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Interview with Graffiti Artist Scribe

4WORD catches up with one of the dopest and most talented artists out there, Scribe from KC, to get the scoop on some of his influences and to find out what he's been up to.

4WORD: Hey Scribe. Thanks for talking to us...lets get right into it. Whats up with those rhinos and plungers?

Scribe: My main character Rumpus was and is usually in some sort of battle somewhere and usually it might be a group of bees. As I painted more murals around my current home town of Kansas City, Missouri I noticed more and more kids paying attention to what I was doing and I felt like I had a responsibility to get it comical like an old Tom and Jerry cartoon but conceptual for myself and maybe an adult who asked. Many of the paintings and illustrations I do are a way of setting a stage for what goes on in the battle for your heart and mind. The plungers were not only rated G for one audience but held some value for me in illustrating a weapon used for a break through and un-clogging or sorts when trying to make an important decision in my life. In most cases they have been used to bat away the bees but never fully kill them.

4WORD: And the bees?

Scribe: Oh, they know not what they do! They started out a lot more aggressive in the beginning. I watched a show years ago where the queen would dance, bees would dance and work, they would die and then be pushed out the hive into a pile of dead bees to put it short. I saw a similarity in humanity I guess. The struggle to be an individual is tuff and over time the bees became "Peer Pressure" and that is why they got a lot less aggressive. The more I studied it, I started to realize I even had friends that were pressuring me, nit because they were bad people but because it was what they were into and sometimes they had no idea how much I really wasn’t into something because I try hard not to preach but just remain on a walk. That is why I say "they know not what they do" besides it being a lose line from the Bible depending on the translation.

4WORD: Crew representation?

Scribe: Att (Abstracting The Typography) crew for almost 15 years now….oh man I never thought I would say that in the painting game! And DF crew several years later whom I looked up to as a pup in Boston Highschool.

4WORD: Art influences growing up?

Scribe: So many, this question is always hard because I tend to bump back into them later and am like "awe man I forgot about that one" but to name a few like so many; Old Disney cartoons ( I like old sports Goofy ) Tom and Jerry, Hanna Barbera cartoons, blending later into The Tick, Groo the Wanderer and anything by Vaughn Bode.

4WORD: Art influences now?

Scribe: I am influenced differently now so that is hard to say. The old stuff affected my style I have today but some of these names are more on the level of their idea, skills and more. It is a long list but here is a couple. Barry Mcgee aka Twist, Jason Brunson, Os Gemeos, Toast, Pixar and Blue Sky studios, Greg Simkins aka Crayola and Jeff Soto to name a few.

4WORD: Do you collect any designer vinyl?

Scribe: I have a lot of random stuff. I’m not much of a "gotta have the full set" kind guy. I buy the figures that inspire me. I own stuff from Mad, Pete Fowler, Dalek, Kid Robot stuff when I’m into a specific artist, Scary Girl and a bunch more.

4WORD: Artists you would like to work with?

Scribe: I got the chance to paint with Os Gemeos on a wall in Cincinnati which was truly awesome! Crayola on a wall for sure would really be fun. We both seem to love strange animals and I think it would mix well on a large scale wall…I would be scared though. I currently work with Jason Brunson on a lot on walls and it is usually some of my favorite exterior work. There is not a whole lot better than keeping it as dumb as possible, being yourself and there never being any pressure.

4WORD: First pantone that comes to mind?

Scribe: Pantone 383 C ( solid to process guide coated)

4WORD: What music you listened to last time you painted?

Scribe: Wall painting – The Haggis Horns from Leeds England. ( Funk/soul ) Studio painting – Charlie Parker also know as The Bird, born and raised in Kansas City Missouri I might add and a reminder like Thomas Hart Benton, it doesn’t always matter where you live to make things happen.

4WORD: Longest running outdoor piece of yours you know of?

Scribe: This guy throwing a spoon full of poop onto an East piece!

4WORD: Feeling of seeing 2d - 3d transform?

Scribe: A real dream come true to by honest. ( Thanks to Cardboard Spaceship! ) Holding a piece in my hands makes me feel closer to looking back into some of my original dreams of some animation.

4WORD: Should I go see spinal tap 2nite?

Scribe: Honestly that movie never stuck in my mind so I’ll have to rent it again to find out. I missed a lot of stuff living overseas in Israel and London as a kid and don’t fit in much with the OG MTV generation stuff.

4WORD: Plans this summer?

Scribe: I hope to paint outside a lot…I’ve been blessed with a bunch of stuff I didn’t see coming. I am going to the San Diego Comi-con but I don’t think I know what I’m getting myself into! I’m a little new to this type of scene because I was so into graffiti scene but it was love at first sight and the scene I hope I belong in.\ as well. I have some projects I am working on for SDCC so I’m hoping foe a couple of releases.

4WORD: What about your work with the hospital?

Scribe: I work full time at Children’s Mercy hospital being a "creative" so to say. I paint a lot of murals, do digital mural work and printing and basically help with being a creative problem solver or sorts. I really love it! The mission and the people I work with make for a job I would be crushed about leaving if that day ever came. The hospital helped me grow up in so many ways.

4WORD: Future projects you are hype about?

Scribe: "Sumego" Beaver sculpt with Cardboard Spaceship is in the works and that is going to be incredible to see come to life. I have some work to do this summer for my first group show at Gallery 1988 in San Francisco along with some print work with them.

4WORD: Who's Seymour?

Scribe: Oh man... Seeeeymoooore Green. I did some work in Kansas City for the Metro Bus system that involved me doing a character for their Keep It Green campaign. One of the illustrations had the character sitting on a crooked bench on a cracked sidewalk waiting for the bus. People saw what they wanted to see and lashed out in some strange ways. It made it on the front page of the paper and started some serious talks. It was all funny to me in the end how serious people take things and I never intended it to be an issue. I love Kansas City, but that issue reminded me where a lot of minds still are in comparison to other parts of the country. In the end the Metro loved it all, the character and the attention it got and it did its job and got people talking about the bus and a "Car Town" I still take the bus on some days for character studies!

4WORD: Rumor confirm or deny... you tear it up on some rollerblades?

Scribe: No on the roller blades….not a sexy look for me by far or for most.

4WORD: Went to highschool with the shamwow guy's cousin?

Scribe: I have no idea. I could have and maybe never knew it.

4WORD: enjoys the snap of snap peas?

Scribe: I enjoy the "Snap" but don’t chase after the taste as a favorite. I do enjoy the "Snap" of an old "OOhhhhh SsssAaaap!" Thanks for the time and the interview and much love to my wife Alisa and my two boys Elijah and Jonah for putting up with me.

For all things Scribe related, check out www.scribeswalk.com. Rumpus designer toy sold exclusively at Cardboard Spaceship.