Interview with Trek Six
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Art has been a life long passion and pursuit for Trek, dating back to his art upbringing in the 80’s were he studied under the mentorship of Puerto Rican painters Andres Bueso and son Andy Bueso were he honed his painting skills and learned what it meant to be an artist. He would return home to Miami with this knowledge and love of art and carry it with him on the streets of Miami were he was part of one of the city’s most notorious and oldest graffiti crews STV, creating mural all over the city and through out the US and Puerto Rico. Most recently Trek has been participating in urban beautification projects all around the world. He represented Miami in Pow Wow Hawaii and worked again with Charles Juhasz and the EML collective on a mural for Triufunal Polytechnico de San Juan for an exhibition named “Contrafuerte” in Puerto Rico. In 2012 he has had works featured on media sites like Huffington Post and publications such as USA Today, Sun Sentinel and The Miami Herald as well as having a mural showcased on the premier of the Emmy award winning baseball documentary “ The Franchise” on Showtime and participated in Heineken Open Your World Mural Project. He was just voted Miami New Times 2013 Street Artist of the Year.
Hi Trek Six, today MoW selected 4 of your artworks inspired by music.
Can you tell MoW why you chose those music artists ?
Most of my subjects are chosen because of some tie to either the location or some sort of story that has to do with the project. Ismael Rivera in Santurce where he is from, Ray charles in Jacksonville where he studied, Betty Wright in Overtown were she lived. I painted Ruben Blades in Orlando once , the reason was to show love and support for the unnoticed Latino Community in Orlando. It is hard living in the shadow of Mickey, the Bob Marley mural in Miami cause of his time spent there plus a lot of the Marleys live or have strong ties to Miami. Augustus Pablo was at a music venue, I wanted to paint some one that to me as a patron would say " this place knows music" and Dub King Augustus is the man.
What was the music behind the artworks ? What inspired you to create them ?
For the Bob Marley murals I listened a lot to "Catcha Fire" and some more unknown versions of his stuff, I usually make a playlist to paint to but the irony is it typically only has a little of the person Im painting..I think its because I paint long hours straight and would get bored of any music repeated over and over..but with Bob I actually had a lot of just his music.I collaborated in that mural with a local Miami artist Hec one. Hec has a brand thing he works on called "Loveism" so that was where that came from and Bob was my way of trying to cheer up people in traffic on i95, Bob Marleys music to me is such a positive experience that I figured if looking at him for a second in traffic can transport the viewer to any memory associated with him that would be a much better way to be in traffic …its a PSA of sorts. I listen to a really wide variety of music so my playlist are kind of crazy and all over the place.
Why is music important to you and your art?
Music is a major part of my work and life in so many ways and levels and the conversation can go on for days , literally. But in a nutshell I have been obsessed with the the effects of resonance. Resonance can occur in many ways and through varying forms,the frequency and cycle of your blood traveling thru the body changes due to temperature which is controlled by your environment..so the resonance left behind ( or that occurs) by the temperature of your surroundings effects your physical make up…as a teenager I grew fascinated with this and began to collect synthesizers so that I my hear what that phenomenon sounds like in music and sound. So as I was teaching myself about sound and the physics of sound and exploring the world of synthesis I was also looking at it from a philosophical point… and later began to incorporate different design techniques in the continuing exploration of resonance but from a visual point of view… if you look at my work you'll see a lot of use of lines, rhythm, repetition..which is a graphical way of showing resonance like a polygraph waveform but also color , saturation can create that same feeling of resonance..then there is the the way a mural affects the community it is located in and how that resonates.So from that perspective think about music and sound and how it affects us, physically thru sound waves passing thru the body ,psychologically by lyrics passing thru a thought ,emotionally by the relationships in tuning or harmony in a musical composition and how that resonates in our conscious. the very nature of the people I pick I hope creates a dialogue that would lead to a new or reinforce a feeling about a certain musical entity and how they make you feel.
If you had to choose between the artworks presented today, which of your artwork would be your favorite ? And why ?
Don't remember if I named it or not but it's a woman with headphones but her faces is abstracted by colors and lines, kind of like stained glass shards. First it's painted on the walls of Co11ective which was event my wife and I curated for Art Basel 2012 and I am extremely proud of that, but also it was when I first really started finding that aesthetic. I had touched on it before but that was the first time I gave completely and allowed myself to use that language.
Can you tell MoW more about the techniques you used. How old is your technique? How did it start? How long does it take you to make an artwork ?
I typically use all aerosol, as for how long..arguably 60's or so at least in this way.I started as a teenager in the 80's and 90's as a graffiti writer and as I got older found myself wanting to explore and paint things that weren't the stereotypical graff culture. Pieces take anywhere from couple of hours to weeks.I don't have any regular amount, I usually start and work till Im done so most my pieces are done relatively fast.
Do you have plans on creating new artworks insipired by music ?
Most my work in one way or another is based on music and sound, and still live paint regularly so Im sure there is plenty on the horizon.
Do you listen to music when you’re working ? If so, what kind of music ?
70's and 80's classics, punk,funk,hiphop,soul,salsa,reggae,dub,90's, electronic, EDM, ambient, noise, jazz in that order, by that time its usually been 14 or so hrs and I repeat.
What is the song you liked the most lately? The album ? What was the last gig you went to ?
Song, would have to be The Light 3000 by Schneider ™ . Really beautiful electronic remake of the the Smiths classic The Light.
Album would be "In Rainbows" by Radiohead. I just really love this album. Lots of creative stuff and beautifully recorded.
Last gig I went to was a hip hop show in Asheville. Topr Gus Cutty and the Fist Fam, really had a great time. Topr for me was really dope, not that the other guys weren't cause they were also great acts, the Fist Fam is bonkers! Topr shows a certain level of braggadocios and vulnerability on stage that really is refreshing in contrast to all the garbage out there and even on an off night as he said it was after the show if accepted from a from toprs perspective is both dope and hilarious . Topr and Foul mouth jerk should do stand up..
Are you a musician yourself ? If so can you tell MoW more about your music projects ?
More like a hobbyist, I was a sound engineer for minute and worked on a bunch of projects with friends in their studios. Jack of all trades master of none but I can communicate an idea effectively. Oruga is the name of the band I played in, the first album is online on iTunes I think. Very programmed electronic music but with lots of live instrumentation and experimental dap stuff live though we sounded more like a punk jazz band..spacey stuff too!! On souncloud I recently began uploading projects from the past that either were live or never released or even finished, just to share. Lots of experimental noise stuff and I'm almost done compiling a album of glitchy beats type stuff from compositions made from 2003 to 2008. Its called Blue Light Midnight. Growing up I always went to sleep with music on, and most of my receivers ( old fisher, sony and then aiwa) all had blue lights. So these are all compositions of dreams had in that moment when your half asleep and all you really see is the blue glow of the receiver, the music swings from noise to glitchy beats and experimental electronic stuff mixed with some hiphop.
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