MONTANA-CANS LOOKBOOK 2016

LOOKBOOK
016
EDITION # 01
MONTANA LOOKBOOK
WWW.MONTANA-CANS.COM
BLACK ARTIST SERIES
POW! WOW! HAWAII
URBAN NATION
The ICONIC SERIES
ART BASEL MIAMI
a concept that allows the
artist to put their personal
touch on the can
street art has taken
over the community of
Kaka’ako
the Berlin based foundation
focusses on bringing together
urban artists
to honor those who have
contributed significantly
to the culture.
the largest art fair
for contemporary art
in the world
LOOKBOOK / ISSUE # 01 / 2016

WHEN PASSION MEETS PRECISION.
MONTANA-CANS - HIGHEST QUALITY MADE IN GERMANY

MONTANA LOOKBOOK 2016 | printed in Germany

Content
MONTANA LOOKBOOK / EDITORIAL 06
The close connection to our friends and partners led us to support and sponsor an amazing
amount of events and projects. Numerous collaborations with artists, brands and partners came
into existence.
making the can the canvas / Montana Black 08
We like to think that our design is one feature on a list of many aspects that sets us apart from
other can manufacturers. For the creation of our sleek litho design, the can became our canvas...
Pow! wow! / sunshine, beaches & Art 18
Gallery shows, lectures, schools for art and music, mural projects, concerts and art installations
– street art has taken over the community of Kaka’ako.
From the scene for the scene / HafenDampf 34
Graffiti and abandoned industrial buildings have always been a perfect match, like paint
to a canvas or ducks and water...
Gallery art for Berlin’s pedestrians / URBAN NATION GALLERY 40
Since its formation in late 2013, URBAN NATION is a foundation based in Berlin that focusses on
bringing together urban artists to form and enrich neighborhoods, particularly in Berlin, but also all
over the world.
MONTANA-CANS Iconic series 54
As a well-established brand and a integral component in the graffiti scene, it is our great privilege to
be able to honor those who have contributed significantly to the development of our culture. Our way
of doing this is to dedicate a limited edition can to him or her in our ICONIC SERIES...
The sounds of the streets of istanbul 60
The Pera Museum, located in Istanbul, the metropolis for art, music, theatre and architecture, is an
invaluable pillar of support to political tensions and religious facets. So, the “Language of the Wall”
exhibition was called to our attention...
Herakut & Aptart Giving Syria’s children a voice 68
AptArt founder Samantha Robinson as well as the artist duo Herakut belong to MONTANA’s
tight-knit group of trusted and valued collaboration partners. For this exceptional project, in these
exceptional circumstances, MONTANA went to great lengths to support the workshops and creative
workings with cans and other supplies...
Art Basel Miami 80
Art Basel is deemed to be one of the largest and most important art fairs for contemporary art in the
world. The fact that the 46th annual art show was staged in Basel in the spring of 2015, gives
evidence to its long standing success...

EDITORIAL
More information on MONTANA-CANS and its
products can be found at:
WWW.MONTANA-CANS.COM
Latest news on products, collabos, exhibitions and
artists can be found on:
WWW.MONTANA-CANS.COM/blog
For us at MONTANA-CANS, it is immeasurably
important to have a close connection to our
friends and partners who use our tools. This
need for a close correlation has led us to
support and sponsor an amazing amount of
incredible events and projects, and helped us
to establish collaborations with numerous
artists, brands and partners.
We are grateful to be in a position to be able
to provide this kind of support, and thankful
for the abundance of inspirations and ideas
that artists and collaboration partners from all
across the world share with us. We make it a
point to feature these projects and collaborations
on our blog and and social media
channels, but because of the fast-paced hustle
and bustle of the internet, we have decided it
was time to create a printed collection which
contains merely a small fraction of the creative
work we have been involved in over the past
years.
After combing through our past collaborations
and sponsorships, and selecting the projects
that are especially memorable to us, we have
created this Lookbook in an effort to give back
some of the extraordinary experiences we’ve
had promoting this art form.
For us, cultural sponsorship and social
commitment are equally important. Being truly
committed to these two precepts requires a
continuous and ongoing investment - one we
happily make.
Combining the two axioms in projects and
event sponsorships is a crowning achievement
we take great pride in. At the same time it is
also a matter of the heart to us.
In this regard, we are very grateful to have been
able to launch into various collaborations with
organizations which have similar goals and
views as we do.
On the following pages, we’d like to share a few
special projects we have sponsored, and report
on artists with whom we have had the privilege
of working together.
© 2016, Montana-Cans, Heidelberg, Germany
Since our founding, our products and brand
have influenced, been influenced by, and played
a significant role in the urban art movement,
which is exactly what we believe in - keeping
the movement moving.
6

