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(spray can rattling)
(spray can hissing)
(spray can clattering)
(traffic whooshing)
- Put your hands up!
Put your hands up!
Higher!
(somber beat music)
- [Radio Woman] Okay, so I'm confirming
I can get rid of that last...
Do you still need that... (muffled radio chattering)
- [Radio Man] I'm still working on it but you can
close it out on an arrest report.
- [Radio Woman] That's fine, if you still need it,
I can keep it for you.
- [Radio Man] No, that's fine, go ahead and close it out.
- [Announcer] Transfers may be made here
for lines destined to the Federal Center
and Jetco Government Center golden stations.
Next stop, 10th and Osage.
(train rails clanking)
(bell ringing)
This is the 10th and Osage station.
(upbeat music)
Thank you for riding RTD Light Rail.
Next stop, 18th and Stout.
(bell ringing)
(upbeat music)
- Morning, everybody.
How are you?
Sorry I'm late.
Gonna pass out the syllabus this morning.
Would you mind helping me a little bit here, please?
All right, everybody, welcome to the foundations class,
Design Fundamentals.
We're gonna be meeting every Thursday.
This is an 11 week course.
You get three credits and I'm your instructor.
My name is Larry Dexter.
The course description, this is,
take a look at your syllabus here and follow along.
It's an introduction to the basic principles of design
using a variety of materials.
- That's where it all began.
- What do you mean?
That's when you decided to become a street artist?
- [Artist] I mean, when I,
you know, where it began was where I wanted
to follow my dream and go to college
to the study the art that I wanted to pursue.
- So you would say that college and studying art in school
was the first step that started it all.
- You know, at the time, everyone just wanted me
to make them happy and try to fit in
but when I filed the divorce and cut everyone off
and went to school for my art, I felt like at that point
I was really finally becoming an artist
or at least taking the path of one.
- So when you decided to follow your dreams,
as an artist, how'd that change your life?
- You know, my dad used to take me to school.
Elementary, like fourth or fifth grade.
I remember on the way I'd always tell him
what's going on at our class for today and
we were doing something, drawing horse hair
or goldfish scales, something,
and I remember telling him about it
and he was like, Just stop!
He was trying to tell me that
my dream of being an artist
was fun but it wasn't realistic.
What I needed to do was find a job
or build up a career that makes good money to be happy.
And I said, but Dad,
obviously money doesn't make anyone happy.
He said that it's not the money that makes people happy,
it's the stability from the money that makes people happy.
I remember getting out of the car
and being so upset at him, you know.
Just feeling so let down and not acknowledged.
I decided I wasn't gonna let this ruin my day.
I wanted to turn around
and try to wave bye to him, you know.
And by the time I had done that,
he was already halfway down the street.
I tried to find financial stability.
I tried to find someone I was happy with.
But the moment I...
The moment I really decided to follow my dream,
everyone treated me like I was a bad person.
(birds chirping)
What's this?
- Our divorce papers.
Conveniently you decided to not have a phone.
- Why, just because I don't have a phone I'm given this?
- No but it's responsible.
You already missed our first two mediation appointments
but I had to pay for your fees
and your dad keeps calling me, bothering me,
asking me where you're at.
So I just gave him your phone number and your address.
- You gave him my address?
- Yeah because I don't wanna deal with it anymore.
He's your dad.
- You know what, I really don't wanna talk about this.
- You know what, we're not done talking about it
until you understand that I need these papers signed
so I can move on with my life, do you get that?
- Yeah, I get it.
But don't you get that I'm trying to go to school right now
to make a living and to make something of myself?
I'm happy doing and pursuing what I love.
I'm not a coward anymore afraid to chase it, okay?
I was miserable working for you and your dad.
I really was.
But I'm happy now doing what I love
and I'm probably gonna make a living out of it.
Doesn't that even make you the least bit proud of me?
- I mean,
I feel like I was the best thing you ever had
and you lost that and you didn't work towards that.
So I hope you have a great time with the rest of your life.
(traffic whooshing)
- Jesus Christ, man, it took you long enough.
- I know. - Come on, let's go!
We've got shit to do today, man.
- This is the third time you guys have been late
in the past two weeks.
- Not me, him!
- I don't have money for a car.
I have to take the Light Rail.
- Ronnie, Zach has been doing you a favor
by picking you up at Light Rail.
- Well, I'm sorry.
I took the Light Rail this morning, I was late.
It's not even my fault, okay?
I can't control what the train conductor's gonna do
or how fast he goes.
- You've got two more stops added to today's route.
You must have them done by 6 p.m., understand?
- [Zach] I got you.
- Really?
- I could sue you for that.
- Oh. (man laughing)
With what money, Ronnie?
(Zach chuckling)
- Dumbass.
Let's go.
You know, man...
Your legs must be snails or something, man.
You're slow as fuck all the time.
(Ronnie chuckling)
- Faster than you.
- Yeah, maybe.
Probably.
(Zach laughing)
Fuck.
(lighter clicking)
I know you're probably just gonna say no
but do you wanna take a drag off of this?
- No, I'm okay.
I'm really sorry about upsetting your dad
back at the warehouse.
You know that wasn't my intent.
I just was late from the Light Rail.
You know I can't control that.
- It's just...
If we fuck this up,
if I lose this job, I'm fucked, man.
I need this money, you know?
- Well, I kinda need the job pretty bad too, you know?
Despite everything and me being late, I do need it
because, you know, I've gotta keep up living at my motel
and going to art school.
