill here and some intricate

line work there, we soon saw the style master pull the

»SHANK« canvas together. Aerosol faded color, juxtaposed

against opaque placements served up accurate

linear craftsmanship.

Even for the non graffiti initiated, watching

DMOTE create is like an enthralling passage of time

travel through the origins and future of graffiti style

writing. Regardless of which tool he puts in his hands,

something impressive always happens.

Watching DMOTE create is

like an enthralling passage

of time travel through the

origins and future of graffiti

style writing

↗ »New York, New

York big city of dreams,

but everything

in New York ain‘t always

what it seems«.

For DMOTE, a long

way from Australia

but home never the

less.

→ Anything is possible.

Various phases of

DMOTE’s artist path

composed on paper,

cover his studio walls.

Mapping out where he

has been and possibly

where he could go.

→→ SHANK, just one

of many alter egos for

DMOTE that helped

him re-invent himself

when arriving in New

York, explore new

letter possibilities

and avoid becoming

stagnant.

100 Acrylic Series DMOTE

Acrylic Series DMOTE

101

AMBER

VITTORIA

Photography


NEW

YORK

artist Profile

IG @amber_vittoria

Video

montana-cans.blog/acrylic-series

The ACRYLIC marker and paint range has done a lot of

yards with traditional graffiti artists. Thats why it is

even more inspiring when super talented artists not in

that discipline take the materials to a whole new level, or

better yet a new location. Introducing New York based

artist, Amber Vittoria. With an instagram bio sentence

stating »Dismantling societal tropes set upon women«, we

knew we were going to be in for something special

when we invited her to feature in the latest Montana-Cans

Acrylic Series film. And Vittoria didn’t disappoint.

↗ Brush work, marker

line work and vibrant

color. Vittoria‘s work

welcomes it all.

→ Her ability to

characterize and yet

humanize makes her

an ideal candidate for

commercial artwork.

→ → In the hustle and

bustle of the city that

never sleeps, Vittoria’s

work is a breath

of fresh air.

102 Acrylic Series AMBER VITTORIA

Acrylic Series AMBER VITTORIA

103

With a client list featuring some international

heavy weight brands like NBC,

Gucci, Adidas, The New York Times,

and Instagram, Vittoria has been tack -

ling the subject of the portrayal of women in art for

quite some time. Both in her illustration work as well

as her fine art work. And with client names like those

we mentioned, this engaging subject has a large audience

to play with. Including the added dynamic of

fashion, she also helps change and challenge stereotypes

for the positive in industries that are otherwise

loaded with unrealistic portrayals of women. But it

doesn’t end there. As an ADC annual award winner, Vittoria

is under the world creativity spotlight and seems

comfortable with that too. Moving from brush pens to

the Montana water-based ACRYLIC marker range was

an easy step for Amber Vittoria. The speed of drying,

brilliant opacity and coloration, endless possibilities

of mixing colors and the varied sizes the marker range

gave her to play with, meant it was a thumbs up for

making a transition. The extra bonus of being able to

use it with brushes and get results as vibrant as any

acrylic tube paint made it a no-brainer.

With an assertively feminine touch, her strong

bold images are not only easy on the eye, they are also

to be taken seriously in their ability to broaden the portrayal

of women in society generally. The works often

display rounded features, proportional challenges and

body hair in the places it normally grows. Which can be

a grounding and refreshing experience for the plastic

photo-shopped version society is normally served up

in glossy magazines. On a recent visit to her New York

studio, we were honored to capture a small portion of

her creative world on film.

She helps change and

challenge stereotypes for

the positive in industries

that are otherwise loaded

with unrealistic portrayals

of women.

Ambers works are a

grounding and refreshing

experience for the plastic

photoshopped version

society is normally served

up in glossy magazines.

↗ At home in her

studio, the Montana

ACRYLIC marker

range is a permanent

feature of her desktop.

→ Wide or fine, all

shapes and sizes

have their place for

Vittoria, just like the

woman she portrays

in her artwork.