Topsprayer in corporate colors on freight
7

8
making the can
the canvas

We like to think that our design is one feature on a
list of many aspects that sets us apart from other
can manufacturers. For the creation of our sleek
litho design, the can became our canvas. And
even though we take great pride in the value of
brand recognition we have created, we wanted to
invite artists to use our can as their canvas and
create a special edition series for artists, our fans,
collectors and us. The Montana BLACK artist edi-
tion was brought to life. Each quarter, a new can
is released which features world renowned artists
of our choosing. The artist gets to pick his or her
favorite color out of the 187 shades in the BLACK
range, and create their design, which reflects their
interpretation of the name of this shade for the
lithographed can. This design will then be implemented
for a limited time in the production of the
artist’s chosen color, making the can not only
functional but an exclusive limited-edition-collectable.
Our goal was to create a concept which
would allow the artist to put their personal touch
and creativity on the can, knowing that it will be
distributed all around the world and would also
reward us with a personalized design of renown
artists. So, we were faced with an agonizing
choice, finally zeroing in on the first artist to
launch our Montana BLACK artist edition series.
BLA
CK
ART
IST
LIN
E
9

GOLD
EN
GRE
EN
For our first BLACK artist can, we chose internationally renowned
artist Golden Green who is known for his unique graffiti aesthetics.
In contradiction with his name, Golden Green chose our
BLK 4060 „Galaxy“, a luscious purple, stating that he likes the
color and the room for imagination the word „galaxy“ possesses.
The Hamburg-based artist scrambles the graffiti-style elements
in a type of hybrid design, creating a futuristic universe full of
surreal characters, cunningly-constructed letters and swirling
silhouettes in bright and loud colors. In addition to his love for
large-sized sprayed pictures on walls and facades, GG’s works
include canvases, print, papercut, and now, a can. The „Galaxy“
design - with its trendy colors, galactic milky way and comic planets
- might remind you of „the Jetsons“ an old school cartoon
from the 60’s. We know for sure GG has picked the perfect color
to correspond with his artistic style and we are grateful for his
contribution in starting our BLACK artist edition with a Bang.
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THE
GRI
FTE
RS
After being asked to design a BLACK can, the journalist and
photographer Good Guy Boris, founder of „The Grifters“ - one of
the Internet’s most outstanding graffiti lifestyle blogs - chose
our BLK 2093 „Code Red“. Born and raised in the heartlands of
Eastern Europe, Boris portraits his young adulthood as a collection
of ridiculous ventures in which he was surrounded by
extraordinary characters. After his first attempt at sharing his
archives with mainstream and alternative medias was met with
refusal, Boris created his own photojournalistic blog named „The
Grifters“, which reveals a hidden but sincere beauty in the local
underworld, with its hustling, corruption, and stereotypes, labeled
by society as rejects. After relocating to Paris he pursued his
dream of creating a multimedia project that would both entertain
and educate young people who were lost in the destructive habits
Boris witnessed while growing up. His dream matches the
bold statement he chose for the design of the „Code Red“ litho:
„Freedom is not defined by safety“. The striking lettering reduces
the design to it’s core statement. No clarification necessary.
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NY
C
HOS
There isn’t an artist in the world we would rather have had design
the can for our BLK 4230 „Kidney“. Combining Nychos and his
anatomically inclined designs to this organ-inspired color was a
predestined match. True to the age old saying „no guts, no glory“,
the Vienna-based artist creates a fusion between a comic character
and the anatomic functions of the body. Growing up in an
Austrian family with a fondness for hunting, his early confrontation
with the anatomy of dead animals sparked his interest in the
science of anatomy and dissection. This fascination and his personal,
