[Art Stuff] Copenhagen - Indoor Street Art
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Camilla Bromann on
October 13, 2008 – 1:14 pm
Mikkel P. from Denmark knows how to make stuff good! Take a look and see yourself! Crazzzzzzzy Assss
It all started on Christmas. Mikkel was hoping more than anything that he would wake to a Playstation sitting under the tree that year. But the package that year was smaller, different. The package that year was a book, something most kids would hate. But this book was not just any book; this was a book of colors, shapes and shades. It was his first book about graffiti. In hindsight, Mikkel is kind of thankful for the unwanted gift that landed under the tree.
During his childhood and adolescence Mikkel’s main interest was graffiti and he began painting on everything he came near. “It didn’t really look awesome” Mikkel said, knowing that no spray-can-beginners can rock from day one. Like everyone else passionate about the wonders of aerosol, he tried hard to learn about his craft. Although it took years (and a whole heap of cans), Mikkel began to get better and better at his art.
In the beginning of his graffiti fascination, Wildstyle kings such as Swet (Denmark), Bates (Denmark) and Can2 (Germany) were his main sources of inspiration. But time moved on and slowly Mikkel developed a fascination with 3D works, artists such as –Loomit (Germany) and Daim (Germany) became his new idols. These pros utilized a whole range of various techniques with an emphasis on shadowing, a skill that even Mikkel himself believes he is yet to master.
Despite his youthful fixation on 3D and his eagerness to master an array of techniques, Mikkel’s love of art faded during his high school years. He had come to terms with his lack of skills and graffiti had become a thing of the past.
After high school Mikkel moved to Copenhagen; the capital of Denmark. He applied to study medicine at university yet was declined a position, giving him a reason to pick up the paints, pencils and cans once again. All of a sudden his forgotten passion came alive and within the next year Mikkel was back on track. Realizing that art would always be a part of his life, he began studying architecture.
Mikkel drew inspiration from his studies and the artificial engineering drawings as time went on his old hobby became more of a way of life. During his early graffiti period, cans were the only ‘true’ way to create pieces but, because architectural technique was easier to master on horizontal objects, spraying on walls did not have the same importance anymore. Cans began to be replaced with pencils and posca markers, and the walls with paper and canvases.
Today Mikkel increases the opportunity in developing his style by letting all different kinds of material interfere in his projects. Spray paint, acrylics, pencils, poscas and oil paint are but a few of his materials. In fact, Mikkel will use almost anything. Why set boundaries?
His pieces usually create themselves in the process, but every now and then he draws a sketch before the real picture comes alive. “It is good to have an idea, but the idea has to move away from the pre-made pencil lines and create a spontaneous and livable piece of storytelling” -Mikkel writes in an e-mail a couple off weeks ago. “It has to have its own life”.
Mikkel’s art is not only about shapes, shades and colors. It is about telling stories in many dimensions. His idea is to visualize the meaning of different layers by combining perspectives, symmetries and the actual surface of the canvas into one piece. He calls it a connected story of different universes. It often looks like a spacious, mechanical object in the surface.
In his latest piece Mikkel had the idea to combine organic material with mechanic objects. But he is not just interested in showing the differences between the materials, Mikkel’s work also highlights some of the similarities between the two and creates a non-obvious connection.
This is why his style is so easy to recognize. It is not just an expression of style, it is an extended development of underground art that has been collected from the streets and brought indoor to play with our eyes and our minds. Even though you won’t find it outdoors, street art might be the most appropriate term to use to describe Mikkel’s colorful “Wildstyle”, architectonic inspired paintings. But it is so much more than that. It’s more than just colourful, more than just graffiti and much more than just a mish-mash of influence. I’m not even sure if the word I’m looking for has been created yet. Perhaps this isn’t a bad thing, as naming can occasionally make something lose its meaning. Go have a look at www.mikkelpedersen.com and make your own word for his work.
Want to find out more about the previously mentioned graffiti artists? Visit:
