The idea of collaboration and working together is what contributes to much of US street artist Eric Orr’s symbolism in his work, says Nita who interviewed the contemporary of Keith Haring on his visit to Auckland last week…
Eric Orr and the Underwater Collective
Qubic, Broadway, Newmarket, Friday 19 March.
Interviewed by Nita Prekazi.
Pictured left: Eric Orr and The Underwater Collective gave a live performance at Qubic, backed by MC Billy Fluid and DJ Morning Steppa.
Eric Orr came from a place many of us only see on televisions. It is from this environment that today’s hip-hop culture and graffiti art arose. It wasn’t much to do with putting your name on the walls or on trains, it was a way of speaking what you had in mind.
In New Zealand we have always been lucky to have that voice. The US has had a somewhat more turbulent history, and out of that arose many amazing artists and musicians who were just telling a story. Eric Orr has been part of this creative expression for three decades, and has contributed much to the graffiti art and street art movement during this time. His achievements do not end here. Much of Eric’s work can be seen on record labels, and he has gone on to educate others about the true meaning of graffiti and street art movement.
During his third visit to New Zealand, I get a small glimpse of Eric’s world.
Eric started out in New York during the emergent days when the graffiti/street art movement had begun. At that time, there was no structure to the art. Art was everywhere but it was still developing. Everyone tried to outdo each other, making bigger brighter and bolder artwork, but it was not well recognized because in the New York subway, where the trains went fast, the art just ended up being seen by commuters as a blur of colour. Eric knew that he wanted to create art, he had always been a drawer, but he wanted his work to communicate and do something different from the other pieces that appeared in the subway.
Below: Eric at Qubic doing a live drawing show together with the boys from Underwater Collective.
On his way to the subway one morning, Eric noticed a Keith Haring chalk drawing on a dark background. And that encounter stuck with him. He then worked and simplified his “moniker’”(his own icon and symbolic language), and from that arose the ‘Robot Head’. Like that drawing that had stuck with him, his “Robot Head’ has stuck with others. Eric’s iconic symbol was named “Robot Head” by none other than Keith Haring.
This chance meeting between two great artists happened, as it would, at a Swatch Watch breakdance competition. That day Eric was wearing a hand-painted robot head t-shirt, when Keith Haring approached Eric, pointed to him, and said, “You’re the guy who does the robot head”. This meeting between the two artists, developed into a working friendship. Eric and Keith Haring went on to collaborate and create a whole series of artworks in the black panel spaces of the New York subway system. Those commuters who used the subway every day saw the bold white line drawings on the black panels which Haring and Orr would create.
Eric has also had a fair bit of artwork used for record labels and tracks. Eric has had a long standing relationship with legendary hip-hop artist Jazzy Jay. This relationship goes back to when they were neighbours and attended school together. Eric was invited to do the logos for Jazzy Jay and the “Strong City Records” label. His inspiration for Jazzy Jay’s logo was the visual image of the hand of the DJ as it is spinning a record, which many hip-hop fans would be able to reognise immediately. This was to be one of many music labels and logos that Eric went to do. Eric has gone on to build relationships with others in the music industry. And because of his work being recognised, he has travelled to New Zealand to create a design for Serato, the world’s leading DJ software company.
Below: The giveway poster for Friday night’s guests.
Other than his involvement with the art and music world, there is another side to Eric. This is the educational aspect of his character that focuses on youth and the community. Eric has worked on educational activities with youth on many occasions whenever he has visited New Zealand. On his first visit to New Zealand in 2007, he worked with youth in South Auckland, Waitakere and the North Shore. In 2008 he spent over three months touring New Zealand schools as part of the Creative Youth Programme (TM) for youth, inspiring their inner creative expression and educating school children and young emerging artists about the origins and meaning of the graffiti art and street art movement. He has undergone many arts projects in New Zealand, including towns like Greymouth and Hokitika in March of this year where he painted a mural at a rest home during the iconic Wildfoods Festival.
Below: a section of the wall at Qubic.
The graffiti art and street art movement does not have the same status in New Zealand as it does in the US. Many associate this genre of art as gang related, and vandalism. There is a difference between what many in New Zealand see as graffiti and what it actually means. During Eric’s younger years in the late 70s, it was all about friendships and collaborating on a piece of artwork together. Tagging was just a part of the development of the movement from its very crude beginnings. Everyone knew that graffiti wasn’t about tagging and they made it more than just that. It was about helping your friends or group put together something which you could not achieve on your own. It was always something that was recognised, and even if it was illegal it was still appreciated for its beauty.
In New Zealand, it is still associated with vandalism because many fail to understand the true meaning behind the graffiti/street art form, and it is this lack of understanding that produces a ‘tagging’ culture. Many just write a ‘tag’ name on a wall or surface and do not think about what they are really trying to communicate. It’s not a matter of being recognised by a name, but rather a symbol. Eric recognises the work of Cut Collective, a group of up and coming artists from Auckland who have developed and taken graffiti and street art to a new level as they have embraced their cultural surroundings.
Below: Eric and local artist Tracey at Qubic show on Friday.
Much of what Eric does in New Zealand is about teaching what it really means to collaborate together. His passion is a piece of paper with pencil and thought. His art is a process that has arisen during that stage of thinking with his mediums. He says that “a good idea stays there until you manifest it”.
The idea of collaboration and working together is what contributes to much of Eric’s symbolism in his work. Over the years he has developed many friendships with artists such as Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Michael Stewart and his close New Zealand friend Jillian de Beer whom he has been working with over the past three years. Eric has developed symbols for each person and uses them in his artworks.
This respect of peers and creation is what has made Eric who he is. Every piece of work is reflective of a process and significant amount of thought. His art is challenging and it represents the boundaries which he has broken in order to overcome the cultural obstacles he faced in the early days during the transformation of the graffiti/ street art movement in New York.
Eric’s Love Hugs and Kisses range of designs made for Esther Diamond.
Friends, colleagues and artists who came to meet Eric and enjoy the live show.
Words and photos by Nita Prekazi, 19 March 2010.
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