hands-on experience with the intensely realistic colors of
anatomy are strongly reflected in his artworks. The true-to-life interpretation
of dissected motifs in conjunction with said intense
color schemes are regarded as Nychos’ trademark. This unique
signature style was exactly what we had in mind for this BLACK
artist edition collaboration, and of course, Nychos exceeded our
expectations: The can is embellished with all the guts and glory
that any kidney could have ever hoped for.
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SO
BEK
CIS
The final can of 2014 was designed by artist duo Sobekcis. The
twin brothers, Sobek and Kcis from Belgrade, Serbia, chose our
BLK 5125 „Dove“ for their BLACK artist edition can for two reasons:
one - because of the name of the color and their passion
for the incorporation of the bird image into their artwork; and
two - because of the overall topic of the design being based on
a symbol of peace. The most distinctive feature of the Sobekcis-style
is the overload of brightly colored geometric patterns,
which recur in all of their works of art. This gives their artworks
an unparalleled sense of intensity. For their BLACK artist edition
can they chose a more stripped-down, vertical approach in
comparison to their usual graffiti and studio work. This more
minimalistic concept was used to complement the packaging
design context, creating is a shadowy, dark, carbon appearance
which integrates the can’s name „Montana BLACK“. The design
is an artistic combination of geometric shapes and symbolism
with tribal imagery and an overall minimalistic, ethnic feel.
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FO
RM
UL
A76
The first can of 2015 has been designed by Formula 76, aptly
featuring his favorite color BLK 6080 „Mescaline“, which is also
the name of a hallucinogen that is found naturally in the Peyote-
Kakus. Benjamin Tibbs, AKA Formula76, is a Hamburg-based
style-writer and designer who is best known for his logos and designs
for popular German rappers, such as Jan Delay, Samy Deluxe,
Beginner, and more. His interest in graffiti was first sparked
in 1990 at the age of 14. In 2000 he became a member of the elite
TYPOHOLICS design committee as a freelance graphic designer.
He made his personal breakthrough in 2009 when he exhibited
some of his free works for the first time. Since then he has
displayed his work in group and singular exhibitions. His color of
choice not only emulates his street name on a chemical basis,
it is also strongly reflected in the design itself. The hallucinatory
swirls, drips and drops combined with geometric shapes portrait
his artistic style and the name of the color all at once. This type
of minimalistic dual color scheme is also found in many of his
other artworks. The NC-Formula lettering is cleverly merged to
become dual purposed, for the can labelling and the spelling of
his name. The overall feel of the design mimic a soaring trip.
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BLACK artist edition can #6 was designed by our favorite Stockholm-based
artist, KAOS. After thorough consideration of our
broad assortment of colors, KAOS selected our BLK 3145 „Punk
Pink“ as his color of choice. Growing up in Uppsala Sweden,
KAOS was captured by the allure of graffiti writing in the early
80’s, when the art form began to unfold locally. Once he had
moved to Stockholm 1987, his career as an artist really took off.
His artwork was valued across the borders of his homeland and
he became a key activist in Stockholm’s graffiti-writing scene.
Over the years he has played a crucial role at nearly every major
juncture in the development of the Swedish graffiti scene, which
explains his significant impact on Swedish and European graffiti.
KAOS’ entire story can be relived through his book „Vandals in
motion“. So, it was to be expected that his strong influence on
the scene writers worldwide would be reflected in the design of
the litho. Remaining true to the theme of his favorite color, KAOS
gave our BLACK logo some punk-style of its own. The white
anarchy-symbol on the black and pink colored can adds the final
touch to its otherwise raw and authentic design. The can itself
almost represents an ode to graffiti writers all over the world.
KAOS
15