→→ Never afraid of

color, beyond the

visual aesthetics

there is always an

important message

in the artwork.

104 Acrylic Series AMBER VITTORIA

Acrylic Series AMBER VITTORIA

105

LOW

BROS

Shaking up the village for METROPOLINK

artists Profile

IG @low_bros

Festival Profile

IG @metropolinkurbanartfestival

Photography

Daniel Schreiber / Montana-Cans

The LOW BROS name in this case may not be so

accurate. Or at least the LOW part. With nearly every part

of their new artwork at the Patrick Henry Village

in Mannheim-Germany being elevated off the ground, the

festival METROPOLINK is glad they got them out

to make things happen.

106 Artists in Focus LOW BROS

Artists in Focus LOW BROS

107


With the sun shining and the

Mon tana GOLD and Montana BLACK

cans flowing like the LOW BROS

very original ideas themselves,

the pillars, frontage and many things

in between were up for grabs.


109



111

Carefully chosen, the LOW BROS

re-invented symbols of a lost youth

and cooked them up into a post

modern, visual soup. Drink brands,

Credit card providers, spiritual symbology

and of course tennis balls,

all got the LOW BROS treatment.

Even a major computer brand was

reduced and re-introduced in a

whole new context.



113



115

1

POW!

WOW!

J

A P

A

N

2

0 1

9

Location

Okinawa, Japan

Profile

@powwowjapan

Photography

@gralffic

In 2019 the POW! WOW! event returned

to the Asian mega culture, Japan.

Curated and directed by @emiriokamoto,

Okinawa was the city that played

host to the event making POW! WOW!

2019 a coastal experience.

2 3

4

1 Denpa proving that

black and white is the

new colorful.

2 The smell of of the

Okinawa salty air was

a positive ingredient

for making art.

3 Jason Keam throwing

everything in

the mix.

4 Tatiana Saurez

explores some femininity

in a larger than

life female figure.

5 Super Deux adding

French flair to the

Okinawa streets

as his bold opaque

characters stand

proudly.

5

116 Recap POW! WOW! JApan 2019

6

Featuring artists such as Jason Keam, Tatiana

Saurez, Towmei Kaisen, Luise Ono, Super Deux,

Denpa, 123klan, Cab, and Laurence Vallières, the

diverse artworks represented a cultural mixing

pot of ideas and techniques. It didn’t just stop at art.

The usual festivities were naturally complemented by

skateboarding, BMX, dancing and artist talks.

The artworks were a mirror of the color and

vibrancy of the event. Excluding those works in black

and white by Denpa that were just as dynamic. The

beach made a perfect base and backdrop as the final

stages of the event were spent by the artists resting by

the barbeque listening to the music and waves sooth

their creative fatigue. Another great year for POW! WOW!

and another exceptional cultural happening for Japan.

8

6 123 Klan keeping it

graffiti, and keeping

it colorful. A classic

trademark mural

sitting happily in it’s

new surrounds.

7 Laurence Vallières

making a unique

addition to the artist

line up working in

predominantly cardboard

as apposed to

paint.

8 Luise Ono representing

Japan with

an aesthetic floral

composition on a

challenging building.

9 Japanese artist

Cab adding a touch

of illustrative style

achieving impact

with bold color.

7

9

Recap POW! WOW! JApan 2019

117

POW!

WOW!

Rotterdam 2019

Location

Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Photography

Martine Kiers

Profile

@powwowrotterdam

MONTANA-CANS X

POW! WOW! ROTTERDAM

To celebrate the partnership and strengthen the European

integration of the POW! WOW! event, Montana

Cans released a Limited Edition Collabo Series can in

honor of the event. The vibrant green litho sporting the

classic POW! WOW!, logo was complimented by the

number one used color in the Montana GOLD range,

Shock Black! As with all the POW! WOW! collabo series

cans before it, they were only available at the event.