- Why're you going to college for art anyway, man?
It's not like you're gonna be
rolling in dough when you graduate.
- I can.
I mean-- - Yeah?
- Yeah, like I could definitely do that, you know?
I mean, there's just so many different ways
that you can draw or do your art, you know?
- [Zach] How?
- I mean, like, for example like one's about comic books.
So you learn how to do paneling and symbolism
and everything in close up, so...
I just thought, you know, why not just study up on some
of this art and see how I can change my own, so.
- Whatever makes you happy, dog.
Me,
I'm trying to get this new thing
at a postal service.
It's way better than a newspaper place.
My dad says he has an in
but I gotta go for an interview and a drug test.
- Maybe if you stopped smoking so much weed
in general, or smoking, you know,
maybe you can get it a lot sooner.
- [Zach] Yeah, about that.
(Zach and Ronnie laughing)
Whatever, man.
- [Ronnie] But, hey, I still think
you'll get the job regardless.
- [Zach] Thanks, man.
(upbeat guitar music)
(Ronnie groaning)
(Zach laughing)
- You asshole!
(upbeat guitar music)
- [Zach] That's the one you already threw at, dumbass!
(Zach and Ronnie chattering)
- So, you said that you were studying your college art books
while you were on your newspaper route.
Now, I wanna know is what was the point
at which you actually figured out
what kind of art you wanted to create?
Or when was it that you figured out the kind of medium
that you wanted to explore and give me the details.
- I mean, I like to sketch,
I definitely like to paint.
I reference Picasso a lot.
I like to study and use a lot of his pieces.
(Ronnie sighing)
You know, at the time, I really just had
this tiny little laptop that I would just do
all my color and designings for my projects, you know?
Take it to Walgreens and have them print it
on paper and poster.
And I actually got in a lot of trouble for it
with my college professor.
Hi, my name's Ronnie Carlone
and I'm doing the Cyanotype Process.
Sir John Herschel introduced the Cyanotype Process in 1842.
It was adopted by amateur photographers and draftsman
as it provided a simple and inexpensive way
to reproduce negative and/or drawings.
Scientists, particularly botanists,
also loved this process for its ability to render
intricate details of plant structures
in a scientifically pure way.
Um...
(Ronnie coughing)
The skeleton with a lit cigarette in its mouth
is a juvenile joke
because Van Gogh painted it in early 1886
while studying at the art academy
in Antwerp.
The painting shows that he had a good command of anatomy
as well as his letters and anecdotes from others
record that he sparred with his drawing
and painting teachers and was scornful
of conservative academic practice.
His time at the academy
lasted only weeks.
He felt he was learning nothing and later proclaimed
academic training damned boring.
- Ronnie, unfortunately we're all out of time for today.
I'm gonna have to stop you right there
and we're gonna pick up with the next set of presentations
at the beginning of next week.
Read chapters six and seven.
Please email me your chapter reviews
prior to next's week's class.
Thank you, everybody.
Hey, Ronnie, your art piece is cool and all
but that was not really the assignment.
The assignment was to recreate a piece of art in any medium,
photography, design and present it to the class.
- Mr. Dexter, that's what I did.
I did the Cyanotype Process.
It's the same printing and everything.
And I made it my own, I used a medium just like you asked.
So I don't understand.
- Ronnie, what I really want you to do
is focus on your portfolio
so you can get a paying gig when you get out of this class.
No one's gonna pay you for a cyan blue piece of artwork.
- Okay but...
I don't care about getting paid for it.
I just wanna be able to get good at what I wanna do.
So if I wanna do this again,
I wanna know that I can do it properly
and better than I did it this time.
I mean, I just don't understand why you think
it has to be something people will pay for.
That shouldn't be the standard of what you're teaching,
in my opinion.
- Well I want you to get a paying gig
when you get out of college.
You'll get a passing grade this assignment
but I really want you to focus
and come back stronger next time.
Focus on your portfolio to get a paying gig.
- All right.
All right, whatever.
- [Dexter] See you next week, Ronnie.
- [Ronnie] Yeah, whatever.
- [TV Narrator] "The Potato Eaters"
is his first knockout masterpiece.
It's a resume
of everything he's felt and thought up till now.
Everything that would make him a revolutionary artist
is already here.
(pleasant television music)
The dark, thick color was chosen
not just for pictorial effect but,
you might say, philosophically to say something.
And that something isn't meant to be charmingly rustic.
I mean, how brown can you get?
This is manure brown, the gray brown as he explained
of dusty spuds before they've been rinsed.
Lost in total identification,
Van Gogh paints like clod,
the heavy, loaded brush doing its own manual labor.
The picture seems troweled and dug rather than painted.
The total union between painter and subject,
it's all in the hands.
- I'm trying to bring out the idea
that these people eating potatoes by the light of their lamp
have dug the earth with the self same hands
that they're putting into the dish.
Manual labor!
(door knocking) A meal honestly earned.
Anyone who wants to paint peasants looking namby-pamby
had better shoot himself.
It's almost as if he's--
- [Man] What's going on?
- [Ronnie] Nothing.
- What the hell's going on?
I've been calling your phone every day.
You don't answer your fucking phone, now it's disconnected.
- It's because I don't have a phone.
I only have a motel phone.
You probably just called when I wasn't here.
- What're you doing?
You're a smart kid, you've always been smart.
You had a good job but you make some fucked up decisions.
- What, I didn't wanna be married to that bitch anymore.
