Last Wednesday SMEAR aka Cris Gheroghiu dropped by the studio with an out of town friend.....we cought up with SMEAR via a three (3) Q&A Hit & Run session.....SMEAR is very outspoken & brutally honest which you'll see here right now.....he has been writing in the streets for longer than he cares to recal....so with out any further ado, "take it away Johnny".....
SR: from street to gallery; is it difficult taking your work into gallery settings, does that compromise you as SMEAR? When I saw "your" I am talking about SMEAR.
SMEAR: My work fits in a gallery setting like a d**k fits into a p***y...I dont do graff on canvas and try to take it out of it's element (the street) and put it into a gallery...only monkeys that. I'm not a monkey. And no, it doesn't compromise me as Smear...cause there is nothing to compromise...I always did my own thing, even on the streets, I never really gave a f**k what the next man was doing...I've always done what I do for myself, not for anybody else. I've never followed the "rules" of the graff world. I hate rules. Instinct and impulse is what I follow, always. I may come off as cocky, but I'm not...I'm just honest, as f**k.
SR: you have a following from RTH & SMEAR all by itself. My understanding, you have been
hitting the streets (as your web site home page states) "longer than I care to disclose". Are we talking decades? In a nut shell, what was the progression of SMEAR & or how did it evolve.
(I cheated; two questions in one)
SMEAR: started writing on stuff cause of my homies older brother (Suet C.O.I, R.T.H) he was doing that graff/breaking shit since like 84'...we looked up to him, he gave me the name Smear...the old f**ker created a monster. He gave me the name in like 90' or 91' Before that I had gay ass names like "Gizmo" and "Shreds"...god, what was I thinking...but I was just a dumb lil kid, so whatever. In 92' I got caught up in that whole 90's tagbanging thing...I didn't snap out of it until 97'...that'd when I started really getting up...like a mad street pervert. I felt liberated after years of guns, drivebys and other such strangness...it was a weird time in my life. I'd never want to go back, but at the same time I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything. The rest, as the cliche goes, is history.
SR: I hear you like romantic walks on the beach,,,,,kuz messn. Hahahaha, couldn't resist...here you go on the real;...what gallery would we see your art & where would SMEAR want to see his work & where would Cris Gheorghiu like to see his work?
SMEAR: I actually honestly do like romantic walks on the beach...but I prefer them alone, and at night.
As for the gallery that I'd want to see my art in? I would have to say that I don't really have a specific gallery targeted,like a lot of my friends seem to...I'm not into swinging off nuts, feel me? Smear and Cris are having a battle of wills over this whole art identity thing at the moment...Cris keeps saying that he doesn't need Smear and Smear keeps saying that Cris G. ain't shit without the big S...we will have to wait and see who comes out on top. But it may take a while to be revealed.
Quickie:
Top Ramen or Mac & cheese
SMEAR: Top Ramen,beef...with an egg dropped into it when it starts boiling. And maybe
some dried seaweed strips thrown in there for good measure.
Illustrator or paint Paint
SMEAR: fuck that computer bullshit.
Krink or Sharpie None
SMEAR: I prefer a good streak...or, if I had to chose, I'd make my own "Krink".
Coke or Diet Coke.
SMEAR: Can't drink either...not since I drank that Etch, Savage stomach pains and all that.
Handmade or machine made vinyls (be honest now)
SMEAR: I like both.
$1 PBR on Tap All Night or Mai Tais on the beach in Baja?
SMEAR: I'll go with the PBR on the beach in Baja...how's that?
Thanks to SMEAR & Cris to drop though for a minute. SMEAR will be featured artist at
Peel Here V this year @ Self Help Graphics.
for more on SMEAR go to
http://theartofsmear.com/home.html
