Image via Complex Original
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Nuevo Mundo: Latin American Street Art is a 256 page graffiti book featuring established Latin American graf artists and emerging talent from Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, as well as the images and voices from more unfamiliar graf writers in Paraguay, Uruguay, Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela, Peru. It's the first book to provide comprehensive documentation of what’s happening in the street art world south of the border, and we caught up with the book’s editor Maximilliano Ruiz to take us through its pages. Click on the gallery to check out images from Nuevo Mundo, and to read about the making of
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Maximilliano Ruiz: “I've traveled a lot through Latin America and got to know many of the artists featured, gaining having their trust and friendship. The artists are happy to be part of a cool project that they put all their energy and attention to help make happen.
cuba
“When interviewing the artists I always try to give importance to what they’re trying to say. For most, it’s as important as their work. Nobody should really care about what 'the author' has to say... it's meant to be all about the artists. That's why it's so important for me that the text in the book is written in their own words.”
ever
“'Ever' form Buenos Aires told me once: ‘I give importance to the unimportant (using religious symbolism), so a normal character becomes deified, for example when I paint my brother, people ask, ‘Who is he?’ thinking that because I am painting him on a giant wall he must be someone important. When I tell them, ‘It’s my brother,’ they look at me sadly and say, ‘Oh, the poor boy died, didn’t he?’ And I tell them, ‘No, I think he’s at home watching TV”.
trini
“In most Latin American countries, making a living out of street art is near impossible. Most street artists have a double life—you’ve got designers, pizza delivery boys, journalists, students, lawyers (!), chefs, whatever. But every night they go out and paint the streets.”
flix
“There were a few artists that had great work but terrible pictures, so they actually had to put up new work to photograph specifically for the project. For artist FLIX, from Venezuela, it wasn’t that easy to hang a huge robot from a bridge in the middle of the city.”
basik
“When we were making the book, there was this one artist I invited, who minutes after we were in touch sent me another email saying "Má! I've just been invited to be part of a book featuring artists from the street art scene!! You see?! My graffiti is starting to pay back!" 2 minutes later I get another email from him with apologies, the email was obviously meant for his mother!”
bas
“For the 'Buenos Aires Stencil' crew, it took them 3 times to get their stencil of the Mighty Jesus in an amazing spot that I loved—the first time they were caught in the rain, the second time they almost got arrested, and then by the time they got it just right, the book’s layout was done. Too little, too late.”