I'm going to school now and I'm getting an education.
I don't see what the problem is.
I'm an artist.
- Painting, drawing.
- Yeah. - Do you know how hard it is
to sell paintings and art?
How're you gonna
make a living? - It's not that hard.
- How're you gonna put food on the table?
- It's not that hard if you're good
and I'm trying to get good now.
It'll probably get put on the table when I turn 33 or 35.
It'll take awhile but I will get there, I know I am.
- You had a good job, you were making good money.
That's how life works.
You get married, you have kids.
You build something.
- Dad, I wasn't happy with her.
She just wanted to control me for her dad
so he could just use me at his work.
I wouldn't have been anyone special or meaningful.
- I drove three hours over here to talk to you
and you look like you have your fucking mind set on this.
- I don't wanna work nine to five like you at a warehouse
working with the same eight people,
inspiring only the same eight people.
I want to inspire a hundred people, thousands of people
to think, oh wow, he's doing something
really impressive and creative, I wonder if I could do that.
And then they give it a shot and they be great at it
or even better than me, which is amazing.
- I'm fed up with this shit.
I'm tired of trying.
- [Ronnie] Then stop trying, I didn't ask you to.
- Do what you want.
At least get the hell out of this place.
Go fucking interact with people.
Don't sit at a place like this
all fucking night by yourself.
Go do something with yourself.
(Ronnie sighing) (Camera beeping)
- All my dad ever cared about was a paycheck.
My paycheck.
Make sure that it was big and stable
for everything I wanted and needed, you know?
I think,
no,
I know he only liked my ex-wife and her father
because they had a lot of money.
You know, he offered me a high paying job
within his company and...
You know, my dad and school weren't anything
what I thought they were gonna be.
(Ronnie sighing)
The next day at work I was so frustrated
that I fucked up my delivery route.
(door knocking)
Oh, hey.
- Hey, what's up, dude?
So, I kinda got a favor to ask of you.
So...
I got the home bro and I was hoping to
spend some time with him today.
Can you take the papers and
do the delivery for me?
I'll even give you the keys
and you can take the car.
These are the routes that you'd have to hit today.
All right?
It's easy, we've done it before.
- Okay.
- You good?
- Sure.
- Thanks dude.
I knew I can count on you.
All right.
(upbeat video game music)
(faint video game music)
(Ronnie groaning)
(music muting)
(door knocking)
Hey, thanks again, bro.
Yo, what's good, man?
- Nothing.
- Good.
Yo, yesterday was fun.
Thanks again for helping me out.
You got my keys anywhere?
We're running a little bit late
but if we get going right now we could get
the day started.
Oh, hold on a second, one sec.
Hey, Dad, what's up?
- [Dad] What the hell happened yesterday with you guys?
- What do you mean?
- [Dad] Don't act stupid with me, Zach.
You guys missed half of your route yesterday.
Four different residential areas had complaints.
This isn't funny anymore, guys.
I gave your routes to different drivers today.
- What, I'm sorry. - That way we can pay people
who are willing to do their job.
I want you to take the day and think about priorities
and I hope you realize
that you both-- - Yeah.
- Need to start acting like mature adults.
- Yes, sir.
I understand.
Goddamn it, goddamn it!
- Sorry.
- What happened, man?
- I left the map.
- You left the map?
I mean, that's like numero uno, besides the papers.
- Sorry, I slept in a little bit and I forgot the map.
- These people are paying for our service, man.
Like--
- That is true.
But some people who didn't know about your newspaper company
now know about it
- Jesus Christ.
You know what, fine, fuck it.
Whatever, whatever.
We've got the day off now.
(lighter clicking)
Give me a sec.
Now we can do better shit.
(can rattling) All right,
just chill for a moment, man.
Yo, what's up, bro.
- Hey, what's up, man?
Check it, check it, ready?
So, it's "boobs," right?
- Yeah. - But it's "boobs"
from the top. - Uh-huh.
- And then it's "boobs" from the front.
And then it's "boobs" from the side, man.
- Damn, dude. - Because titties.
- Hell yeah! - Right?
- Titties, bro. - What's good with you, man?
It's good to see you, what's going on?
- Not much, man, just kicking it.
- Who's your buddy you brought with you?
- Uh, well, this is Ronnie.
Ronnie, he goes to school for art and shit, so--
- Hey, Ronnie, come on in here, you wanna tag?
- Ronnie? - Sure.
- Come on, bro. - You go to school for art,
yeah?
- Let's go, art boy. - Come here!
Come express yourself.
You wanna play around a little bit?
- [Ronnie] Just right here?
- Yeah, come on, dude.
- The whole world's your canvas.
Whatever inspires you, man, dude.
- Give it a shot.
- Just like "boobs" and "titties."
- [Zach] Titties.
(Zach giggling)
(spray can rattling)
Titty king.
(spray hissing)
- [Ronnie] Can I borrow your white really quick?
- [Guy] Yeah, sure man.
Here.
(spray can rattling)
(spray hissing)
Shit's inspiring.
- [Zach] Dude.
- That's cool, brah.
- Hell yeah. - I like it.
(upbeat drum music)
(spray can rattling)
(spray hissing)
- Now,
I'd like to take a second to talk about the first time
that you actually tagged something.
I think that's a monumental moment.
- I mean, yeah, it was the moment I got hooked.
You know, the instant gratification of putting your art on
the ultimate canvas.
- The ultimate canvas.
Can you elaborate on that a little bit?
