In the weeks since this year’s Richmond Mural Project, the mural “Moonshine” completed by Bezt & Sainer of the Polish street art team ETAM CRU has become the stand-out favorite, with a steady stream of photos snapped by locals flooding Instagram daily. “Moonshine” earned international acclaim and was ranked by Buzzfeed.com as the 3rd best piece of Street Art in the world for 2013 a mere four days after its completion. It’s obvious that Richmond was damn lucky to have hosted such talent for a muggy week in July, but for Bezt and Sainer, it was business as usual. Humble to the core, they remain purists and want their artwork to speak for itself, rather than telling people how to interpret it. Although they each have their own style, they have influenced each other, meeting somewhere in the middle for the art works they create together. ETAM CRU’s modern, whimsical illustration style is elevating the graffiti and street art game, making their work anything but ephemeral.
Bezt was born in 1987 in Turek, Poland, located about 100km (62 miles) from Lodz, where he attended the Academy of Fine Arts and met Sainer, a native of Lodz, born in 1988. They both finished their degrees in 2010 and have taken Europe by storm in the years since. Although they openly criticize the quality of instruction they received for free (yes, art school is free in Poland), they clearly made the most of their time there. Now they split their time between traveling around Europe together to paint murals at a variety of street art festivals and producing their individual work and exhibiting solo shows. Bezt and Sainer are gaining success as commercial artists and freelance designers, but their roots in graffiti culture keep them rather private, rarely granting interviews or allowing their faces to be photographed near their murals. After spending a few days with them as an assistant for the RMP, they sat down with me at the Richmond International Airport (RIC) as we waited for their flight home to Poland, and finally opened up about their experience in RVA and what drives ETAM CRU.
Bezt & Sanier during Moonshine production
So you’re from Poland and have never left Europe before; how did you get involved with the Richmond Mural Project?
BEZT: Shane [of Art Whino Gallery] extended an offer through many e-mails and we worked out a plan to come to the US to paint.
Well, you’ve definitely been on the radar of those that follow street art. When did you start doing walls?
BEZT: Big walls? I think five or six years ago, but I started to make graffiti like ten years ago, so the first walls were like really small graffiti walls and then I went bigger and bigger.
SAINER: I began to paint Graffiti about eight years ago. After we met at the Art Academy (Lodz, Poland), we started painting together. When we had the chance to do a big wall, we went for it and now we have more options to keep doing larger and taking on the challenge. We’re happy for it.
Bezt, you founded ETAM CRU. What does the name mean?
BEZT: In English, it doesn’t make sense, but in Polish, when you say “etam,” it’s when you don’t care about something. There are no words to translate it that directly from Polish. The name began with my friend from Turek [Poland]. We needed a name for our crew. We struggled to find something that fit us and he said “oh, just ‘Etam’,” and that was it. It was natural. We went with it. It doesn’t mean we don’t care about our art, we just don’t care about our critics [grins].
It’s great that it happened so organically. So, what are your goals as a crew?
SAINER: Just to paint, as long as we can.
BEZT: Yeah, exactly.
Pretty simple. Admirable. What is the symbolism behind your “marks of authenticity”, the hard edged skull and the heart?
SAINER: There is no meaning about it; they are just symbols.
BEZT: Yeah, it’s just a small detail. Sometimes it is the skull, other times, a heart. One is in every piece in some way.
Sounds like you acknowledge it’s a running theme, but haven’t considered what your critics or fans might assume from their inclusion (or exclusion) in a given work. I suppose some mystery is good for both the artist and the patron. It keeps things interesting. So, how do you feel about working as a team as opposed to by yourself?
SAINER: Working as a team is much harder because you have to make some compromises. We would like to only work together on the walls because on the canvases, I would like to have space, you know, just for me to work on my own and develop my style. The walls are good for us to do together. They are lot of effort; for me, it is the perfect way. If we start to paint canvases together, I think it would be boring because it’s not big enough and we would not have the space to be ourselves. Everyone needs their own space. Just like any other couple.
That makes total sense. It helps preserve the dynamic. Does inspiration flow more freely between two minds?
SAINER: I don’t think so. It is the same.
BEZT: Yeah, it’s the same. Artist to Artist. We’re inspired by similar things; that’s why we work together.
Are there any challenges to working together?
BEZT: I don’t think about it really. We don’t argue, we just sit down together, relax and talk about it, joke a little bit.
SAINER: There were times before in the beginning when we would argue about our way, how we should work, but right now we know that if one of us doesn’t want to do something, we’re just not doing it. It makes no sense to force it.
In what ways do you think your work has improved by collaborating?
BEZT: Yeah, we changed. When we started, I was doing graffiti/comic book character styles and he [Sainer] was doing more realistic ones, so we changed over time. I hope we’ve developed since the beginning.
