ASIER

We are excited to introduce you, through our latest interview, to a talented Basque originated artist. His name, ASIER. A busy and talented creator with many parallel passions in life explains to us what really matters to him and how it all started.

(ISSA) -What you choose to drink? Coffee, Tea, Beer, Soda or something else?
(ASIER) – Beer, always!!!

-Introduce yourself to us!
I am a human, a family guy, a father, a being who had the courage to want to be happy and dedicated to what he likes, creativity.

– Where does your tag name come from?
My tag is my own name , I am Basque and in the rest of the Spanish state my name was already strange enough to find a nickname.

-How do you define yourself? Artist? Street artist? Anything else?

” … I don´t do graffiti , don´t write my name , I don´t do muralism, don´t do mural decoration , don´t do signs, i´m not a painter, I don´t do Street art, post graffiti or neo -graffiti, i don´t t do exhibitions, I don´t make art because I’m not an artist, I just paint … ”
– How did it all start for you, and what is it nowadays?
-It all started when I was little , in the 80s in my neighborhood i discovered older pieces made by others.
I marveled the colors , shapes and freedom of transmitting while endorsing the streets.
At school i filled my notebooks with drawings and dolls, until the age 18 I decided to try the spray.
At first I only wrote my name but over time I realized I could tell many more things, communicate with people if I left a little aside the pieces, so I started working on realism .
Today I combine my passion and it has become my way of life.
-What is the first thing you do when you get up in the morning?
-Before getting out of bed first thing I do is pick up the phone , read emails and online newspapers , then i take the kids to school and start my day.

-Street art is mostly a visually stimulating form of art. To add one more sense to it, what music would you pick to accompany your art work?
Graffiti has always been associated with hip hop, rap music , so it has been one of my favorite music for many years. I ve been playing bass in rock bands and nu metal floor so i also hear a lot of that type of music. Sometimes I listen to jazz … I really am a lover of music, good music

-In all forms of art, inspiration is crucial. What is it that inspires you?

Lately I try to give my work a social , combative sense , so if you open any newspaper or watch a newscast you get every day a lot of subjects that inspire. The wars around the world , abandonment in which thousands of people live in. Just like Greece , shelling of Syria, the Palestinian problem … the world is going to hell and I think that we, as creative, have much to say to society in general to wake people up and make them take a share of responsibility.

-What is the hardest part while working on a piece of art?

-I enjoy the whole the process on the wall, there is no hard part because I think of everything very from before. I prepare the first lines , then fit everything into the wall without using a projector … but that’s not difficult , it is the beauty of painting. For me it is hard to work in the studio , having an idea and be being able to translate it into a single image, so that you can transmit your message. That is really hard.
-Do you have an artist(s) you admire and what for?
-I have many , and i admire each one of them for a different reason. Suso33 for example , is one of the writers i admired since i saw his pieces when I went to school as a child, I have been fortunate to paint with him and become friends. Belin for me is the hand of God on earth , man!!! He is also a lefty ! Apart from his technique I admire his humbleness. Outside Spain I have always liked Daim , McClaim when they left … but every day I go out to paint with more people and meet new people. From each one of them I receive something new, and i do not stop learning!

-Which cities are the most inspiring for you?

Any city, I do not care what it is, they all hide a blank canvas waiting to be painted, all cities have somewhere graffiti writers that have left their marks … Paris has always seemed a very romantic place regarding graffiti and street art is concerned, rap breathes on either side , there is a bohemian air in the environment … London, Berlin … the big cities i have always liked because there are so many people and everything goes so fast, few people stop to watch , and being able to intervene in one of those cities and make people stop to watch what you do , i ‘ve always liked that.

-What other passions do you have apart from art?
Besides painting I dedicate myself to making music videos , motion graphics , digital design general. Everything I combine with my father’s side , I have two wonderful children and in late September we will have another one , so you see … the family is another of my great passions !

-Do you have a wild project that you dream of achieving some day?

I really do not , I do not think of giant projects , I enjoy all that comes to me, big or small. I guess if I think of something big and I realize there will always be something bigger you want to do. I do not think that obsessions are good, that obsession doesn’t help me enjoy what I have and what I do every day …

-Tell us about your art, does it include symbolisms, messages or repeated patterns?

As I mentioned above , I always try to mix in my work realistic elements with more common elements of graphic design, I like to use templates to make patterns , fonts … usually my works have a social or philosophical sense and seeks to stop the observer and look at the work and reflect on what they see. Normally my works are supported by phrases or words that summarize the concept or idea I want to convey .

– How long time does a piece of art work of yours usually survive for?

Ahahaha ! All i know is that graffiti is an ephemeral art, when it comes to low walls depends on where you make it, the number of people who visit these walls… When it comes to facades of several stories high and it is different in Ponferrada , capital of Bierzo in the northwest of Spain, the city where I live , there are many graffiti writers and there the work of others is respected.

-What do people first think of, or feel, when they see one of your works on the street?

The first is surprise, many people do not believe or know that a spray canister can do the work it does. The result may liked or not, but if I get people to stand and observe and come to a conclusion, then I am satisfied. But I’m generally very happy with the ratings that i get from people .

-Do you have a secret you would like to share with us? 🙂

Yes, but I can´t tell you about it,because then I’d have to kill you…LOL

-What are your creative plans for the future?

Well, I want to start moving from national to international and continue working in this wonderful land that is El Bierzo , in which i just opened my studio. I spend a lot of time, working on paintings and preparing for festivals exhibitions, there.

Thank you ASIER, It’s been great to get to know more about the person behind such talented works.
‘’I Support Street Art’’ team.