- Yeah, I mean nothing beats it, it's the best.
I mean, you just put your art piece up on the wall
and everyone who passes by kinda has to look at it
and if in some way they relate to it
then you just reached someone in the world
that doesn't even know you.
- So,
so this whole situation, it made you lose your job?
- No.
I mean, I feel bad that I fucked up the delivery route
but me and Mr. Satton talked about it
and cleared everything up.
And as far as Zach and I, we hung out plenty of times
and he even invited me out to a party with him.
- [Narrator] A record of the delightful piece
they're going to play this evening.
(smooth beat music)
Ladies and gentlemen.
(people chattering)
Ladies and gentlemen.
Your attention please.
And now the moment we've been waiting for is here.
(upbeat groove music)
And I have something to tell you.
♪ Que
♪ Sera
♪ Que
♪ Sera
♪ Que
♪ Sera
♪ Que
♪ Sera
(people chattering)
- There you go, yeah boy!
(Ronnie coughing)
♪ The future's not ours, future's not ours ♪
- It's the same thing with my art.
I just have to make something that people like.
So I mean, I don't think it's completely impossible for...
(girl mumbling)
Exactly.
Like, I don't think it's necessary
to do the whole nine to five thing or be chained to a desk.
You know what I mean?
♪ Que
♪ Sera
♪ Que
♪ Sera
- Let's do it!
- Let's go.
(people chattering)
(somber beat music)
- [Girl] Hey.
- Hi.
You're really passionate about art.
- Yeah but I'm also kind of a coward
when it comes to art as well.
- Why do you consider yourself a coward?
- I mean,
I knew it would make me happy almost all my life
but I still never did anything about it.
- But you're following your dream, aren't you?
- I mean, yeah, but...
It just doesn't feel the same
because I haven't been doing it until now, so...
I'm getting there but I'm just not there yet.
- So what's holding you back?
- For starters, definitely the number one problem would be
my ex-wife.
I know, it's weird to say.
- Do you miss your ex-wife?
- No. (girl laughing)
Uh-uh, uh-uh, nope.
(Ronnie chuckling)
- [Girl] What happened?
- Well, her and her dad, they both wanted me
to just be this guy who made a lot of money, you know?
And that's just not what I wanted to do.
You know, I wanted to do art.
I wanted to do something that I could feel was valued
and was impressive, you know what I mean?
- Yeah. - So then I would like
wow people, you know what I mean?
- [Man] Three round!
- [Woman] Oh, shit!
- Well, are you financially stable now?
(Ronnie chuckling)
(girl laughing)
- I mean, if you can call living in a motel stable.
- Sometimes I wish I lived in a motel, come on.
(girl giggling)
- Sure.
- So,
do you think that
you might wanna be in a relationship again?
- Yeah, for sure.
But it would definitely have to be with a girl that,
you know, is happy that we're together
because we're together.
Not because the materialistic stuff.
- That's what love is.
Everyone deserves to be happy.
- Well, maybe everyone but me.
- Look, you can have your art and be happy too.
Everyone deserves that.
Even you.
("Young Dumb & Broke" by Khalid)
(crowd cheering)
♪ Young dumb broke high school kids ♪
♪ So you're still thinking of me ♪
♪ Just like I know you should
♪ I can not give you everything ♪
♪ You know I wish I could
♪ I'm so high at the moment
♪ I'm so caught up in this
♪ Yeah, we're just young, dumb and broke ♪
♪ But we still got love to give ♪
♪ While we're young dumb
♪ Young, young dumb and broke
♪ Young dumb
♪ Young, young dumb and broke
♪ Young dumb
- I own that same book, actually.
I remember getting it after being inspired
by Zach and his friend when they took me
to do graffiti under the overpass.
- See, that's what I'm trying to get you
to talk to me about.
I want you to talk about spray painting graffiti.
Now,
I really want to, in the documentary,
put together a montage with these pages
and have you talking about graffiti over it.
Now, am I asking the wrong questions here?
Like, when did you start studying this book?
- Look, I'm just trying to tell the story
how I wanna tell it.
- So you went and did graffiti with Zach and his friends
and then you never thought to do it anymore?
You just wanted to hang out and party and get high?
- No, I mean, see,
you're not even listening to the whole story.
This is the first time I've gone to even a party
since I got married.
That party that I did go to though was were I met Khyanah.
- [Interviewer] Tell me what happened with Khyanah.
- [Ronnie] You know, after I met Khyanah,
like a little after,
was when I actually first did my graffiti.
Like tried it for the first time and everything.
(upbeat drum music)
(spray can rattling)
(spray hissing)
(Ronnie sighing)
I don't know.
I mean,
I feel like a part of me wanted to get caught.
At first my nerves were up and I was really afraid
but it felt amazing to do it, you know?
- You wanted to get caught.
- I just really didn't have anything going for me.
You know, and to me graffiti is just like
this fuck it kind of movement and
you know, whenever I do it,
it feels like nothing else really matters and
that first time doing it was when I first felt that.
- So,
whatever happened with those first tags?
Do they still exist?
(Ronnie chuckling)
- I don't know, I couldn't even tell you.
Probably nothing.
- I just recently found these surfacing themselves online.
- [Ronnie] Oh, wow.
(spray hissing)
(spray cans rattling)
(door knocking)
Hey.
What're you doing here? - Hi.
I spoke to Zach and I asked him if I could get your number
and he said that you didn't have a phone
and told me that the only way I could talk to you
was if I came by your motel, so--
- Okay.
