New book captures Melbourne street art magic

From Moreland Leader
14 Aug 10 by Saeed Saeed


MANY of Melbourne’s aspiring street artists would
not recognise Karl Stamer if he walked past their murals.
The Elsternwick printer may be only 38 but he is one of the elder statesmen of the city’s street art scene.
Stamer was among the first generation of youth to shake spray cans in the early 1980s as part of Melbourne’s underground graffiti scene, which eventually gave birth to the city’s street art community.



Stamer and former fellow street artists Duro Cubrilo and Martin Harvey have documented this rise in their new book, Kings Way - The Beginnings of Australian Graffiti: Melbourne 1983-93.
The book was re-released after the first edition sold more than 5000 copies last year.
Speaking during last month’s street arts festival Two Blocks, Stamer described the book’s reception as “fantastic”.
“I think it was successful because people want to understand the foundation of Melbourne’s street art culture,” he said. “It’s a history about where it started, its origins, the people and the places.”
Containing more than 1200 colour photos, the book is a visual encyclopaedia on the development of Melbourne’s street art community, from cursory taglines through to eye-popping murals.
Stamer said the idea was born after an encounter with Cubrilo at a former street artist’s funeral 10 years ago.
“I spoke to Duro (Cubrilo) and we were talking about how we really needed to do this,” he said. “It took us almost 10 years to put it together.”
Enlisting the help of artistic peer Harvey, they began the painstaking work of contacting “long retired” street artists and asking them to rummage through old photo albums, shoeboxes and garages for rare photos of their works.

The boys then put the pictures together with some written text to provide the social context.
Stamer - who mainly graffitied in Richmond and St Kilda before retiring in the early 90s - said Melbourne’s graffiti scene was a byproduct of the wave of hip-hop music that hit the city in the early 1980s.
With most of the pioneering artists now “at home, with jobs and kids”, Stamer said he was happy the book acted as a tribute to their work, even if most didn’t know the real names and faces behind the tags.
“Sometimes I see the kids out there doing their work and I want to say my name and what I’ve done,” he said.
“But you know, we were part of a time that was unique and special and I am happy the book captures that magic.”

Kings Way - The Beginnings of Australian Graffiti: Melbourne 1983-93 is now available in book stores.

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