Recovering The SelfA Journal of Hope and Healing

Arts & Literature

Street Art with Crupt

by Michell Spoden

Historically, drawing on buildings has been around since ancient Egypt and Rome. Graffiti art is no new subject and is so recognized today that museums are displaying it. We have much to learn about the value of art and its expressions. Expression is what we see in the images that are displayed. Let us go a bit deeper into this art form with Miguel Coron, popularly known as Crupt.crupt

Michell: Please briefly tell about your background and profession?

Crupt: My name is Miguel Coron, but I’m popularly known as Crupt and I am a Mexican American born and raised in Fresno California. I currently work as a sheller at a foundry.

Michell: How were you first introduced to graffiti art? How long have you been doing it?

Crupt: I was first introduced to graffiti when I was 13 years old by a couple of different things; first my older brother was into it for a while and I got to see his handwriting and how his letters were drawn out. Then I started to notice graffiti painted around town, scribbled on dumpsters, mail boxes the sides of buildings, fences and even the sides of box trucks. I was also exposed to a video game called Jet Grind Radio that introduced me to more complex lettering structures and color schemes. It was a game that featured a bunch of rollerblades skating around the city painting the sides of buildings, trains and buses. I was always amazed by the complexity of the letters in the game and how all the colors came together. All of this led me to want to recreate these things on paper and eventually walls.

Michell: One of my friends was a missionary in Israel and many of the youth there do graffiti art as well. Do you find that this sort of art brings people together from all backgrounds?

Crupt: Graffiti can have that effect. When I first started writing graffiti I did it with a group of friends at school, some of us where Mexican others Asian and some African American although this isn’t the greatest example because most of us where friends before we started painting but I have found that many of the people that take part in this are looking for the attention of their peers or others.

Michell: What sort of things do you put your art on other than buildings?

Crupt: As of now I mostly work on canvas and walls but in the past I used to paint all my friends backpacks leaving them covered in graffiti, I also painted custom t-shirts and hats with airbrush, spray paint and markers. I would put my art on anything really. My brother even let me paint his car he drove on a daily basis. Oh yeah and stickers are another place I would draw out my name.

Michell: If you could choose your greatest medium to do graffiti art on what would it be and why?

Crupt: I would have to say a wall will always be the best place for my art. I say that because it’s a place where not only I would get great joy out of painting but others will get joy from watching it come together and seeing the finished product. Murals are my favorite type of art because of the size and the amount of detail you can see spread across them. Another reason I like them so much is that they are meant for the public and not stuck on a canvas or in frame stuck on the wall of a gallery for a select few to enjoy,

Michell: This type of art has been associated with social types such as rebels and criminals because of gang involvement using it and just the mere fact that painting on other people’s property without permission is disrespectful. What do you think about these traditional mindsets?

Crupt: Now that I’m older I can see where these types of mindsets come from. I think some people need to relax when it comes to graffiti. I would say only a small portion of the graffiti you see is gang related and have anything to do with those type of people. Most of the graffiti out there is young artist trying to make a name for themselves among their peers. As far as destroying personal property I could care less what people think, I use to have to paint over graffiti on my parent’s fence and never found it that difficult. A pothole in the road brings me more grief than a couple of letters sprayed on a wall. I think we have bigger problems to worry about other than graffiti. We should pay more attention to important issues like homelessness, drug addiction, police brutality, education, corruption and hypocrisy in government.

Michell: Has it always been spray paint that has been used to do street art or are their others?

Crupt: Spray paint is one of the main things used in graffiti but there are other tools that have been used since the beginning. Paint markers are big when it comes to graffiti; they can be used write on dumpsters, walls, street signs, light poles, almost any dry surface. . Some street artist wanting to go big use buckets of paint a rollers to create giant letters, a famous piece that comes to mind when I think of that type of graffiti is a Saber MSK piece in the LA river, A quick google search will turn up a couple pictures and you will have an idea of how big some artist take things.

Michell: Have you ever used your art to impact social or humanitarian efforts?

Crupt: I painted a graffiti peace to honor our veterans returning from combat and bring awareness to the sacrifice these individuals make. I am not a supporter of the wars or funding wars in other countries but I do believe that these individuals make the ultimate sacrifice in giving their lives for what they believe is right. I’ve read stories of returning veterans not receiving treatment for the injuries the sustained during combat such as those coming back from Vietnam with breathing problems caused by agent orange or the soldiers of today committing suicide after getting back because they are suffering from depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Michell: If you could tell the world anything about yourself what would it be?

Crupt: I am a passionate, hardworking graffiti artist that wants to work on bigger and better projects and grow as an artist and a person. I’m not a street thug or criminal, I’m just an artist and graffiti is the way I chose to express myself.

Michell: What are some of your long term goals as an artist?

Crupt: I would love to someday have my art displayed on walls and in galleries in different cities, states and countries. Working with other talented artist from all these different places, being able to see my art on t shirts, sweaters, billboards and buildings. If anyone would like to contact me please see my social pages listed or e mail me at Grizzlycity@yahoo.com.

Michell: On behalf of RTS and myself, I would like to thank you for this interview and wish you the very best in all that you do.

Crupt: I’d like to thank you for the interview, your time and you’re willingness to work with a fringe artist like myself.

Follow Crupt at:

Facebook.com/Crupt1
Twitter.com/CruptOne

Or visit his website: http://www.crupt1.com/.

About the Interviewer

Michell Spoden is the author of Stricken Yet Crowned and is also pursuing a transitional housing project for woman with an agricultural aspect. She has a degree in Business Science Administration and is finishing her bachelor’s in Project Management.

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Recovering The Self is a forum for people to tell their stories. Individual contributors accept complete responsibility for the veracity, accuracy, and non-infringement of their reporting.
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