aint about the money,
all about the bunny
adam dare
interview with i.t.a.
mr dare, such a pleasure to have the likes of you speaking with powder. we’ve all been saying that we wish you’d drop round the powder studios and give our walls the once over. and me personally i’ve been checking out your clothing range on your site and let me tell you it’s totes fab.
Hey, Hello…
so let’s start with where you’re at now. what are you working on at the mo? any exhibitions coming up? how are you going to see out the rest of twenty fourteen?
Ok well in the East Village swinging a hammer... At the present moment, Im doing a duplex co-op renovation to subsidise my Art habit.
Art wise Im continuing to werk on my perpetual Chase series, I don't feel like Im finished exploring the concept yet. I am also werking on a Broken Hearted Bunny children's book, a new T-shirt/Tank top collabo for the spring-summer of 15, as well as the usual street grind, thats a constant. I did 3 of shows in the past 3 months which is affording me the ability to focus on the couple of projects I mentioned and close out the year on a positive note. I am painting a couple of murals in Miami during Art Basel in Dec.
what got you started and why the streets? what led you to take up the spray can and how would you say the ride has been so far?
I started Painting as a kid, Ive always made Art. The first time I saw someone take a tag was in the bathroom at Park Circle Skating Rink in Brooklyn, summer of 1980. I was instantly hooked. I started writing graffiti from that day on: walls, trains and busses, obsessively. My "Street Art" ie; The BUNNY came to be about 5 years ago.
So far the ride had been as is life Up and Down.
what do you think street art gives to the community? and do you think that street art is a recent phenomenon or do its roots go back further in time?
Street Art gives social commentary and messages, positive and negative, to the community. Some beautify the wall and some are a glimpse into the psyche of the Artist. "Street Art" is, in the big scheme of things, pretty recent 20 years or so since it popped.
who are the muses of adam dare? what inspires your work? and how do you get them to drop by?
I typically have 1 muse at a time, my current is Kristina KISS. Shes a shiny Dime in a sea of dirty penny's. Check her out Shes Amazing...
My past inspiration has come from personal experiences usually related to pain, loss and my discontent for unjustness. Lately its come from Beauty and my new appreciation for life.
Water seeks its own level, people drop by because they want to.
your style is graffstract expressionism. we can see what that looks like visually. how would you describe it verbally?
Simply put its a blend of Graffiti, Urban aesthetics, Street Art and the Abstraction of living life as an Artist.
and just what is with the bunnies? where did they come from and how have they evolved over time?
The actual Bunny is mine from childhood. The EX'd out eyes and Broken Heart were me expressing what I was experiencing behind a Breakdown/Break thru/Breakup.
The Original Bunny stays the same but my Graffiti line Bunny or Throw-Up Bunny is constantly evolving. He's been chasing an unbroken Heart for a while now. Maybe one day he'll catch it...
you have such an original aesthetic. who have your influences been and who would you recommend we keep an eye out for on the scene today?
Thank you… My influences are too many to name. Mostly trail blazers and trend setters, Originality is paramount, you can make a calculated guess based on that.
As you know Im friends with Michael Alan Alien, pay attention to him. He's the real deal, one of a dying breed. A Most Original Man and Artist.
you’re also politically motivated. on the world stage at present, what do you see as the most pressing issues and what do you think needs to be done about them?
Hmmmm, a loaded question.
Lets just say that our government is rather heavy handed in many areas, and that I have personal issues with and opinions that conflict with the way things are currently run. War, Drugs, (legal & not), Poverty and Taxes are a few. We can bitch about them all we want and or vote on them but our Voices aren't heard they're blatantly ignored. Once upon a time we started a revolution over a 3% tax, we now have a Heavy handed 33% tax on us as Ameri-Cans and take it with our heads buried in our phones in our ever shrinking little world. "FUCK YOUR PHONE KEEP YOUR HEAD UP!!!"
new york city has been your teacher. just what kind has she been? what has she taught you and what’s unique about nyc that one can’t find elsewhere?
NYC has been a hard teacher, learned me how to read people at a glance, taught me to be fast on my feet and smooth with my words and when I wasn't I was taught... Got the scars to prove it.
Theres still a vibrant Pulse to this city, it has a Energy to it. Ask anyone thats been here, left and come back. Flying into JFK gives you a distinct feeling only NY has.
you were born and breed in brooklyn, a part of the city that has seen much change over recent years. what was it like growing up in the hood and what are the changes you’ve seen?
There was always an aire of danger when I came up. You had to watch your back and be aware of your surroundings, today not so much... Lucky you.
and when you’re not in the studio or on the street creating, how does adam dare like to unwind? what do you get up to?
Well I used to go out on the regular and move. Old B-Boy/Hardcore show gower. Not so much since a motorcycle accident in 2013. I still frequent galleries and museums and enjoy watching people do their thing.
cheers so much for being a part of this issue of powder adam. we really dig your work on so many levels.
check out the adam dare site
follow facebook.com/adam dare
instagram @adamdare
