Case Mackeen - Toronto
Portfolio || Flickr Archive || Instagram
This Case feature is extra special for me because he was one of the first writers I met in '95 when I didn't know anybody and we were still in high school. Case has been famous twice, both as a writer and as Video director when he won an Juno for a video with Arcade Fire.
1.) How long have you been actively writing for?
I started writing in '92. I slowed down in 2002 to a couple pieces a year, but I never stopped writing. So it's been 28 years.
2.) How has your work changed or evolved since you started, and what made it change?
My work has gotten better since I started... First couple years were pretty toy. But at my peak, my work was known worldwide, I got the chance to paint with Daim, Loomit, Seen, Duster, Tats Cru and many other international writers. Also in the big magazines like The Source, 12oz Prophet, etc. All these experiences improved my style and made me look at pushing graffiti further.
3.) Tell me about your approach to street art?
My approach comes from a freestyle frame of mind. I like to paint to the wall instead of to the sketch. I sketch to practice but when I paint I rarely use sketch's. I find them to constricting. I do all aspects from 2d to 3d to characters and backgrounds.
4.) Any other interests you have apart from painting/art?
Apart from art, Im interested in film making and have directed and animated many music videos for a variety of recording artist from 2001-2009
5.) How do you see the further evolution of your work? The city, and scene at large? Seems to have changed alot in the last decade.
My work has evolved onto canvases using Spray paint in a different way. Portraits, scenics and abstracts that adhere to the traditional rules of graffiti - no stencils, no brushes, just pure freehand spray painting. The scene really changed with the advent of the internet. Regional styles started disappearing and a more homogenized style replaced it. Street cred was easier to fake and the real street culture turned into legal walls and sponsored jams. Its great to see many writers from the pre-internet era coming back and still kings. Shout out to the graffiti grandpa's keeping it real and my crews Kwota, TDV, AFC and BIF.
You can see more of Case's art here: casemackeen.com
He also has a show coming up at Run Gallery in Toronto opening Dec 12, 2020.
Case Mackeen - Toronto
Portfolio || Flickr Archive || Instagram
This Case feature is extra special for me because he was one of the first writers I met in '95 when I didn't know anybody and we were still in high school. Case has been famous twice, both as a writer and as Video director when he won an Juno for a video with Arcade Fire.
1.) How long have you been actively writing for?
I started writing in '92. I slowed down in 2002 to a couple pieces a year, but I never stopped writing. So it's been 28 years.
2.) How has your work changed or evolved since you started, and what made it change?
My work has gotten better since I started... First couple years were pretty toy. But at my peak, my work was known worldwide, I got the chance to paint with Daim, Loomit, Seen, Duster, Tats Cru and many other international writers. Also in the big magazines like The Source, 12oz Prophet, etc. All these experiences improved my style and made me look at pushing graffiti further.
3.) Tell me about your approach to street art?
My approach comes from a freestyle frame of mind. I like to paint to the wall instead of to the sketch. I sketch to practice but when I paint I rarely use sketch's. I find them to constricting. I do all aspects from 2d to 3d to characters and backgrounds.
4.) Any other interests you have apart from painting/art?
Apart from art, Im interested in film making and have directed and animated many music videos for a variety of recording artist from 2001-2009
5.) How do you see the further evolution of your work? The city, and scene at large? Seems to have changed alot in the last decade.
My work has evolved onto canvases using Spray paint in a different way. Portraits, scenics and abstracts that adhere to the traditional rules of graffiti - no stencils, no brushes, just pure freehand spray painting. The scene really changed with the advent of the internet. Regional styles started disappearing and a more homogenized style replaced it. Street cred was easier to fake and the real street culture turned into legal walls and sponsored jams. Its great to see many writers from the pre-internet era coming back and still kings. Shout out to the graffiti grandpa's keeping it real and my crews Kwota, TDV, AFC and BIF.
You can see more of Case's art here: casemackeen.com
He also has a show coming up at Run Gallery in Toronto opening Dec 12, 2020.