Fumes and Flames: Shinjuku Spray Painter Shakes Up Art Scene
If it suits him on a particular day, a spray-painting artist appears underneath the bridge at the Odakyu Department Store at the West Exit of Shinjuku Station. The elusive wizard with the spray cans handles his tools deftly and produces stunning works of art.
To put it bluntly, the way he paints is crude, and it seems as though he is cooking without a cookbook. His hands are sticky with multiple colors of paint as he manipulates the paper, cans and various props.
However, his paintings of outer space, pyramids, the ocean and other magnificent scenery have a very high-quality finish that brings one word to mind – beautiful.
Photography is prohibited, but the artist, who did not give his name, graciously allowed RocketNews24 to record and post videos online. We had no idea what he was creating while we “rolled film,” but we were able to understand the significance of the process once we saw the finished product.
The painting he made for us featured two pyramids and four planets suspended in the night sky. We needed to go back and review the video to see where in the process he painted the main objects; it was difficult to tell in the moment. He may look like he is just spraying colors haphazardly over the canvas, but he calculated every last move.
Take a peek under the bridge by the Odakyu Department Store next time you find yourself at Shinjuku Station – the mysterious spray-painting artist just might be in his studio that day.
[Movie, Part One] The artist removes the lids and papers to reveal planets and pyramids (at the 3:40 mark).
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APC8l6r94GY]
[Movie, Part Two] The artist uses a cigarette lighter to produce a flame that dries and finishes the painting (at the 2:05 mark).
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqRiSSys47A]
1. The artist sprays the blank drawing paper with an air of carelessness.
2. Why is he putting paper on top of the drawing paper?
3. He adds more colors, and it looks like a mess at first glance.
4. Now he's putting lids on top of the drawing paper.
5. He sprays black paint from above the lids, turning the picture pitch-black.
6. There were planets hiding under those lids!
7. He continues by taking the papers away to reveal pyramids!
8. Add a little fire to dry the painting and finish the job and . . .
9. . . . voila! A fine piece of art!
Pictures by RocketNews24
