For someone who now has one of his pictures hanging on a wall in the White House, thanks to a much publicised Cameron/Obama gift exchange, Ben Eine appears remarkably unphased by being catapulted into the limelight – even though the mass media frenzy to get a piece of him has been “mental”. I am, in fact, the first of six interviewers he has booked in for today. Real name Ben Flynn, Ben Eine is a street artist who has now crossed the line from a graffiti “criminal” to “mainstream” enfant not-so-terrible. He’s been chased, arrested and fined more times than he can remember, and was given 200 hours of community service which took him about a year to complete. So what eventually inspired him to change his ways? (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘graffiti’
Ben Eine – Painting the town red (and blue and yellow and green and orange and…)
Monday, August 2nd, 2010Graffiti wars
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
There is a grand tradition of animosity and grudge amongst any era’s foremost artists. Just think of the squabbles between Picasso and Matisse or even Michelangelo and Leonardo. But these cultural showdowns rarely take place on the towpath of the canal in Camden Town – until now.