Droppin Bombs Webzine, 2006

First and foremost thanks for taking the time to do this interview and dropping some knowledge – respect due

1, introduce yourself man

hi, my name is oliver, I was born in 1974 and I’ve been doing graffiti since 1989. In 1995, I was one of the founding members of CNSkillz crew (http://www.cnskillz.com) together with ate1, efas, meric, moritz, scien&klor and seak. I started out doing pretty traditional oldschool outline graffiti until I saw the first 3D styles that were coming up in germany in the beginning of the nineties. Those intrigued me and I got kinda hooked on that after doing a few experiments with the added dimension. So I went on to study communicational design from there since graffiti was the only really interesting thing to pursue. These days, I’m a graphic designer working fulltime and I’ve got way too little time to actually go out and paint much, which is pretty sad. But I get up, I do my share, so that’s all cool even though some of my styles don’t have many traditional aspects of graffiti left in them. You can find almost all of my stuff online at http://www.neckcns.com, if you’re interested.

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Arteam Webzine, USA, 2004

WHAT DO YOU WRITE?
WHAT CREWS DO YOU REPRESENT?
WHAT OTHER CREWS ARE YOU FROM?

my name is oliver, i write neck and represent cnskillz crew exclusively.

WHAT DOES GRAFFITI, PAINTING OR WHATEVER YOU WOULD LIKE TO CALL IT MEAN TO YOU?

individuality. expressing your skills and creativity. style. nothing else. not the surface (train wall canvas). not the technique (special caps, tape, stencils). just your own style, no matter how you bring it into being. people will always strive for recognition and respect, so i think they will always keep writing their names. maybe graffiti will 'fall asleep' somewhere but i'm sure it will eventually resurface in a later generation.

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Aerosolart Webzine, Italy, 2004

Hi Neck, introduce yourself to aerosolart.it visitors please...
I write Neck and represent CNSkillz crew. I did my first piece in 1989. In 1995, I moved to düsseldorf for studying, met meric, moritz and efas. Together we founded cnskillz crew. And then things moved upwards from there on, jams and pieces all over the world, magazine recognition, a little fame. A short crew history can be found on the history section of our website, www.cnskillz.com, plus a lot of pieces of all crew members: ate1, efas, meric, moritz, myself, scien, klor and seak.

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bite webzine, japan, 2004

Q : What got you started in the graffiti art scene?

Hard to say... I was standing in front of this wall on my way to school and was hooked. I returned there often just to stare at it. It emanated some kind of trapped energy, a feeling of speed standing still. Something grabbed me and didn't let go.

I started sketching the pieces that were on the wall and after a while, started sketching my own. I think the general fascination comes from the possibility of having that captivating effect on someone else, with my work. To be able to fascinate people with something I created.

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CrewsCorner, Germany, Webzine, 2001

Wie kamst du das erste mal in Berührung mit Graffiti ?

Ein Freund zeigte mir eine Graffitimauer auf seinem Schulweg.. und da sass ich dann und habe mir das reingezogen: Pieces von Chip, Cemnoz, Neon, Roman, Scout... dann habe ich angefangen, die Styles abzuzeichnen und irgendwann habe ich mich auf die suche nach mehr Graffiti gemacht.

Gerade bei deinen Bildern ist mir das hohe Niveau aufgefallen. Sehr viel in 3D und sehr gute Linienführung. Worauf kommt es dir beim malen an ?

Style. was erwartest du mehr? Manche sagen mir nach, ich würde so furchtbar sauber malen, vielleicht Technik höher bewerten als Style.... ich persönlich empfinde meine Bilder nicht als extrem sauber, das hängt bei mir auch von der Tagesform ab. Aber Technik sagt nicht unbedingt etwas über die Qualität eines Bildes aus. es gibt Toystyles in sauberster Technik, aber auch Burner, die eben unsauber gemalt sind. Vielleicht sind sie ja auch gerade deshalb Burner. Die Technik ordnet sich in der Wichtigkeit meiner Meinung nach definitiv dem Style unter. PUNKT.

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Breakbeat Magazine, Germany, #18/2001

Was bewegt einen Menschen dazu, die Dose zu nehmen und seinen Namen, den er sich selbst gegeben oder von jemanden bekommen hat, überall bekannt zu machen? Geht es immer nur um Ruhm und Ehre oder versteckt sich doch mehr dahinter? Kann es sein, dass man einfach seine Lebenserfüllung darin finden kann oder ist es möglich, dass sogar nur ein einziges Bild ein Leben verändern kann? Hier ein Interview, welches diese Fragen vielleicht beantworten kann.

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Carpe Diem, Greece, #2/2000

A small biography ( where, how when and why) - I was born in 1974 in düsseldorf, germany. Moved a bit around germany, found myself in munich and was confronted with graffiti there in spring/summer 1989. Searched all around munich for graffiti, found quite a lot, spent the summer sketching and watching people paint, and in winter 89 did my first own piece, for my girlfriends birthday. Fooled around a bit, did this and that, switched my name to neck in fall 1994. Did the first neck piece in 1995. Then i moved to düsseldorf for studying, met meric, moritz and efas. Together we founded cnskillz crew. And then upwards from there on. A short crew history can be found on the history section of our website, www.cnskillz.com, plus a lot of pieces of all crew members: ate1, efas, meric, moritz, myself, scien, clore and seak.