The POW! WOW! festival made a success

landing on its maiden voyage in Europe 2018

in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Although

the first edition was a success, more than

10.000 visitors one year later proved that

POW! WOW! Rotterdam is here to stay. With

its heavy artillary of Graffiti, Muralism, Hip

Hop culture and live music, the Afrikaanderpark

and the surrounding Afrikaanderwijk

played host to an array of sensory delights.

Considering the main day was Sunday 15th

of September, a week before the event saw

both the participating artists and plenty

of street wandering street art enthusiasts

flooding into city to watch art happen.

1 2

1 Size does matter,

even if it’s small.

SLINKACHU making

big waves with

little art.

2 SMOK’s floating

artwork on a Rotterdam

boat.

118

Recap POW! WOW! Rotterdam 2019

The artist line up was as strong as the name

POW! WOW! itself. With a Montana GOLD in

one hand and a Montana BLACK in the other,

the artworks were again broken into two programs.

The murals were covered by DANNY RUMBL,

DOURONE, DIDIER JABA MATHIEU, HELEN PROCTOR,

MURMURE, NINA VALKHOFF, SAID KINOS, SMOK,

SMUG, SUPER A, TELMO MIEL, WOES, SLINKACHU

and SPENCER LITTLE.

4

3

3 Super A at

work re-inventing

Pinocchio for a

modern audience.

4 Telmo Miel and

Smug join forces

to create what is

now judged by

www.widewalls.ch

as the »Most Beauti -

ful Mural of 2019«!

5 Didier Jaba

Mathieu taking out

a whole facade with

ease.

5


119

6 7

6 The finished mural.

Super A wraps modernity

over tradition

with his giant Pinocchio

homage.

7 Edoardo Trionfera

aka Dodici bringing

some festive illustration

to the mural

game.

8 Murmure’s amazing

plastic bag floats

gracefully over this

buildings side.

9 A welcomed break

in the monotony,

Spencer Little explores

his sculptural

linear artwork on the

light poles of Rotterdam.

More than 10,000 visitors

one year later proved that

POW! WOW! Rotterdam is

here to stay.

8

9

120 Recap POW! WOW! Rotterdam 2019

9 10

And to continue the theme of the »20 VANS

30 CANS« project, artists AVOID010, BILLY COLOURS,

BIER EN BROOD, CHAS, DZIA, FELEON, ILLUSTRA-

TOR DANNY, JAWGEM, KARSKI and BEYOND, KLAAS

LAGEWEG, LEVI JACOBS, MINA, MR. JUNE, NAAM-

LOOOZZ, NNAMARI, NOLART, OTTOGRAPH, OX ALIEN,

SOGO SHOW, SR. PAPÁ CHANGO, TALIB, STEPHAN

BONTJE and VENOUR, were all called in to transform

the moving targets. All in all the event went on with an

positivity and without a hitch.

11

12

9 Artist duo Dourone

pack a punch with

their vibrant and

figurative mural.

10 Said Kinos making

sure typography got

a good runwas well

represented in an

international artist

line-up displaying

many disciplines.

11 Native Dutch letter

master Chas making

light work of a van.

12 One of many vans

receiving an artist

makeover at the 2019

POW! WOW! Rotterdam

event.


121

From mainland

U.S.A and beyond

122 Street Report Greetings Tour

→ Starting at 14

feet off the ground,

ladders were not an

option on this mural.

↓ Always welcomed

by onlookers, the

GREETINGS TOUR

murals connect the

cultural threads of

local residents. Even

when in Bermuda.

ArtistS Profile

IG @greetingstour

Photography

Beggs

Location

USA

Victor Ving and Lisa Beggs

know what it means to

be uncomfortable. They

have been living out of an

RV since 2015 when

they departed from their

then city of residence,

New York. The years proceeding

have seen them

travel through their beloved

mainland the United States

and beyond, on what is

possibly one of the most

unique projects of its kind.

The »GREETINGS TOUR«.

Street Report Greetings Tour

123

Reminiscing on the classic

American »GREETINGS

FROM …« postcards of years

gone by, Ving (the artist)

and Beggs (the photographer) have

been traveling together from

state to state creating murals in

this exact same theme. Adding a

touch of contemporary relevance

and a sense of belonging for all

the residents in the communities

these murals have been painted in.

