Orticanoodles is a credit to the street art scene and a real inspiration for many artists. Primarily a stencil artist, Ortica has been getting around recently and had work featured at the first Cans event. Despite working primarily in stencil, Ortica is not limited to stencil work and often works with many different materials, methods and styles. Read the interview below and enter Orticanoodles world.

Orticanoodles, why the name?
Nettle is ortica in Italian .. it’s a plant that I like very much … You can find nettle into a lots of my artworks.. I feel like the nettle that grows on cement.

How did you get yourself into the street art scene and which was your first piece?
I have always designed and I have always looked around, then, one day, I made a stencil and I have never stopped.. as a drug made of scalpel and spray …now I’m under of his effect!

Do you think of it as street art or graffiti? Or does it matter?
I don’t know .. and it doesn’t matter!

Your Jesus stencil piece is probably one of your most famous items. Are you particularly religious and how did this icon start?
No, I’m not religious but I love the figure of Jesus and all the sacred art, Byzantine icons and so on ..  I chose Jesus when I chose to make propaganda, I need a well-known testimonial!

You’ve worked in a few different mediums: stencils, slaps, canvases ect. Which is your favourite to work with?
It depends on inspiration of the moment!

Like many big artists these days, you’ve painted in many locations in different countries, where has been your favourite place to paint and where would you still like to paint?
I do not have a preferred place, each one was a different story but always beautiful experience. In the future I hope to paint …. everywhere!!!!!

You’re ‘Freedom’ piece at the Cans Festival event was a highlight for me. What’s the inspiration behind it?
The inspiration was to express the desire to be, but above all to feel, free. Freedom seems an obvious concept but in reality we are never free but forced to conduct a life dictated by the rules of  respectability and moral common. The heart outside the body-cage (thorax) expresses the concept of detached from everything and to just be themselves….a utopia.

Are there any new artists coming through that are adding anything extra to the street art scene?
Yes, me!!

Has the street art scene in Switzerland influenced you? If yes, in what way?
To be honest I do not know the street art scene in Switzerland. Sometimes the ideas come by chance. I like the design of the Swiss flag …. and his clean graphics, I really like the language of icons, images that become words .. all these things are born in Switzerland… like me, of course

We recently interviewed SNUB23 who is part of Grafik Warfare. You’re also part of GW too. How did you get involved with these other great artists?
When I met Snub for the first time during the Difusor in Barcelona ..was as if we knew from a lifetime. Now we are developing together many projects including VST Vector Stencil Toy (http://www.flickr.com/groups/848589@N25/).

Finally, what street art piece are you most proud of?
The blessed Jesus!

Thanks for your time. Anything else you’d like to add?
Yes … ehm .. sorry for my English  .. is not so good!!!

Links:
Orticanoodles.com

Tags: Interviews, Orticanoodles

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 12th, 2008 at 7:46 pm and is filed under Artists, Interviews, Stencil. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.