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Clandestilo Magazine, Mexico, #1/2000

Those guys in europe really know how to rip shit. While most of us in the americas scratched our heads in awe, a new school of style warriors emerged in the early 90s. Now at the beginning of the new millennium, it's hard to not have heard of at least a few of these guys. They're everywhere. Loomit, Delta, Daim, Seak, How and Nosm, Hesh... and I'm only mentioning a few from the 3d chamber! But there's a dude who appears from time to time, usually as part of all-star productions with his unmistakeable style. Unlike his wallmates' pieces that tear and rip and shoot outward at each other, 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.

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R.E.R., France, #35/1999

Pendant l'année 89, sur le chemin de l'école, un ami me montra un jour un mur couvert de graffitis, je suis resté scotché devant une bonne partie de l'été, j'y ai passé mes journées à regarder tout en dessinant des esquisses sur un carnet à dessin. Plus tard j'ai commencé à chercher d'autre murs dans Munich, où je vis à l'heure actuelle.

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2def, Iceland, webzine, 9.99

Interview conducted by 2def and Kez. (15th of August 1999)

Yo-Yo-Yo! Finally putting this damn exclusive interview with Oliver, the man himself .. - Neck of the Checkin Nuh Skillz Crew -. Damage & 2def in association with Reykjavik City and Fonn flew this guy over from Germany to paint a big project with Icelands finest. After an eventful weekend (13-15 August 1999) we sat down at a local cafe and asked him some questions along with with the traditional sketch exchange.

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Blitzkrieg, Australia, #7 - 1999

Please let us start with some basic details, your name, your age, star sign, years painting and eye colour?

my name is oliver, i write neck/cns, i was born in 1974 as a leo, i started writing in 1989 and my eyes are green. satisfied?

Where were you born and where have you lived throughout your life?

i was born in d¸sseldorf/germany. my father is in the army, so i moved around quite a lot. the first place i can remember is limburg a.d. lahn. from there i moved to bonn and got into school. in fourth grade, we moved to brussels/belgium and in ninth grade, we moved to munich. there i had my first contact with graffiti, and in early 1995 i moved to d¸sseldorf to study.

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ZGB Kaos, Croatia, #5 - 1998

OK, you can now introduce yourself...

You know, you can just insert what you know in this place. You know it all already.

OK.

But it's dangerous to leave it up to you...

I could ask you for a start to say hello to all your friends, so we don't have to do it later.

Hello to the whole crew, CNS Crew and maybe you could insert the internet address, mine and the crew's.

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Elements, Austria, #0 - 0798

ELEMENTS: Stellt euch doch mal vor.

Neck: Ich male seit 94 den Namen NECK in der CNS crew (checkin' nuh skillz : ATE1 EFAS MERIC MORITZ NECK SCIEN & CLORE SEAK). Ich bin geb¸rtiger D¸sseldorfer, bin aber 1988 nach M¸nchen gezogen und habe 89 angefangen zu malen. Im Moment bin ich zwecks Studium wieder in D¸sseldorf.

Moritz: Name: Moritz, Crews: CNS, DAK, Herkunft: D¸sseldorf, Alter: 24

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Bahnarbeiter, Germany, #6 - 1998

Spezi oder Pils?

Spezi rult, pils gibts überall, spezi ist speziell (trink das original), den ganzen schwip schwap und mezzo mix mist kriegt doch keiner runter. (gut beantwortet, die Red.)

Outlines oder Technik?

Eigentlich sowohl als auch, oder? Ich als Boogie-Down Hardcore Writer will Outline-Burner ohne Ende, aber dann wache ich auf und der Neck kann wieder nur Technik.

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Wicked, Germany, #2 - 1997

Da dich bestimmt nicht alle unserer Leser kennen werden! Stell dich kurz vor. Name, Alter, Crews und woher du kommst!

Ich male NECK/CNS (Checkin' Nuh Skillz), bin Jahrgang '74 und wohne zZ in Düsseldorf.

Wann und wie bist du zum Sprühen gekommen?

Im Sommer '89 hat mich ein Freund auf eine Wand in meiner Nähe aufmerksam gemacht, in München-Neuperlach. Die Wand war von CHIP, ROMAN, CEMNOZ, TECHNO, NEON und anderen. Die hat mich so beeindruckt, ich bin die ganzen Sommerferien lang immer wieder da hingefahren und habe angefangen, noch andere Wände in München zu suchen. Dabei habe ich dann so nach und nach die Hall of Fames gefunden und ich habe den ganzen Sommer nur damit verbracht, anderen beim Malen zuzusehen. Nebenbei habe ich dann auch angefangen, Skizzen zu zeichnen, und im Winter '89 habe ich dann mein erstes Bild gemalt, noch mit original Sparvar-Caps. 3 Monate später hat mir dann endlich einer Skinnys gezeigt.

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