In each state, the duo has cre -

ated »GREETINGS FROM« murals

that feature contemporary local

icons, landmarks, and historical

artifacts. In every case, they leave

what was a relatively lull wall space

with an impressive mural that

brightens the landscape and offers

a sense of pride for those lucky

enough to live around it.

← GREETINGS FROM

Moab, Utah. Too hot

to sleep in the RV,

Ving and Beggs were

offered one week

free in air conditioned

luxury at the

Bowen Motel, the site

of the mural.

↑ The GREETINGS

TOUR travels through

nearly every type of

terrain. Each location

offering ingredients

for the next mural.

They leave what was a relatively

lull wall space with

an impressive mural that

brightens the landscape

and offers a sense of pride

for those lucky enough to

live around it.


← The much loved RV.

The workhorse of the

tour as mobile home,

studio and garage all

in one.

↓ The seascapes of

Bermuda and endless

source of inspiration.

Never a dull moment

for Lisa Beggs and

Victor Ving.

↑ Reliability and

quality, the Montana

GOLD never lets the

team down. Even

available in colors

made for the location.

BERMUDA BLUE, as

used in Bermuda.

With approximately 41 murals

in over 21 states,

the prime goal for Ving and

Beggs in this project is

to cover at least one

»GREETINGS FROM« mural

in every state of the USA.

Amongst many locations, in

2019 Ving and Beggs managed to

get the RV van over the seas to the

coastal island of Bermuda. Or at

least symbolically speaking as the

need to fly meant being committed

to a booked travel itinerary and

being finished on time to catch the

flights home.

With approximately 41 murals

in over 21 states, the prime goal

for Ving and Beggs in this project

is to cover at least one »GREETINGS

FROM« mural in every state of the

USA. With 9.834.000 km² of possible

surface area to cover, we will enjoy

watching the GREETINGS TOUR

unfold over the coming years.


125



127

MontAnA

Cans

German Quality

Spray paint

Photography

Daniel Schreiber / Montana-Cans

LOcation

Heidelberg, Germany

The machine behind the brand –

There are many destinations in Germany

that tourists savor as »must do’s« on

their travel itinerary. Visiting the office

headquarters of a supplier is not normally

high on the priority list. But this is not

the case if the offices your visiting is that

of Montana-Cans.

128

Insight MONTANA-CANS

↑ Every product has

its origin. Often not

looking anything like

the final product on

the shelves, in store.

↓ Compromise is not

an option.There can

be hundreds of formula’s

for any given

product before it ever

comes to market.

There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes at

Montana-Cans before any product ever reaches

the end-users. In a picturesque quaint little city

tucked away in the valleys spanning around

the Neckar river, Heidelberg is where the head office is

located and happens to be the original town where

Montana-Cans came to life. In a historic residence in a

tree-lined street, here the thinktank behind the brand

Montana-Cans takes care of daily business and

looks after customers with direct and personal service

all over the world.

At second glance, it is obvious that this is not

where the manufacturing magic happens. But the

factory is only a short ride away by train or car with the

Neckar river flowing gracefully aside you, through

the green valleys and hills which stretch as far as the

eye can see. Upon arrival at the main production site in

the peaceful little Oden-Wald town of Haßmersheim,

within seconds it is noticeable of the proud relationship

between parent company Motip Dupli and

daughter company, Montana-Cans. Artworks and

photographs of all Montana orientations are strewn

throughout the complexes buildings and offices.

← MADE IN GERMANY.

This means something

to each and

every person working

with Montana-Cans.

Not excluding

the latest technologies

used for precision

manufacturing.

Heidelberg is actually

one of Germany’s humming

graffiti and creative hubs

and the original town

of which Montana-Cans

was born

Insight MONTANA-CANS 129

130


← Caps and valves

play a large role in

the performance,

handling and output

of a spray can. Extensive

testing is

undergone to ensure

the right combination

is found for all aerosol

products.

