“Legends and Gods:Doc Tc5 Interview”
In the vast world of graffiti, legends have become a dime a dozen.
Every other artist I know, West, Poke,Doze,Cope 2, Bio, Wane and the
list goes on, is a legend in their own right. However, as many
legends as there are, there are even fewer people I consider to be a
God in this culture. As far as I’m concerned, there are three active
today to be exact, T-kid 170th, Part Tds and my friend and fellow
Tc-5iver, Doc Tc-5 aka Arab.
Doc’s longevity in the game can not be questioned. He’s consistently
been at it since 1979, always continuing to be an innovator, style
wise. His influence on the culture can be seen around the globe, as
well as his actual art. He’s painted in Brazil, Germany, Paris as
well as other parts of Europe. Doc was burning before the average
writer was born and he still continues to burn some of the most
advanced artists working today.Make no mistake about it, Doc is not a
legend. He is a true graffiti God.
Psycho:Do you remember what first attracted you to the art?
DocTc5:The colors and the size of the work. I was already drawing
cartoon characters, so when I saw writers painting cartoons on the
trains and walls, I knew this was something I just had to get down
with.
Psycho:Who do you think is the biggest influence, character wise in
graffiti?
Blade. Because he made it relevant. He made it necessary to have more
than letters on a train. Doze. Because he is the person that created
the character style that we all do today. Before Doze, most character’s
were based on the Afro Man that wore goggles and shades with the shine.
Psycho:I know that character.
DocTc5: Don’t get me wrong. There were a few writers like T-Kid170th that had
hot characters pre- Doze. But it was Doze that was able to walk the line between
cartoon and realism with the least amount of lines.
Psycho:You’re noted for your vibrant color schemes. Is there a
thought process behind this? Or is it instinctive?
DocTc5:Yes it started with me having these whack rack spots. I had to learn to burn with ugly
colors. Then one day at Staf27’s house, we were looking at photo’s of trains and I held up
a negative of one of my cars, the colors were so bold and evil and a new era was born for me.
That’s when I started painting in the negative realm. That’s why my work stands out from
everyone else’s
Psycho:Dope. Who introduced you to graffiti? And what was that guy like?
DocTc5:My partner KC1 pushed me into painting. before that, I had
been doing pieces in blackbooks for years. KC got sick of me wasting
my talent in books where nobody could see it. After KC, came a guy
named Dynomite 149. He was the neighborhood king who taught me the
ways of the train yards.
Psycho:Who were some of the guys burning up the lines during your come up?
DocTc5:On the A line it was Sonic 002, Iz the Wiz and Baby 168. On
the number lines it was Dondi C.I.A., Kel, Chain, Part, Kase, Seen
Tc5, Blade, Kool 131, Slave and Stan 153.
Psycho: Who had the most style of these guys?
DocTc5: Well Sonic was an early idol he had that folding letter style(Paperism).
When I got older and I would try to bite out of Dondi’s black books he would tell me,
“instead of looking at my work why don’t you look at the people that
inspire me”. He told me Slave and Noc were his favorites. Chain was
the guy to beat, Part, Kase, Butch and Kool 131 would round out my
knowledge. After researching these artists, my style jumped ten fold. I
no longer had to bite. I could create at will. And after mo research
I was drawn to Riff170 and Phase2 who are the godfathers of all
modern day technical letters.
Psycho:Damm, that was pretty sophisicated advice. So Dondi was something of mentor to you?
DocTc5:Well, Dondi was a friend first and a mentor second. By the
time I came along on the scene, Dondi realized his light was too
bright and that he needed another approach to pass on his knowledge
to me. Which he did by telling me stories.
Psycho:About?
DocTc5:About his life and exploits. This in turn, put my mindset in
the same place his was during his hey day. I was able to recreate his
energy and re-do some of the same things he did without him ever
doing an outline for me.
Psycho:That’s deep. What was your fondest memory of Dondi?
DocTc5:Giving him haircuts and cooking him dinner every other Sunday.
Psycho:I’ve been privy to your cooking. I have to add that Dondi
was very lucky then. Now one of the most beautiful cars I’ve ever
personally seen was a production you did with Doze Greene...the Arab-
Bagel car. That car was ahead of it’s time. How did you ever managed
to get Doze in the yard for that?