I just haven't really had the chance to clean
but you can just wait if you want.
- Okay.
I was hoping that you were gonna be
at the get to together tonight.
I was looking forward to seeing you.
- I don't think I'm gonna be able to tonight.
I just have a lot of school work
and I got work in the morning.
But if you want to reach me outside of tonight,
then you could try taking my motel phone number.
- Yeah, that would be great.
(Khyanah chuckling)
Here.
- Um...
- So,
you maybe wanna grab some dinner or lunch sometime soon?
- Um...
I'm not in a really solid place right now.
I mean, you saw this place when you walked up.
It's really shitty.
- Look,
I don't think you're a mess.
In fact,
I think you're one of the first people that I've met
whose got it all figured out.
And it's not your place to tell me who or what I deserve.
- That night during the party,
I felt like I wasn't gonna see Khyanah ever again.
When I did those first RC tags,
I felt like I was slowly becoming someone else.
I just wanted to do this to let this someone I was becoming,
this persona,
I wanted to let it manifest--
- So, did you have a plan for what you were going to paint?
Where, what, why, when?
I mean, tell me details like that.
(Ronnie sighing)
- I wanted to be organized.
I wanted to do everything the right way I needed to.
(Ronnie sighing)
- Why did people carve the rocks?
You know, I mean, put the president's faces on there
on Mount Rushmore?
Why'd they do that?
They got a big kick out of doing big faces
or did they wanted to leave a mark?
They wanted to leave a mark.
See, these people right here,
they are our founding fathers,
so we're gonna put their big faces on this mountain
and fuck who don't like it.
(exciting music)
So the fucker got up there and started chiseling out
his fucking nose and the eyes and all that shit.
Who gave him permission to mark that shit up?
You know what I mean?
Maybe Indians had a problem with him
putting that dude's face on a mountain.
How come he didn't get arrested?
It ain't no different, man.
That his fucking mountain that you scribed that name on.
(exciting rock music)
It's not like an addiction but more like a sickness.
You cannot control yourself once you start.
If you really understand what you're doing,
the minute you get that first tag,
you feel like, I could've done that better
and you gotta keep moving.
- [Man In Video] The repetitiveness of it
gets really addicting.
Every time you do it,
you're like one step closer to your goal,
whatever that may be.
- [Man On Video] Graffiti is about
being loved, hated, whatever, just being recognized.
The egos, the beef, the jealousy,
the law, the sicknesses, the injuries,
the hatred, the violence.
That's graffiti.
- [Man In Video] Instead of looking
at the person doing graffiti,
maybe they should look at that cause
of why that person started, you know?
(exciting beat music)
(foreign language music)
(exciting beat music)
(birds chirping)
- Good.
(Khyanah giggling)
So,
I write poetry.
I don't really read it to people or
really show what I've written.
- You're really good.
- Really?
I want to have them published in a volume.
- [Ronnie] Yeah?
- My favorite poet is this woman, Karyna McGlynn.
- [Ronnie] Mm-hmm?
- I wanna buy her work but
I've been reading her poems online
and they just speak to me in a haunting way.
Like they're about transformation and moving on
and letting go in life, you know?
- Letting go of what?
- I kinda had a really hard year.
I...
I had a miscarriage.
So,
poetry's just helping me get through that.
I can express myself through it.
- I am so sorry.
That's...
Wow, I'm sorry.
- No,
I don't want anyone in my life
who pushes me away from poetry.
- I think you should definitely enter those competitions
you talked about, for poetry.
- Thank you.
So,
how's your art career going?
- It's going pretty well, actually.
Doing a lot of experimental things, you know.
Kind of seeing what sticks.
- You should do more than just try though.
Don't worry about it.
Just do it.
You should do something big, huge,
so everyone can see it
and then you'll know what direction to go into.
- So,
this is it.
It's how it all started.
This is how everybody got to know you
as the great street artist
that you are known as today, right?
- From studying and researching
all the videos about the graffiti artists,
you have to blast your name everywhere
and all over everything that you can.
- Did you feel like Picasso about to create
a bunch of cubist paintings
or Jackson Pollock about to drip some color on canvas?
- I'm not sure, I just know I had to do something.
Because I told my dad I was gonna be an artist
and Khyanah seemed to see something in me
and she told me to do something so big that, you know,
as many people as possible could see it.
And I wanted to do the hard work of
tagging everywhere that I possibly could.
(upbeat drum music)
- You can see the center's real tight
but the op is faded and the bottom is faded
and that's an up and down fade.
- [Man On Video] And I still do.
I just kept doing it and doing it and doing it.
You know but no one knows you.
Except for, you know, the few who know why you are.
It's like some superhero shit, you know?
Like, you just fucking fly up, do your shit,
come back like you're just some
mild-mannered reporter, you know?
- [Man On Video] For me, writing was a release.
It was an escape from my parents
bitching and complaining in the house,
it was an escape from my block.
I started writing to get away from all that,
to assume another identity,
to have a good time with my boys,
to be down with some rebellious shit.
You stay anonymous is who you are
and that's the whole point of it.
- [Man On Video] They're all like the wind, you know?
You can't see 'em but you could feel it.
- [Man On Video] You could have this sort of
anonymous thing about it where you could like
have one kind of view, portray yourself as one thing
and then like change into my other costume
and I'm this other guy.
Super hero.
(exciting techno music)
- [Man On Video] I mean, graffiti's basically this.
