A little over a week ago, I was cutting through TA grabbing my updates and came across this gent painting on the roof of the factory. Looked like he was painting something interesting so I mentioned that it was nice to see something full going on on that section of the wall considering it had been bombed out for the last while. After a brief introduction he showed me some of the interesting photographic work he had been doing along with his street painting.
I didn't get it at first, what or even how he had taken these photos we were checking out on his tablet. Beyond any appreciation I had for his painting in general, I was really floored by the types of shots he was getting, and more importantly,how and what he was using to get them. We sat down for an interview later that week to talk about the very unique approach (and gear) he has been using to document his work.
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| TA Factory June 2012 |
KM: So
you mentioned that you had started doing signature graffiti at first and then
you eventually moved into doing more abstract work. Why did you leave lettering
and move more into abstract form?
PM: I started off by not
even knowing who 'Sake' was. I started tagging before I really learned about
the entire graffiti scene. Slowly but surely I began putting more and more time
into my graffiti, which only helped me progress on my journey. My favorite
part when painting a burner or a piece was painting the inside of the letters.
Doing that abstract part was fulfilling for me. When it came time to put my
outline, it felt like I was going over something that I didn’t want to go over
necessarily. I didn’t like imposing limitations while I was painting. Painting in order, and following the
traditional graffiti painting became boring to me. I felt that my painting
wanted to go in a certain direction, but I still had to paint within the
lines. And for me that was boring...it
bothered me, and it felt like I was wasting my paint every time I was painting
a burner and ...I felt like I was more of an artist and less of a graffiti
artist. I was getting to that transitional point in my career and ...that’s
when I started doing a lot of abstract. Once I painted my first abstract on a
wall, I was hooked. And every abstract I did I felt better and better... it
felt a lot more rewarding when I would look at the final pieces...I felt
graffiti was holding me back a little bit in my artistic expression.
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| First abstract 2009 |
KM:
When did that switch occur, from street painting/writing into that
abstract?
PM: I still paint burners
and what not every so often... I still have the feeling to do letters, but not
as before...A couple of years ago, maybe three years ago....I started taking to
the abstracts on walls...well...before that I was painting abstract
canvasses... and then I started on the streets.
How long
have you been documenting your work for?
PM: Since the start. At
first, using my shitty digital camera to shoot ugly ass pictures of my shitty
throw ups and tags. Then shitty cell phone pictures and a few years ago I
finally got a decent DSLR, which definitely helps document my art. Documenting
street art is probably more important than the final product on the wall.
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| Pinhole cans documenting
pinhole cans 2012 |
KM: How
did you come up with the idea of using a can to create pinhole single exposure
shots of your abstract street work?
PM: Last
year I took a course at Concordia: Light Based Media. You had to make one pin
hole camera as a group of four. I made five myself. One of the five that I made
was a can…It took me well over two hours to make it. I wasted so much tape, and I was trying to make it
line up and ...it really wasn’t great. The hole I made for this can was too
big, therefore I was unable to get sharp pictures.
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| Spray cam production, courtesy Philippe Mastrocola |
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| Spray cam production, courtesy Philippe Mastrocola |
KM: But
is each one of these things a one shot deal?
PM: No, I can reload it.
Each camera is a little bit different, so each picture is different. A pinhole
camera is supposed to be flat black on the inside, yet some of my cans are not
100% painted black on the inside so that affects the exposure time. I have made
well over 50 cameras with these cans but when I go paint I probably load about
35 cans. I bring them with me in my bag, so I have my bag of paint cans, and my
bag of camera cans.
KM:
35?!?
PM: Yeah, and then like
three bucket cams, for big pictures.
KM: And
how long does it take to do one of these shots?
PM: It depends… on the
lighting... the distance; it depends on what you’re shooting. It’s a
guesstimation, I know my past exposures, what I’ve done... so I judge the
lighting, there’s no testing when your shooting right there on the spot, you
are just exposing and you block the hole and you’re like “ok, now I’m going to hope
that I guessed this one right” and then you put it in the bag and you do
another one. When I go back to my studio, hours after taking the pictures, I
find out whether or not my pictures came out or not.
KM: A
lot of trial and error then I can imagine.
PM: A lot of trial and
error, A LOT of trial and error.
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| First successful spray cam picture, 2011 |
PM: One of the first ‘wow’
pictures that I took was the first picture I took with a can… It was a eureka
moment in my life. I’ll never forget it. The first one that I took out of
the fixer, and I rinsed it, then I brought it into the light, and looked at
what the can created, and I was just in awe. I had taken a picture of spray
cans with a spray can. It just blew my mind away. It’s was so rewarding. And
now when I paint a spot the spray can negatives are almost more rewarding than
the final product on the wall...I’m In the dark room, I have my head phones on,
and I listen to classical music, and each time I put a white piece of paper
inside the developer, and get to witness this beauty come up... it’s just...
it’s something unique. And makes me want to keep doing it …to keep getting more
shots. There are times where I completely mis estimate my exposure times and get
a bunch of over or under exposures, and [I’m like] fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,
fuck, and then I get one good one. All those fucks don't matter anymore. It was
all worth it. ‘Cause I got the one good one. In the beginning I was not good
with the exposure times and it was very frustrating and really discouraging,
very discouraging. I mean, you’re taking the picture…and you’re only developing
it three-four-five hours after you shot it. There are times now that I shoot
can get good exposures on over 90% of my shots.
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| Waster12 two letter hollow 2006, Documented in 2012 |
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|
Self Portrait 2012 |
KM: Is there any direction
you’re looking to take your work? Be it in photography or the abstract part of
it?
PM: I don’t know...it takes
me where it’s going to take me. I do it because I love it and I just live one
day by the next and make the best of it.
______________________
You can check out Philippe's work in greater detail at his upcoming show: 'Spray Cam' on June 4th at 4012 rue St-Denis from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM. I think this is a definite must for anybody interested in photography and street art as this gent is brings a very unique approach to documenting his work.
You can also check out a video detailing the process and methodology behind Philippe's spray cam here (and him painting) and his website for any interested in his other work or to contact him here. Don't miss out on checking some very interesting photography and art at his show next week.
More soon, stay posted.
Summer is in full swing and the streets are on fire. Lot's of activity out there. I've been cooling my heels and taking time with some family in town lately so I haven't been able to go through most of my new stuff. Here are some recent pics I've put together from the streets, TA wall and factory, Stinkys, and and just about anywhere else I've been traveling. Still getting those rooftops as much as possible but some access points are getting a little heavy to negotiate. In any case enjoy this hodgepodge of pics from various spots. 
Solid productions by Otek and Apash, as well as Oser and Fleo as of recent at the TA Wall. I'm also digging a lot of the action in the factory as of late. Lots of bright colors and funky styles. And speaking of access issues, check out this shot I got from the back of Sex Cite. I was about to check the spot to get some rooftop action but was stopped by a stair cage wrapped in razor wire! I've seen enough of this stuff in New York City, but not a lot here, if ever for that matter. Needless to say I didn't get up on the rooftop and can imagine that as long as the razor wire is hanging about this area that I won't anytime soon. I'm not even sure if this is legal in Montreal and have had difficulty locating any information on the city websites on the issue. If anyone knows then message me some details. 
