Do you know about this guy VIA VIA? C’mon you musta seen his work this guy kicks ass! We saw him a couple of times on various sites across the net and decided to get in-touch with him to see what goes down when he gets down.

If you wanna know more check out VIA VIA’s amazing wall paintings and artwork on his site www.v-i-a-v-i-a.nl or contact him directly on lennard@v-i-a-v-i-a.nl

FMCS: Hi Lennard how’s things?
Lennard: At the moment I feel great. I don’t have money at all but I have good friends so I’m not gonna die
I just found an agent who wants to represent my work www.shop-around.nl  so that’s great. This year I also will work for a big an animation project in Amsterdam from March till October so I think in the end of the year I can buy myself a motorcycle and some drinks for my friends!

FMCS: What side of the bed did you get out of this morning? Left or right?
Lennard: Left!

FMCS: Please tell us a little bit about how you were assembled, your past lives and how you came to be where you currently are today!
Lennard: I had a happy childhood and lived in the north of Holland the first 20 years of my life. I studied illustration in Groningen and Rotterdam. In 2000 I moved to Rotterdam because I didn’t like art school in Groningen so much. Too much freedom. I didn’t know at that time what to do with it.

Rotterdam is more focussed on the work field, more realistic in a way. When I finished art school I started Frühstück together with a secret person whose name I can not tell. We both had the same interests in art so it was a nice time. We travelled around Europe to make wall paintings and met some great artist but in the end we started to have other ideas so we quitted working together in the beginning of 2005. The Frühstück web site is removed from the web a few weeks ago but can go back in time on the fotolog I made in that time. Then in June 2005 i started to work on my own as Via Via.

FMCS: How long does it take you to say construct a ’sleep two persons’ tent in the rain, in your back garden? Answer A, B or C to one of the following…
A: Long enough for your mum to make you a nice cup of tea and then shout ‘Come in Lennard its raining outside you will get a cold’? (5mins)
B: Long enough for you mum to cook you a nice plate of egg and chips. And iron you a new pair of socks. (20 mins)
C: Long enough for your mum to have a nice long sleep. Because you can’t put up tents, due to you having two left hands instead of a right and a left? (Forever).

Lennard: A

FMCS: Tents aside…Where are you currently residing? And do you work out of the same location?
Lennard: I live and work in the Spanish tower in Rotterdam. I have a really big space on an industrial area

FMCS: What/ who / thing kicked off your interest in design and street art and more specifically walls?  
Lennard: It started with skateboarding. Because of skateboarding I started to listen to hip hop music and they both have a focus on art and graffiti. I already was drawing for a long time and all these thing combined made me wanted to go to art school and do murals. Also because I like to make big paintings and I don’t like spray paint.

FMCS: Please tell everybody a little bit about VIA VIA and the amazing work produced!

Lennard: Via Via is Lennard Schuurmans. That’s me. I do all kind of things. As a performance I make murals on festivals, I make drawings, paintings, objects, I design clothing, flyers, I make illustrations and I do projects with other artists.

FMCS: How do you find working with recent clients…do they give you creative freedom?
Lennard: It depends. I make illustrations for a series of music lessons books. There I can do whatever I want. They only tell me what colours I should use. But when I will start with this animation project I will have to adept to the style of the animation but that’s also something I like to do because than I have to force myself into directions I would normally avoid.

FMCS: Lennard tell us what motivates you?
Lennard: Most of the time my friends, and other artists. If I see someone taking it to a next level it pushes me to improve my skills. It’s not that I want to be the best. I just get a lot of energy when I see something that really touches me. Also when I make something myself and I like it, I start dancing in my room because I have all this energy that has to come out, ha-ha!
 

FMCS: How do you think your art would look if you were colour blind? Lennard: I don’t know… I think if you are colour blind you can also find a nice balance between colours but probably i would focus more on black and white pictures. Now also black and white is more and more present in my work recently.

FMCS: How do you kick back and relax when you are not working?
Lennard: Making music works for me or dancing and drinking with friends.

FMCS: Who is your favourite porn star? And why do you like their work?
Lennard: Well you know, the problem is that I always forget their names. Last week I met this super nice porn star with beautiful big brown eyes. We had nice conversation that night but the next day I couldn’t remember her name…

FMCS: Let us know your favourite top 5 web sites?
http://www.d-i-r-t-y.com/index2.html?first=http://www.d-i-r-t-y.com/mixes/
http://farmerbobsfarm.com/
http://www.ratbike.org/
http://www.radioattic.com/old/2004.htm
http://www.vwbusclub.nl/
 
FMCS: What would be the best tip you could give other people seeking to work in creative full time?
Lennard: Keep your monthly costs as low as possible. You don’t need a car, you don’t need a house in the centre of the city, throw away you TV and try to live without Internet in your studio.

FMCS: How did you find out about FMCS?
Lennard: They found me

FMCS: Thanks for the interview Lennard

Site: www.v-i-a-v-i-a.nl

Contact: lennard@v-i-a-v-i-a.nl

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