New RETNA and El Mac Interview

RETNA talks about how the illegal roots of graffiti make contemporary art/murals/graf both a difficult and beautiful topic. El Mac talks about how their work is less ego based than traditional graffiti. RETNA encourages people to interact with their communities artistically, stop complaining, and be constructive. El Mac talks about how when people look at art it shows them there is more to life than survival. And if you’re just trying to get by you don’t have time for art. How everyone deserves art in their community. This last statement reminded me of JR’s Ted Talk. He spoke about a conversation a few locals, I think in Africa, were having about his art. They were trying to figure out the point of it. He sets it up for it to seem like maybe art doesn’t have a place in poverty stricken areas? And then JR describes how one guy looks to the others and says something like, “Don’t you realize that this whole time we’ve been talking about art you haven’t thought about where you are going to get your next meal. That is the point of art.” Art belongs everywhere, it’s part of the human experience. It’s necessary.

From I Am Los Angeles:

Wherever they go, they try to make something that makes sense for the neighborhood, and the community. And they always make something positive, something the artists hope people can enjoy — regardless of whether life has greeted them with great fortune. Armed with a vision and their cans of spray paint, El Mac and Retna will transform a forgotten wall into a piece of art.

El Mac and Retna are street artists, born in LA. They use building walls as blank canvases for their imagery, and the duo has collaborated to create murals all over the world. El Mac and Renta have very different styles, and have been collaborating the last few years. They combine their artistic forces in a specific way: El Mac creates huge lifelike portraits and Retna, calligraphic brushwork and decoration. The result is striking imagery that is unique and recognizable as theirs. It’s not uncommon for street art fans and documentarians to gather to watch the progression of an El Mac and Retna work in progress.

El Mac and Retna art feels appropriate for the street because the artists themselves embrace the city streets, the different neighborhoods, and the blend of cultures and backgrounds of the people that fill them. Street art, including the work of El Mac and Retna, also reflects a new attitude about accessibility to art in our environments. “Why not see all the walls painted,” says Retna. “Let the Arts Roam!”

Created by Joris Debeij & Terence Loos. Full Credits. Music by The Pilots

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