It's one, creating some kind of letter or message, right?
So we gotta design.
Two, getting the supplies.
Three, getting the spot.
Four, getting to the spot.
Five, attempting it, pull it off
and then coming back and documenting it.
And that's it, you know?
(exciting beat music)
- The first time I make certain graffiti was some rats,
some small rats, you know, like a shadow
running around the sidewalk of the city.
This is the first rat that I did in 1981 too.
I wanted to invade Paris with my images.
- Yeah, it's just like walking and breathing.
If I'm out and I'm anywhere,
I'm stickering.
- I think that putting up a sticker
there's a, not show of force, but a show of defiance
and a show of self identity
that I need to impose who I am on the social system,
which is what graffiti is.
- You know, leave your identity or DNA,
a little touch of it wherever you were.
- And that was part of the whole sticker community
and that's how it got built up.
People had the same idea I had
of just I wanna make stickers.
- [Man On Video] And it's kinda like my mark.
This is where I crush.
- [Man On Video] It probably,
in a lot of ways, it probably saved my life, you know.
Who knows what I would be doing if it weren't for graffiti.
- [Man On Video] You don't really choose the arts,
the arts choose you.
You don't pick to choose the triangle,
the triangle picks you.
You don't choose to paint watercolors or oil.
Your medium picks you.
I don't know, man.
I didn't paint, I picked spray paint,
so it picked me.
- I've done a lot around here, you know?
I felt something and I will be something, why?
Because I made myself something.
- [Man On Video] They're just out there risking their life
to paint something that hopefully a few people
might be able to appreciate and that's it
and I think there's something to be said for that.
I think that's definitely something
that's worth taking note of.
(intense beat music)
(spray hissing)
(police sirens alarming)
(spray hissing)
(spray can rattling)
(intense beat music)
(spray can rattling)
(spray hissing)
(traffic whooshing)
- So we've got the red paint, two letters
and it's gonna be the first time the entire city
has seen all of this.
Now, would you say that this was the moment
where you first hit that artistic expression?
- The biggest thing was figuring out my organization
and how to achieve my graffiti and get it done.
- How did you feel as an artist?
Was it different?
Did you feel like you were gonna get into something big?
- I feel like sometimes things happen to artists
whether it's success or failure and it comes
when they least expect it or deserve it.
- Hold on, are you saying that
you think that some of the recognition you received
was not what your artwork deserved?
- In the end, it's really the audience who matter
and it's the audience who has the power
to make us who we are when it comes to being artists.
- All right, so,
I'm just gonna go over this first part for you guys.
I want you to list two ways to create a visual weight.
Two ways.
I need you to draw an example of containment.
It could be any sort of containment.
Come up with that theory.
Now, number three, multiple choice as well as number four.
All right, everyone has a pencil.
You have 25 minutes starting now.
- Hey, man.
Do you have a pencil?
- What? - Pencil.
- Hey, have you been on Instagram lately?
- No, why?
- There's this graffiti artist that's been going viral.
I've been seeing him on like every post.
- Yeah.
- He keeps putting like "RC" everywhere.
I don't know, nobody knows what it means.
Or like on Twitter,
so many people are like tweeting about it.
Even Graffiti links, like, it's getting really popular.
- Jeez.
- And he's like putting these stickers around.
- What's going on?
- Have you heard of the new like graffiti artist?
He's been going viral.
Look, so he's on Instagram.
Graffiti Mash posted it.
I don't know, he just keeps putting like "RC" everywhere.
But like I don't know what that means.
But...
Look, see, there's the same "RC"
and then he also is putting like stickers up everywhere.
- They're pretty tight.
- They're so cool, I'd buy one.
(chiming music)
(pleasant drum music)
- All right, what're you guys working on over there?
Everybody done with their assignments?
Please pass them up to the front.
We're about out of time.
- You know, I don't even have to look
through all these to tell you.
When I first saw these, my first thought was,
the whole world is my canvas, literally,
and I could just spray, spill all my frustrations
all over it if I wanted to.
- Tell me more about what you mean by that, by frustrations.
(Ronnie chuckling)
- I mean,
isn't that why we're here?
The lights,
the camera,
all your questions?
What's that for?
- You have not paid for three fucking weeks!
I'm getting tired of this shit, man.
- [Ronnie] I get paid tomorrow.
- Tomorrow?
- Yeah. - What?
It's always fucking tomorrow with you guys.
I'll pick up the garbage tomorrow.
I'll pay my rent tomorrow.
I'll suck your dick tomorrow.
No!
I'll tell you what I'm gonna do tomorrow.
I'm gonna come back down here, if I don't get paid,
I'm gonna kick this fucking door in
and I'm gonna gather up all your shit
and I'm gonna sprinkle it
across the fucking parking lot of tomorrow.
You get it?
- [Ronnie] Yeah, I get it.
- This is a no smoking room.
- I'm not smoking in here.
- I can fucking smell you from the parking lot of tomorrow.
So, wrap up a towel,
put it under the door
or fucking smoke your doobie somewhere else.
All right?
Tomorrow.
And if I don't get it,
I already fucking told you.
(Ronnie sighing)
(light clicking)
(Ronnie sighing)
(upbeat drum music)
(train whooshing)
(can rattling) (upbeat drum music)
(spray hissing)
- All right, guys, this Seth Williams.
I'm right here.
Hold on man, whoa, whoa, whoa, don't move, don't move.
This is Seth Williams.
This is crazy, we're with the guy.
