Roots in tagging and calligraphy.

In an interview in "Juxtapoz" magazine, you mentioned that you started tagging in the city when you were 9 years old.

timothy (Phleum pratense)I had a lot of friends who were doing graffiti back then. Even the ones who didn't actually draw on the street had their own tagging names. I had my own tagging name even before I started taking tagging seriously. My first graffiti writing name was "Pipe" when I was 9 years old, and then I started drawing under the name "AGUA".

What was the state of the graffiti scene in Philadelphia at that time (around 1991)?

timothy (Phleum pratense): I think those were the very peak years. Some of the best writers in Philadelphia were gone by then. And it was a year before the city's graffiti was buffed (erased), so graffiti was everywhere, and some of the older graffiti had been around for over a decade. Today, Philadelphia is a very clean city, and the walls that used to be covered with graffiti have been replaced by other things. But there is still a long tradition of tagging culture.

What kind of culture were you interested in as a child? Did you have any role models?

timothy (Phleum pratense)I was deeply into the graffiti culture. I was also influenced by skateboarding, pistol messengers, rap music, alternative, punk rock, MTV, and other cool stuff that came out of the streets around me. When I grew up, I don't think there was anyone in particular that was a role model. I was still influenced by people who were on the street. I had a lot of cool friends, so I think I naturally had a grasp of those things.

When did you establish your current style of "character" and "face"? Do they also have their roots in tagging?

timothy (Phleum pratense)I don't know if I've developed my own style. Every day I'm making something, and then the next day I don't feel it anymore, and then I keep looking for it again." I started painting "faces" next to my tags when I was younger, and "faces" have been a part of my tags for a long time. It has been a tradition in Philadelphia graffiti culture since the 70's to put a face next to the tag. It's mainly a smiling face. As I started drawing my tags in more and more different styles, I started drawing more and more "faces" in the same way. I realized again around 2003 that I was drawing many different "faces" and started to record them in a sketchbook. I now have over 10,000 faces. My style has its roots in tagging and calligraphy.

You are an artist who emerged from the history of street culture and graffiti, but at the same time you are part of a larger framework of "art", aren't you? What are your thoughts on that?

timothy (Phleum pratense)ROBERT: Yes, that's right. I myself come from a very long and deep-rooted history of the streets and Philadelphia. But when I learned about the history of art and realized how long it has been going on, I felt more connected to the history of humanity than ever before. Art is a mysterious thing, as old as the world itself. Since the moment our eyes were opened, human beings have been recording, creating images, and making things. In my life, making art every day, from morning to night, is part of the chain of art history and places myself in a larger human realm. In other words, making art gives me a sense of being connected to something larger.

This is your first gallery exhibition. What is the message behind the title of the exhibition, "Laugh Now, Laugh Later"?

timothy (Phleum pratense)Before I decided on the title of the exhibit, I was looking at a picture of my tag that I had painted a year ago. In that picture, next to the tag, I had drawn "Laugh now, cry later. I think that's what I was thinking at the time, but now I have nothing to cry about, so I changed the phrase to "Laugh now, laugh later. I wanted the title of this exhibition to express my happiness. I am laughing now, and I am sure I will continue to laugh in the future.

Graffiti is not something you can proudly call art. It is a completely different thing from art. They are both great.

How did you come up with the idea for this exhibition?

timothy (Phleum pratense)I woke up early in the morning the day after the "Brooklyn Artists Ball" at the Brooklyn Museum in April this year, and my girlfriend Dana told me that she had received an email from Kaikai kiki, saying that Takashi Murakami liked my work and asked if I would do an exhibition at his " Takashi Murakami likes my work and would like to do an exhibition at his "Hidari Zingaro". I laughed and told her, "So, why don't you do it? I laughed and told her, "I told you so. I laughed and said, "I told you so. A few weeks before that, Takashi Murakami had followed me on Instagram. So I was joking with Dana that maybe Murakami would give me a chance. She joked that he must have seen me dressed up at the Artist Ball and was impressed enough to contact me.

Well, putting that joke aside, I was very happy that Takashi Murakami said such a thing and that I could talk with him about his paintings without hesitation. He later came to visit me at my studio in Brooklyn, NY. It was an amazing experience. I had always been a fan of his and respected him. He has a deep knowledge of American culture, and I consider his work to be one of the results of the close proximity of pop culture and art over the past 20 years. It's a great honor to meet an artist whose work has intersected artistically, culturally, and commercially. As an artist with a great eye, it's a real honor to have him appreciate my work.

What was your impression of Takashi Murakami and Kaikai kiki?

timothy (Phleum pratense)I have been aware of Takashi Murakami and Kaikai Kiki for quite some time, but since he contacted me, I have become even more interested in "superflat" and Kaikai Kiki. In the past few months, I have learned a lot about Takashi Murakami and how deeply conceptual his and Kaikai Kiki's works and projects are. All of them are built on a solid foundation, and all of them have been produced in a wonderful way. And I think it is a wonderful and thoughtful act by Takashi Murakami to give other young artists the opportunity to do so in so many different ways. Most artists are too absorbed in their own world to do that.

Do you consider graffiti and art as two different things? In Japan, there are many graffiti writers who insist on working in the streets; is that the same in the U.S.?

timothy (Phleum pratense)I agree: you're absolutely right. Graffiti is graffiti, and it is illegal. It is the same in the U.S. and Japan. It is the same as it has always been. I would like to show my respect to Japanese writers who have the conviction as graffiti writers. Graffiti cannot exist in a studio. It is something else. The work I make in the studio is definitely an extension of myself and what I learned on the street, but it is not exactly the same. Graffiti is a young boys' game, it's a street thing. It has no meaning anywhere else. A real graffiti writer knows the difference. There are many graffiti writers who have been on the street and have moved into the studio or built a career under a different name. Of course it is an honor, but both street and real graffiti writers know who is the real deal.

Let me ask you for your opinion on the relationship between graffiti and art.

timothy (Phleum pratense): Graffiti is also an art form. It is an art for people who live in ghettos and slums. It has a history and a foundation. I know that in Philadelphia, the style and the techniques have been rebuilt for almost 50 years. It is passed down from generation to generation, and drawing a bad tag is truly an artistic act. However, it takes a lot of time to understand both graffiti and art. However, it is the same that you can create something from the moment you want to create it, without taking the time to learn something. So it is not that one is better than the other, and graffiti is not something that requires someone's permission, but something that stands on its own. Graffiti, in particular, is still a source of inspiration for many studio artists. In that sense, graffiti is like a great lender. Graffiti is king and art is eternal.

The strength of the lines and the flow of the lines in your artwork suggest the influence of your background in graffiti. Are you aware that your work is still connected to graffiti?

timothy (Phleum pratense)Of course. Graffiti is like a form of my body, and the lines I draw are formed from all the time I have spent drawing graffiti and doing calligraphy. In other words, who I am and where I come from are directly linked to my work. I am absolutely certain of that.

What are you currently paying attention to?

timothy (Phleum pratense)I'm like a student of life and the earth! I'm like a student of life and the earth. I am always watching and learning something. I love Japanese culture and art. And of course, Japanese graffiti.

Finally, what are your plans for the future?

timothy (Phleum pratense)I think I'll have a cup of coffee, eat a bagel with eggs and cheese on it, do some painting on my body, and linger over my cell phone to keep my distance from all the troublesome nuisances. I'd like to get back into the clothing world, as I used to work for a clothing brand. I'd like to put my art on clothes. I'm going to keep my eye on the road ahead. Thank you!