cnskillz crew. graffiti. for real.
graffiti art by ate1 graffiti art by efas graffiti art by meric graffiti art by moritz graffiti art by neck graffiti art by scien & klor graffiti art by seak
news

Win original artist canvases by Neck.CNS

June 19, 2006:

Just subscribe to the neckcns.com newsletter before August 31st, 2006
to enter the sweepstakes and take your chance to win one of 10 original
canvases by Neck.CNS! Get more info here.

Graffiti styles, pieces and murals from the graffiti photo archive of Neck.CNS

May 2, 2006:

ILoveGraffiti.com is the online graffiti photo archive of Neck.CNS. All the pieces and murals that I've taken pictures of since i began painting in 1989 were starting to collect dust in the attic. So I got the idea to open up my graffiti archive and share all these amazing graffiti pieces with you.

Graphotism

February 5, 2006:

The current issue of Graphotism magazine has a 42 page special feature about the ten year anniversary of cnskillz crew, so if you get the chance to flip through it, do it.

graphotism_2006.gif

27 Addicts: a graffiti / design experiment

January 25, 2006:

27 ADDICTS is the documentation of the project ADDICTED TO GESTALTUNG: an experiment which is aiming for the point of intersection between graffiti and graphic design, as well as graffiti writing and computer-based design.

27addicts.gif

Boris Schmelter alias DYSET visits 27 like-minded graffiti artists, who are engaged as well with graphic design. The aim is to find innovative and independent ideas that deal with those genres in form and content. There is always one goal but there will be at least two ways to realise it: first the graffiti approach Ôø‡ preferably a spray-painted wall Ôø‡ after that the topic is dealt with graphically Ôø‡ with the help of design tools, like printing, photography and computer design.

The book contains the 27 emerged works as well as infos around the travels and the artists. More over 4 big interviews with Neck, Zedz, Toast and Boe/Viagrafik.

read all news

 

cnskillz

cnskillz (short for Checkin' New Skillz) is an international collective of 8 contemporary artists from various fields and genres: graphic design, architecture, painting, music...

the core of our strength is the diversity of the individual styles that are constantly evolving inside the group. we are united in our common roots in the graffiti scene and hip hop culture. the name represents our constant urge to develop our artform, to push boundaries, to tear down visual walls and preconceived concepts.

our artform? we specialize in graffiti art. since our founding in 1995, we have earned ourselves quite a reputation for diversity and excellence in style among the international graffiti scene.

cnskillz was one of the very first european graffiti crews to be active on the internet. we have raised the level concerning full-scale concept murals in the mid-1990's. cnskillz crew was one of the first crews to promote the acceptance and development of graphical influences in graffiti art.

 

members

Ate.1

Character artist and Funk/Soul/House-DJ. Straight oldschool bboy-characters and the beats to get them dancing... During the day, he's your average John Doe, living a normal life with a mansion, a pool, buxom butler-babes and a dog.

At the fall of dusk, though, a metamorphosis into Ate One happens. With his pimp-shades on and a cool swing in his groin, he shows off breathtaking finger acrobatics using a paintbrush and a record-needle to unveil his true self.

This one is deeply rooted in hip-hop and defined through funk, breakbeats and house. So he keeps jetting around the world, chasing the night, always sure to have packed a fat batch of vinyl, so the groove never ends.

More info and recent works on AteOne.de

see his work...

Efas

Wildstyles. What more to say? You just have to check it out.

see his work...

Meric

Back in the days he was one of the top writers creating wildstyles in its purest form, striving for perfection with every new piece. It was all about burning down the walls and every other writer who thought that he was as wild as him.

Always concerned about what he's doing, he changed his focus to the world of graphic design a few years ago ’Äì creating flashy websites and outstanding print designs. Lately he's been doing a lot of experimental visuals for electronic music also known as VJing. Nowadays that he's on the cutting edge of multimedia design, one can always be sure that he didn't forget about one of Graffitis first maxims: It's all about competition!

see his work...

Moritz

Moritz' view about Graffiti could best be described as "different". He never seems to do the same thing twice. Always in search for new ways and forms of expressing his ideas about letters and style he soon reached the cross-way of writing and graphic design. It's all about the spirit whether he's working with a computer, a spraycan or simply drawing and doodling on a piece of paper.

To him the term "Graffiti" is more about a certain state of mind - meaning free flow of thoughts - than preserving former rules. His work seems like an eclectic patchwork consisting of various combinations from the fields of design, fashion, music and fine arts.

Even if he's not much into graffiti nowadays, he's still doing pieces from time to time and one can always be sure that it is something that you would not have expected - be prepared to think different!

see his work...

Neck

Neck specializes in tight, simple and maybe a little minimalistic 3d-styles.

This guy's pieces seem to float, quietly, ominously... like a Death Star or an ID4 mothership, somewhat stealthy in design and usually in muted tones. To the outside viewer all his pieces seem to match each other. But after a closer observation one notices other forces at work.

Balance, harmony, simplicity are the obvious ones that come to mind. But look again, a little harder, and you'll see a center of gravity, hidden shadows and lightsources moving across the surface, letterforms intersecting flawlessly, bending and twisting at the mercy of the creator... that's when you've arrived at his front door.

Only he has the key, and you'll never get to see what goes on inside those pieces.

see his work...

Scien&Klor aka 123Klan

in their graffiti pieces or in their digital pieces, they mix both in one: "when the street knowledge meets technology and graffiti melts with graphic design."

they discover graphic design via Neville Brody's book2 and understand that graffiti writers and graphic designers go on the same way: the only difference between graffiti and graphic design is the tool, except that you can do all that you want.

their truly unique and original style mixing original graffiti from the wall with vector style, makes them known world wide. for scien&klor, graffiti and graphic design are really linked, like they say: "it's all about style."

see their work...

Seak

Seak has made himself a name over the recent years. From the outside his pieces seem to resemble organic machinery, living space objects or cyber organisms, but he says that there is more to his style.

According to him his future style is based on a movement that has a strong aim at the fundamentals of graffiti, that is the living being and the genuine nature of letters.

see his work...

 

history

CNS.. checkin' nuh skillz is founded in late summer 1995 by meric, neck, efas and moritz from dˆºsseldorf/germany. seak and dj ate1 from cologne/germany and scien & miss klor from lille/france join in the winter of the same year.

since its founding the CNS crew is active in graffiti nationwide as well as internationally. the members of the crew visit other countries and cities like belgium (brussels), netherlands (amsterdam, the hague, eindhoven), france (strasbourg, paris, lille, dunkerque), italy (rome), UK (london), switzerland (luzern, zug), iceland (reykjavik), hongkong, japan (osaka, kyoto), the USA (new york, los angeles, chicago) croatia (zagreb, rijeka) and many more...

the first aim of the crew is not getting fame and popularity. it's more of a group of friends whose activites together go further than just going out painting. we meet and have fun, as far as work, school and distance allow it.

the crew tries to represent the aspect of 'style' in its complete spectrum. the writers show everything from simple styles, funky ill styles, flowing 3d styles, semi-wildstyles to complex wildstyles. characters, illustrations and photorealism are included in the crew's repertoire. theme walls and murals round off our view of the complex system people call 'graffiti'.

the members are also active in other areas of hiphop culture: producing beats, mixtapes, working in graffiti workshops, legalizing halls of fame, designing hiphop-wear, layouting magazines and organizing jams.

 

crew sites

http://www.123klan.com

http://www.AteOne.de/

http://www.ilovegraffiti.com/

http://www.ladestation.net

http://www.cnskillz.com/moritz

http://www.neckcns.com

http://www.seakone.com