DocTc5: Staf27, Eben and Web Tc5 challenged me. I always taught them
to challenge everybody and sooner or later, they stepped to me. It
was a battle royal with me against the rest of the crew, the
Brooklyn Tc5. It was a magical moment in time and I felt that I
needed an exclamation point. So I called Devious and explained the
situation to him and shockingly, he agreed.
Psycho:That’s hot right there. In your words, what is the Cool 5?
DocTc5: It’s the first Hip-Hop crew. We have our hands on everything, not just graffiti,
in the culture from fashion, music to the media.
Psycho:This is so true. What’s your status in the crew?
DocTc5:Director.
Psycho:No doubt. You’re one of the few subway artiststo remain relevant during
what I call the “wall” age. What keeps you inspired?
DocTc5:My point of reference, my thought process is based on the
70’s. So my level of energy is from a different place. I don’t create
for the same reasons some of today’s artists do. I’m Soul Train and
British Walkers and these guys are B.E.T. and Nikes.
Psycho:How was the scene different during the 80’s compared to the
90’s and today?
DocTc5: The difference is my generation is Hip-Hop, this
generation is just Rap. In it’s origin Hip-Hop was the VOICE of the
disinfranchised inner city youth, expressed through street culture.
We were the first generation of children that were not told that
children should be seen and not heard. Our generation was the first
that was inspired to have a voice, to be creative, to dream. And we
manifested that by creating what we could not buy. If we wanted fresh
clothes we made them. We took our art classes in train yards. We
could not afford to go to clubs, so we brought it to the streets, we
could not afford instruments so we made our mothers turntable a
Stratavariuos. Our parents didn’t take us to church so we put our
gosple down on the asphalt with Radio Shack microphones. That’s the
difference between then and now. This generation doesn’t have a
creative bone in it’s body. They just copy. They don’t need anything
because everything is given to them. With out need and desire you
wind up with stagnant. That’s why all this spoon fed media driven
generation want’s to do is Rap .
Psycho:Whoa! You just dropped it. Who are some of your favorite artists to paint with and why?
DocTc5:I like Part because he’s one of the few guys who can still
teach me stuff.
Psycho:True.
DocTc5:I also like to paint with Doze because he’s the closest you’ll
ever come to meeting a wizard. Beams always had a plan and that’s
always good. Web was a guy who could get you to paint even if you
didn’t feel like it. Seen Tc5 because like Dondi, he was always
methodical. And when it comes to girls, Abby Tc5. Once she picked up
a can, she turned into a beast. All that girlie shit went out the
window. And Staf 27 because he used to challenge my mental.
Psycho:After walls, what do you see as the next progression for you
as an artist?
DocTc5:Living graffiti. I want toI want to build my letters to show
that they are right and exact. Live scuptures made from mixed mediums.
Psycho: So you have plans for the fine art world?
DocTc5:Yes. Large installments of letters, that you can walk around
and study from all angles.
Psycho:How do you sum up the state of graffiti today?
DocTc5:It’s doing what it’s supposed to do. It’s lived and now it’s
time to die so it can be reborn. The next phase will be living graffiti.
Psycho:Dope! I’m going to throw out some words. Tell me what comes to
mind.
DocTc5:Sure.
Psycho:Music.
DocTc5:Classic Dance Music. funk and New wave.
Psycho:Five style.
DocTc5:A conglomaration of all the dopest styles. Also lifetime
fraternity
Psycho:Wane COD.
DocTc5:A relentless bomber. The new Web.
Psycho:Henry.
DocTc5:A true nice guy, even though he’s a culture pimp.
Psycho:Rock Steady Crew.
DocTc5:America’s dance crew like Apple pie.
Psycho:The internet.
DocTc5:The new testament. Watch what you write and post. It’s the new
bible.
Psycho: Word! Okay, last one. Tats Cru.
DocTc5:The only crew in our time to ever give us competition.They
made us better. It’s amazing how great they have become, one of the
top crews on earth.
Psycho:True. Thanks, Doc.
Posted on November 09, 2007 at 12:27 PM | Comment (15 comments)