This is the guy, I found him.
I'm the one that found him.
He's crazy!
Crazy!
So, he's over here, he's doing his new latest art piece.
Hey, it looks like it says, "We live paycheck..."
It says, "We live paycheck to paycheck."
So, hold on, man, don't go anywhere.
Everyone wants to know who you are.
Everyone, you're all over the internet.
What's going on?
Everyone wants to understand what're you doing here?
What does this all mean?
Why do you have a mask on?
What're you, some Batman out here
doing just art pieces or whatever?
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
(crickets chirping)
Okay, all right, if you're not gonna tell us
a little bit about yourself, what does it mean?
Why are you sending these messages?
What is RC?
What the hell are you wearing?
What does RC mean?
What does the RC stand for?
There's fan theories.
Everyone's asked the question.
I have my own fan theory, I've said it on this channel.
I said it first.
So, what does it all mean?
What does...
(spray can rattling)
What does RC stand for?
Does it... (spray can rattling)
Does it stand for Rattle-Can?
It means Rattle-Can?
You know what it means?
There he is, guys, RC.
You heard it from me first, it's Rattle-Can.
His name's Rattle-Can.
I coined it for him.
This is Epic Newsroom, Seth Williams.
Your boy is out here, he's out here in the tunnels,
he's figuring it out.
He knows all about the latest graffiti.
This is the latest art piece from RC, now named Rattle-Can.
It says, "We all live paycheck to paycheck."
Come on, guys, we say it first.
You saw it here, right here on this channel from me,
Epic Newsroom.
Be sure to like and subscribe.
Share it, tell your mother about it,
tell your father about it because we're out here,
I'm out here.
Your boy, your boy's out here talking about it.
We live paycheck to paycheck.
What do you guys think?
Like and subscribe.
(upbeat music)
- I was just so constantly frustrated about,
you know, about how our society is just all about money.
But then that whole YouTube video changed everything.
It was ridiculous.
Everyone was talking about Rattle-Can non-stop.
- All right, who's ready to give their presentations?
Ronnie?
You look like you're ready.
Go forward with yours.
Thank you.
- What I did was, at first I drew it on paper
with a sketch pencil and then I used a marker
for a little more detail
and then I used a computer and a scanner here at school,
up in the library,
and pretty much I put this into a picture file
and used photo editing and digital illustration
software to detail most everything.
And also to color the photo.
These are also really commonly used
techniques in graphic design
and by modern comic book colorists.
And this particular work actually demonstrates progression
of Van Gogh's artistic style after his arrival in Paris.
As you actually look above Tanguy's hat here,
it's actually a really great painting
of Mt. Fuji
and it's also interesting to note down here with
Kabuki actors...
actresses, down here in the bottom right
and the left near his shoulder.
And although he was heavily influenced by Japanese prints,
he does not at all veer from
his own personal style of portrait painting,
which I really admire.
(clock ticking)
- Look, Ronnie, I have to tell you
that you're in jeopardizing of failing this course.
I wanna see how you wanna utilize your talents as an artist
to get a job once you graduate.
No one's gonna pay you to recreate a Van Gogh painting.
- You said for the assignment you wanted us
to recreate and/or reproduce
a famous piece of art in our own way.
That's all you said.
You didn't say, recreate, reproduce a famous piece of art
and after you get your A or B grade on it,
go try to sell it and make sure that it sells.
Like, that wasn't the point of the assignment,
so I did exactly what you asked of recreating or reproduce--
- What makes you happy?
I mean, why don't you try to find a way to be
like this guy, RC, the local street artist.
RC, he's blowing up now, he's on YouTube, he's on Instagram.
He's gone viral.
Just find a way to take what's yours
and turn it into pop culture.
- Okay, well first off, I don't think,
from what I've seen at least, RC doesn't do pop culture art
and I'm not RC, so I'm not looking to do anything relevant
or equal to pop culture art.
- Look, I just want you to make what makes you happy
and then turn it into something bigger.
- All right.
Can I get my grading paper?
- [Dexter] Of course.
- [Khyanah] Ronnie.
(Ronnie chuckling)
Oh my gosh.
Wow.
It's a book from my favorite poet.
- [Ronnie] Why, do you already have a copy?
- No, I never got around to buying it.
- Oh.
- Speaking of artists,
there's something I wanted to show you.
- Yeah?
- Have you seen this guy?
He's all over social media right now.
Look.
How come you don't look up any of this on the internet?
- I actually don't have internet, honestly.
- What?
- Yeah, I kinda...
Where did I put it?
I kinda just do all my work on here
but I still don't have wifi.
I draw some of my drawings in here
and I'll edit it in here.
Then I'll print it
and it'll come off like that poster.
- Wait, that's your work?
- Yeah, I did it on here.
There's "Deep 6, High 5."
- If you would just get a cellphone,
not only could you keep up with the art world
but I could talk to you everyday
and then I wouldn't miss you all the time.
- Well, if I got a phone you'd probably be the only one,
only number I dialed.
- Well, baby, my number's the only one you need.
- You're right.
(Khyanah giggling)
(dramatic beat music)
(video game gunshots popping)
- Fuck you. - Oh, by the way.
- What up, homie?
- You know that girl I've been talking to?
Khyanah? - Oh yeah.
That Khyanah.
- Yeah.
So,
we're actually going to talk to each other more.
So I got this cellphone
but I don't really know how to set it up.
So I was wondering
if you could help me. - What the fuck?