SAINER: I think we changed our individual stuff between, let’s say “Etam style.” I think it’s necessary that everyone has their own way sometimes. Otherwise, there is no point to working together.
Speaking of your own way, others have described “Etam style” as surreal and grotesque, with realistic anatomy and brilliant atmospheres. How would YOU describe your work?
BEZT: [groans] It’s better to not describe it.
SAINER: I want to say that I’m a painter, not a storyteller.
Fair enough. More mystery. Does your work differentiate between your paintings and drawings?
BEZT: Not really. There are some connections, but we have uh, like he said, the “Etam style,” so we are taking that onto canvases now.
I noticed you used mostly rollers and brushes for your mural here… is that your preferred method for murals?
SAINER: Spray cans too.
BEZT: Yeah, some spray cans for details. It’s just easier to cover a bigger surface with a roller than with the spray paint.
SAINER: It’s faster and you don’t smell the fumes.
BEZT: You can also mix the color that you want and not rely on what is available in spray cans.
SAINER: Yeah, mixing paint is preferred. It’s also easier for our travels because not every country has the whole palate of all of the spray cans, so it’s much easier to use latex house paint. Everywhere has house paint.
That makes a lot of sense. Sounds like your training in art school plays a part in that as well. Having the ability to mix your own colors is crucial. Since this mural “Moonshine” is so close to the VCUarts program, do you hope it will inspire those students? What advice would you give to aspiring artists?
BEZT: [laughs] Just work.
SAINER: Sometimes new artists want to paint the big walls and say, “oh, let’s go get it,” but have trouble starting because you have to know the way. You couldn't get the biggest wall right away, you have to work towards that. You have to start small and make some compromises with the organizers or building owner. When we began, we sponsored ourselves. We bought our own supplies, we drove by car to other cities to paint. At that time, we didn’t have any money. I borrowed money from my parents to make it happen. I was buying the shittiest paint just to do it, you know? I think everyone has to start small and work for it and then they will know the way.
What projects do you have lined up after this?
BEZT: I’m going to Slovakia to paint a nine floor building with another painter, PENER. After that, maybe Vienna. [Mural with PENER was completed in Kosice, Slovakia, August 2013--see it here]
SAINER: I’m going to Paris in September to paint a wall [Sainer's "High Hopes" was completed in Paris earlier this week--see it here] and then I’m preparing for a new gallery show of my work in Poland this November.
You keep pretty busy and have already done a lot this year. Which mural that you’ve completed in 2013 is your favorite and why?
BEZT: I have to remember what we did this year.
SAINER: I think the one we did here [Moonshine] is my favorite now.
BEZT: Yeah, I think so too, this one.
SAINER: It’s much more fresh than the others.
BEZT: It’s something different for us.
How did you like your visit to the US? To Richmond?
BEZT: [laughs] The hotel pool was nice.
SAINER: For me, it was really good to meet people. I’m really happy that we met the other muralists. I didn’t care so much about learning the city because we were mostly working on the wall or sleeping at the hotel. There wasn’t much time to play. It’s like that for a lot of these festivals we travel to. You have only one week to work on your wall, so you focus on that, not exploring. I guess because in all my travels in Europe, the cities all seem the same. Everyone always thinks we want to see the city, but I want to focus on the painting. That’s why I’m there. The travel inspires me more than the individual city. I’m not a super romantic guy who is inspired by scenery. Richmond is a small city though. I think compared to other US cities, maybe if we go to New York or LA, we might feel overwhelmed. I like a city this size. There is no rush, it’s manageable. It’s easy-going. In the end, I didn’t realize much that I was in the US, other than everyone speaking English. In our travels in Europe, it’s hard to communicate with our organizers because outside of Poland, not many speak Polish and still not many speak English, so no one understands us. It’s really shitty. Here it was easy. I think we caught a little bit of American culture though. We only saw it in movies before, and we noticed some stereotypes are true. It made us laugh.
BEZT: We were eating pizza all the time and drinking lots of Slurpees. The 7-11 market was our spot. I’m not really a party guy, so I didn’t need to go out much after painting each day. It was nice to sit and relax, to talk with the other muralists.
SAINER: Yeah, it was cool to have the downtime to sit quietly with the other artists and sketch in each other’s books. We don’t need to go out much or go to fancy places. I’m happy that we could come to America to paint for Richmond. When we were young in Poland, American culture was pumped up by the media, so everyone thinks that in the US, there is a “super hype life,” but it turns out it’s the same as home. Everyone has the same routines, the same struggles. Only the language is different. I’m more inspired by the other artists than what I saw in America. I look forward to coming back.
BEZT: Me too. I need to find some Nike shoes next time. [grins]
Check out our coverage of the Richmond Mural Project in RVA #14--read it online HERE, or grab a copy at many fine businesses around town! And keep an eye on rvamag.com for more of our extended interviews with Richmond Mural Project artists!