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Montana BLACK Artist Edition: Rage
#18 RAGE
PhotogrAphy Rage Location Hamburg, Germany
Hamburg, Germany is renowned for extremely innovative and high quality graffiti. Both on and off the trains. But in a city so creatively prolific, where security is so tight and competition is even tighter, there is still room for one name to shine. A name that is synonymous with quality, innovation and dedication when it comes to art and graffiti on trains. And that name is »RAGE «.
Since apx. 1998 the name RAGE or RACHE has found it’s way into traffic in many forms, on many moving surfaces. For the 18th edition of the Montana BLACK Artist Edition cans, this name has found it’s way onto another major moving surface, the Montana BLACK color, Black 9001. With the boundaries of graffiti, typography and fine art blurring in nearly every artwork RAGE creates, it seemed only logical that he would be featured as a Montana BLACK Artist Edition artist. It was thus unsurprising that the color black, with all it’s impact, precision and clarity, was RAGE’s color of choice. Also bearing in mind, that black is one of the highest covering colors in a can and therefore heavily features in countless RAGE artworks. It got us wondering, what makes RAGE tick? What drives him to create artwork as impressive as it is? Here is what he had to say.
MONTANA-CANS The word Rage or Rache are very strong, loaded words. When you started writing it you were 20 years+ younger. Do you still feel any »rage« as an ingredient to your artwork or it’s context? Or has it become just letters you re-invent to develop as an artist?
RAGE I have a distinct problem with someone or anyone trying to set me limits or telling me what I should or shouldn’t do and my stance on this has not changed in 20 years! Unfortunately, I always feel that I am being subjected to societal constraints and norms on a daily basis. This occurs at all levels, the system aims to keep you both small and quiet. Graffiti means more to me than any old fad or some ridiculous teenage dick measuring competition. In my eyes graffiti represents a form of protest against the system. Therefore, I lay more importance in the name or moniker than I do with insignificant combination of letters.
MC The book »The Art of Rage« featuring your artwork may of opened the eyes of the last few graffiti enthusiasts on the globe that didn’t know about you before. Have you noticed any changes in peoples awareness of you or your art since then? Has staying stealth become harder?
RAGE I have no idea to be honest. As I prefer to keep my circle small and personal I decided not have a social media presence making it relatively easy to remain anonymous. MC Not many artists have managed consistency, quality and output on trains like you do. How did you do it? Have you just gotten faster, have you always found new spots to push time barriers or have you had to become a graffiti »MacGyver« to use gadgets and technology to keep you one step ahead?
RAGE I always try to work as professionally as possible. But most of the time, I’m just the guy that requires the most time to finish what I’m doing, I always manage to exhaust the comparatively short time span available to execute my painting.
MC The most, if not all of your artwork is based on trains. Obviously there is a lot of preparation and strategy to be good at that. Has this taken it’s toll on you psychologically? To keep your ideas moving in one medium while staying ahead of the law at the same time.
RAGE Of course it is often very grueling and stressful but if it were too easy everybody could do this.
MC Is it hard for you to come up with new ideas or do they flow from action to action?
RAGE I often have a lot of ideas swilling around in my head and definitely do not lack a creative output. But I often feel like I lack both the time and quiet to either implement or work everything out. So technically it is too little for me sometimes. But it certainly is not the case that I have to bend over backwards to produce my current work.
MONTANA-CANS For your Montana BLACK Artist Edition can, was it an obvious choice to pick the color black, or did you contemplate other possibilities first?
RAGE: No, BLACK was always going to be my first choice. I prefer to work with a relative combination of colors. Black and white is my favourite color combination of all. The combination creates the greatest contrast and therefore projects a lot of power visually. I don’t require an abundance of colors to achieve my desired goal. MC If you could have done anything different in your graffiti / artistic path until now, what would it be?
RAGE If there were, it would be of little significance.
MC Is there any where, any train model or any context you still really want to paint? Or is holding it down in your home town more important?
RAGE Since I feel arbitrary in a system where I do not face legal action, I remain loyal to the investigative authorities in my city. In addition, it is far more important to me what I do on the train and not the other way, so I move mainly in this area.
↑ Always managing to complete the idea in the time allowed, RAGE’s wholecar advances forward in a picturesque Hamburg backdrop. ↓ A symbol of harmony and unity, RAGE’s Montana BLACK ARTIST EDITION can captures all the elements of his work in one resolved design on the surface of the can.
← Before the reward, there is always the work. Progress shots of the RAGE wholecar being created in another picturesque Hamburg surrounding.