(Ronnie chuckling)
You with a phone?
- So, let me stop you there.
While we're talking about cellphones.
- Yeah.
Fucking cellphones, what about it?
- You know I have to bring it up,
you know I have to address it.
Is it true that you made the painting "Cellphone Society?"
Now, there are rumors that there was an imposter involved
and that he may have done the painting himself.
The public doesn't have an actual truth on this.
Now, we have some people saying that...
that you did did the painting.
We have other people saying that you took credit
for whoever didn't do the painting.
Now you have the chance to give the truth to the people,
right here, right now.
- Yes, I made the cellphone painting.
But I make my art pieces for many different reasons
but I only do them for reasons.
I don't just do them just to make them.
(Ronnie sighing)
(phone chiming)
(exciting rock music)
(man yelling muffled lyrics)
(spray can rattling)
(exciting rock music)
(spray hissing)
- Here we go.
It just pisses me off because she found my phone number.
Yeah, she's found my phone number and sent me this.
I don't get it,
why do cellphones have to dictate everything we do?
- How's everybody today?
Thursday, right?
This is the wrong test.
I must have misplaced them.
Give me one minute, I have to go reprint these.
How're you doing today?
- Good, how are you? - Good.
- Yo, guys, did you hear that Rattle-Can got arrested?
- What? - What?
- Yeah, seriously, it's all over my social medias.
- That can't be right.
I thought he was pretty good at not getting caught.
- Dude, I have no idea.
Just Google it.
It's gonna be there.
- [Male Anchor] And now he's in custody.
- [Female Anchor] The police department
working on the case since last month.
- [Officer] You didn't do any of these?
- [Man] I can't say I did, I can't say I didn't, man.
You know, you got all them pics, man.
You got all them answers.
- [Officer] All right, that's why I'm asking.
All right, stand up, man.
Put your hands behind your back.
Put your hands behind your back. (man mumbling)
Put your hands behind your back.
All right.
Ma'am, can you step back real quick, thank you.
Nope.
- [Male Reporter] 20 years old,
is the man behind multiple graffiti tags
throughout the city.
Take a look at this video right here.
They estimate the total cost for damages
and clean up for the incidents
more than five thousand dollars.
(Ronnie chuckling)
- Okay, here's the most recent news apparently had to say.
"This review today is about his final art piece
"and the artwork appears to be of a zombie
"with his head displayed as a cellphone.
"The statement with the artwork proclaims,
"We are a cellphone society
"and we personally find this contradicting art piece,
"which lacks imagination,
"and this statement seems to claim
"phone and the internet are used to brainwash the public.
"If the intent was to bring about
"awareness toward technology,
"then maybe Rattle-Can should consider that
"we as a people influence the media.
"The media and social world have been picked on
"for spreading ignorance in the past.
"The real ignorance is to believe
"people don't have independent thought.
"But we say to Rattle-Can
"as it is best to consider one important fact,
"technology, the internet and phones
"are literally the only reason...
"Are literally the only reason that Rattle-Can...
(Ronnie clearing throat)
"was considered an artist.
"This is a career short-lived and we should all celebrate
"another talentless vandal behind bars."
So, I don't know about you guys
but that sounds like complete and utter bullshit to me.
And, I don't know...
I don't know about you guys,
but I think everyone's getting a little too offended
by such a little thing.
It's just frustrating.
(Khyanah knocking)
- What's the matter with you? - Come on.
- [Khyanah] What did you wanna talk about?
(Ronnie huffing)
- Have you heard what's going on?
(Ronnie sighing)
This fucking stupid ass phone.
- Yeah, it's all over social media.
But the guy was caught, his art piece sucks, so what?
What's going on between you and me?
- What are you and me?
- [Khyanah] What do you mean?
- Like, what are we?
- I don't know.
- You know, Khyanah,
I was doing really well with my art career.
I had people appreciating my art,
they were talking about it
and people were actually talking about me
and who I was making it
and now they're not because I got a fucking cellphone
like you asked and it just completely ruined everything.
Okay?
- What are you talking about?
- The phone, Khyanah, the cellphone!
Literally going the polar opposite
of what an artist should be.
The fact that I don't have an art career anymore.
Bullshit!
- It's you.
You're him.
It's been you this whole entire time?
- Yeah, it's been me
but it's fucked now because you had me
get that fucking phone!
My whole career's ruined now.
- Look, Ronnie, I know who you are
and who you are is amazing.
But those people that are appreciating your artwork,
they don't even know who you are.
You're hiding behind a mask.
- You don't know who I am!
- I'm falling in love with you for who you are.
But if you want to hide behind a mask,
I'm not gonna hold you back, not for a second.
Good luck with your life and your art career.
- [Ronnie] Good luck with your fucking poetry.
(dramatic music)
- I'm sure that must've been really tough.
What was it that helped you cope with everything
after she wasn't around anymore?
And what was it that kept you moving forward?
Was it the art that kept on keeping you going?
- Look, I...
I pretty much just gave up on everything at that point.
(ominous music)
(somber guitar music)
(dramatic guitar music)
(ominous music)
(shower spraying)
(cans clattering)
(spray can rattling)
(spray hissing)
(spray can rattling)
(spray hissing)
(gentle music)
(cans clattering)
(gentle guitar music)
- [Officer] Hands up!
Put your hands up!
Higher!
Don't move!
(dramatic music)
Don't move.
(dramatic music)
(classical violin music)
(spray hissing) (can rattling)
(classical beat music)