Barry McGee
Barry McGee
Barry McGeeis a painter and graffiti artist. He is also known by monikers such as Ray Fong, Lydia Fong, Bernon Vernon, P.Kin, Ray Virgil, Twist and further variations of Twist, such as Twister, Twisty, Twisto and others...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionArtist
CountryUnited States of America
art awareness brings closer develop enables expressive freedom helps immediate kids love normally social stimulated
I love graffiti because it enables kids from every social extraction to do something that brings them closer to art, when they normally wouldn't be stimulated to be visually creative. Graffiti helps to develop an awareness of immediate expressive and uncontrolled freedom.
favorite love pieces thrift work
Some of my favorite pieces are from thrift shops. When I find something I really love, I live, work and sleep in it.
activist aids art artist david frame love time
I love biographies. I read Patti Smith's 'Just Kids.' I'm into that time frame in New York, the '70s and '80s. In art school, I read 'Close to the Knives,' the autobiography of the artist and AIDS activist David Wojnarowicz.
artists ending face falls galleries honest hope instead seem street streets term
Street artists need to get back to actually doing things on the streets instead of in the galleries where they all seem to be ending up. I hope this term 'street artist' falls from the face of the earth, in my honest opinion.
arresting cop couple good happening interested man passed tag
I see a really good tag on a building, a man passed out in the middle of the street, a couple hugging, a cop arresting a panhandler. I'm interested in how all these things are happening in one block.
books five months mostly since six takes year
I read in a weird way. It comes in waves, and then I start, like, five different books at once. It takes me six months to a year to finish them all, since I read mostly on planes.
awful drawing except soon stack stops work yorkers
As soon as I start reading, drawing comes to me more easily. I find I work in my sketchbooks more. But if I'm working on a new show, my reading completely stops except when I'm on a plane. I take a stack of New Yorkers with me. I feel awful about those stacks of New Yorkers.
artwork gets stolen time
My artwork gets stolen all the time; it's ridiculous.
respect toughest
If I could get the respect of 14-year-olds, I'm happy. They're the toughest audience.
art trying turn
I wasn't trying to turn graffiti into an art form. I just wanted to learn about art. I wanted to learn this game.
art
I just try to get away with as much as I can. I don't think that's very radical in the art world.
art books car time tons
I have tons of art books. I have them all over the place. They are in my car, in my bag, and in my studio. There are books around me all the time.
galleries
Galleries are easier to steal from than the Apple Store, maybe.
bigger commodity control dictate feels freedom living outdoors permission public pure seen space time ultimately understand upset work
Work done illegally outdoors or without permission feels like pure freedom to me. I understand how it can upset many in our society, but in the bigger picture, it is ultimately about freedom. We are living in a time where public space has become a commodity for corporations to control and dictate what is seen and heard.