Ben Eine Quotes

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Ben Eine

Profession : Artist

Birth : August 23, 1970

I started off tagging stuff - I'm not meant to be having tea and biscuits with the prime minister.

Ben Eine

I'm a luxury brand.

Ben Eine

Anyone can lose their home and find their life is turned upside down.

Ben Eine

A friend of mine back in 1989 did an illegal rave in Vauxhall. He got Keith Haring to come along and tag the side of the wall. My friend cut it out of the wall and he kept it under his bed for 20 years. Then a few years ago he asks me if I want to buy it... so I spent £12,000 on a Keith Haring.

Ben Eine

Old typography or letter woodblocks that are hand-carved, cracked, and worn are especially beautiful. I love that aged, handmade effect, and that's why I don't muck around much with Photoshop.

Ben Eine

I was brought up in south London and I started out in the world of graffiti when I was about 14 because I wanted to be part of that hooded tracksuit gang thing.

Ben Eine

The Prime Minister gave President Obama one of my artworks and suddenly my name was all over the news.

Ben Eine

One of the advantages of not going to art school is that you're not taught what you can't do.

Ben Eine

When I got into graffiti, it was the most-exciting art form and it changed the course of my life.

Ben Eine

You can't be a punk all your life.

Ben Eine

Street artists want to add something to the environment. They consider the audience, whereas graffiti writers don't care about anyone except themselves, they do it purely for the kick.

Ben Eine

I remember finding this book, which showed a New York subway train that had been covered in so much graffiti you couldn't recognise it was a train. I thought, 'I want to do that... how do you do that?'

Ben Eine

I'm not a massive artist by any stretch of the imagination. Yes, I've been in papers and magazines, but you never have any idea if anyone actually reads it or pays any attention.

Ben Eine

For me, it's mostly about having stuff on the street. You're walking down the street, you do it every day, and suddenly there's something that wasn't there yesterday: something bright and cheerful and different. It might stay there for a year; maybe it will disappear.

Ben Eine

I've a lot of respect for what people are doing here in Manchester, to promote the city's creativity and Aviva Investors Manchester Art Fair has played a big role in that. I'm glad to bring my work to the North West.

Ben Eine

My work isn't overtly political, although it is sometimes painted in places where I don't have permission to paint, so that could be construed as a political statement.

Ben Eine

I don't want to sell to street art collectors, I want to sell to art collectors.

Ben Eine

Street art, unlike graffiti, adds to the environment and is a positive experience for the artist and community.

Ben Eine

Whenever I go anywhere in the world to do a show I try to paint something in the street as well.

Ben Eine

I love to paint and beautify the most unexpected of places - I've painted everything from doorways to trains but have always wanted to do something really huge and different.

Ben Eine