↓ You can’t cut corners

in color. The sun

will call your bluff

each time. At Montana-Cans

we use only

premium quality,

European made pigments.

Proven to resist

even the hardest

of UV exposure.


132


← The Montana-Cans

Warehouse has the

perfect balance of

space, efficiency and

safety. Always filled

to optimal capacity,

this is a space that is

a pleasure to move

around for all those

working in it.

→ It’s not just about

the cans. In the Montana-Cans

Warehouse

every single item

in our assortment

is ready to go at all

times.

With precision and care,

goods here are picked and

packed for transport to

distributors and stores all

over the globe.

↓ Fresh out the box:

the new limited

edition Montana

BLACK Artist Series

can featuring DEMS.

The pristine grounds of Motip Dupli are a buzz

of activity. Between the chirping of birds in the

shrubs and trees along the Eco Path, the sound of electric

ve hicles transporting products and raw materials

from building to building and workers moving from

space to space, show that German efficiency is well and

truly at work. But this is not by accident, Motip Dupli’s

has worked hard to achieve a quality management

sys tem certification ISO EN9001 and an environmen -

tal management system certification to the level of ISO

EN 14001.

The large, quiet buildings, hold within them the

production heart of the Montana-Cans aerosol range.

On multiple well oiled modern production lines, cans are

electronically sent on their path under human assistance

from empty container to premium quality German

spray paint. At the blink of an eye, thousands of cans

whizz by as they are boxed and loaded for their next

destination, the Montana-Cans Warehouse.

The Montana-Cans Warehouse is the hub within

the hub for the full Montana-Cans assortment. Here

all products are stored, processed and doc umented

in preparation for the most important journey of all, to

our customers. The solid in house team

of Montana-Cans pickers and packers move with ease

from position to position in one of the most modern

aerosol warehouses available. With precision and care,

goods here are picked and packed for transport to

distributors and stores all over the globe.


↑ A vision of beauty.

Even when unfilled,

the empty Montana

BLACK can litho is inspiring

and enticing.

A true symbol of our

graffiti roots.

With castles perched on hilltops

and the scent of trees

and nature blowing in the

wind, it’s hard to fathom

how they can actually get

any work done. But as is

proven in over 70 countries

worldwide, they do.

↓ The Montana-Cans

ULTRAWIDE can, first

of its type, best of its

kind.

With a slight tilt of the head, there is no escaping

the light glowing from the Montana-Cans

Showroom which sits humbly over the Montana-Cans

warehouse with a view of the products below it. The

ideal space for distributors and store owners, the

showroom is the ultimate display of the full Montana-Cans

product range as would be on everyone’s

wish lists. The inviting space also caters for meetings,

testing, and creative brainstorming.

With all this action going on, it is often frightening

when you stop and realize how beautiful the

surroundings really are. With castles perched on

hilltops and the scent of trees and nature blowing in

the wind, it's hard to fathom how they can actually

get any work done. But as is proven in over 70 countries

worldwide, they do.

134


↓ The path for a

Montana-Cans aerosol

can is one of precision

and efficiency.

Traveling on the most

modern of production

lines ensures quality

and consistency

every time.


138 photography by edward nightingale


139

Imprint

LOOKBOOK

020

Media owner and publisher:


Editorial Staff:


Editorial design & Art direction:

Matter Of (MO-P-061)

Alexander Krziwanie (MONTANA-CANS)

Texts:

René Van Kan

Special thanks to all contributing artists & partners!

Cover Photo:

Sobekcis in Belgrade, Serbia © Carlo Kohal

© 2020, MONTANA-CANS

All rights reserved.

Reprinting, even in part, only with the approval of the

publisher. No liability can be accepted for unsolicited

photos, slides, films or manuscripts received.


Häusserstraße 36

69115 Heidelberg

Deutschland

Ph: +49 (0) 6221 36 333 0

info@montana-cans.com


WWW.MONTANA-CANS.BLOG

LOOKBOOK / EDITION #05 / 2020


MONTANA-CANS LOOKBOOK 2020

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