AS
KE
The start of ASKE’s career was more than jaw-dropping. The
Moscow-based artist went from zero to being an internationally
renowned graffiti-writer, graphic designer and illustrator within
less than a decade. In 2010, the New York print magazine – magazine
– placed him among the Top 20 rising, international, fine
artists. Obviously we were psyched when he agreed to design
a BLACK artist edition can for us. After lengthy deliberation, he
picked our BLK 9100 „Snow White“. The fact that so many writers
use and cherish this can really sealed the deal.
During the creation of the design, ASKE focused foremost on incorporating
the existing BLACK can design into his own special
can design. He decided to emphasize the name of his color by
capturing the atmosphere of a snowy winter day, mainly in white
and grey with a few red accents. Even the urban feel of the traffic
lights and pigeons really give you the sense of the BLACK can
style. Of course he stayed true to his artistic style as well. After
starting his artistic career in 2000, he was rapidly known for his
comic-like motifs, which he constructs using single isolated geometric
shapes defined by straight lines. This gives his figures a
kind of sterile, robotic-like appearance, while at the same time, his
pieces are very dynamic and strikingly colorful. All in all, we think
ASKE has achieved his goal: his design fits the can perfectly.
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POW! WOW!
sunshine beac
spray cans the
graffiti luau
known to ma
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hes and
biggest
n
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Gallery shows, lectures, schools for art and music, mural projects,
concerts and art installations – Thanks to the “POW! WOW! Hawaii”
festival, street art has taken over the community Kaka’ako.
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Street art has taken over the community of Kaka’ako in Hawaii,
thanks to an incredible urban art festival. The „POW! WOW! Hawaii“
festival is an annual event with an amazing line-up representing fantastic
quality. The collective of artists responsible for the festival form
a global network organizing street art events across the globe in other
locations, such as Taiwan, Long Beach, Israel, Singapore, Jamaica,
Washington D.C., Guam, New Zealand, Germany and more.
The festival is made up of a diverse spectrum of events, such as, gallery
shows, lectures, schools for art and music, mural projects, concerts
and live art installations, pool party gatherings, live paintings and
additional talks. Co-founders Jasper Wong and Kamea Hadar claim
that „POW! WOW!“ has become synonymous with „a gathering that
celebrates culture, music and art“.
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Faith47 / Akut
Case and Smithe
Hueman / Alexis Diaz
Tristan Eaton
and Matt Eaton
Sever / Maya Hayuk
Swoon
Roa / Vhils
Ernest Zacharevic
Saber and Kevin Ancell
Cryptik
Fafi / Aaron Kai
Chad Hasegawa
Defer and Ckaweeks
Kamea Hadar
Vincent Di Nguyen
Secret Walls / Nychos
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The event, which lasts one week and is held during the week of
Valentine’s Day, takes place in Kaka’ako a district of Honolulu, where
more than 80 international and local artists come together to create
murals or other forms of art. Interesting collaborations are formed,
some of which are planned ahead of time, and others occur spontaneously.
Recognizable names from all different parts of the art
world, like James Jean, Tristan Eaton, Saber MSK, Doze Green, Case,
Akut and Maya Hayuk, delivered their signature style to the walls of
Kaka’ako, generating lots of commotion around their creations. This
year - for a change - the representation of female artists was refreshingly
awesome. Natalia Rak, Olek, Tatiana Suarez, Fafi and Hueman
shook the boys up a bit. Another attraction were the amazing installations,
such as Kozyndan’s wooden photo prop, and Fafi’s flowery fence
installation.
A week’s worth of action and an abundance of energy lead to the culmination
on Friday evening: an exciting Secret Walls 90-minute live
painting battle, including the involvement of some of the off-roster
artists like Cara Toes, Lauren YS and Boy Kong. After this climactic
end to the week, a few artists were still not quite finished with their
projects and prolonged their efforts throughout the weekend. The
continued endeavor was evidence of the energetic magnitude of the
event, nearly bursting at the seams due to the united power and devotion
of its line-up of recognized talent.
more images and videos
can be found on:
WWW.MONTANA-CANS.COM/
montana-blog
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The biggest
graffiti
luau
known to
man.
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My Real Challenges Were
Outside The Ring.
mural as part of herakut‘s “SAINTS”
projects. Don‘t miss the the video:
bitly.com/powwowakut
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016
For Jasper Wong, the idea begann as an excuse to get all his friends
together to paint and hang out. It took off from there. But in the beginning,
the response from the people in Kaka’ako wasn’t so positive.
People were afraid of the consequences the festival might bring with
it; a phenomenon what Wong refers to as the „the broken window
theory“; the presumption that public artwork and murals would
bring crime to the area. But, over the years, this notion was proven
to be completely wrong. On the contrary, Pow! Wow! brought a lot
of people to the area, which has made the neighborhood more safer,
more colorful and more fun. It has changed the entire perception of
Kaka’ako from having been a forgotten district, to now being seen a
beautiful area with a ton of art everywhere. Wong is proud to know
that his initiative has contributed to this occurrence. The focus of the
festival’s development is not to increase so much in size, but rather to
strengthen all the individual elements.
Other than the murals that are being created, Pow! Wow! has added
by a ton of other disciplines, broadening the artistic horizon of the
entire festival. As of this year’s festival in 2015, this has also been noticeably
enhanced by a close cooperation with the Honolulu Museum
of Art. This new collaboration has also helped achieve Wong’s second
goal,
aside from creating a get-together-platform: the ability to educate
people about art and create a wider perception of the art which is
being created worldwide, by showing the people of Hawaii exactly
what kind of art is happening around the world - and vice versa,
showing people outside of Hawaii what people in Hawaii are doing.
Due to the unique setting of the Pow! Wow! festival it is clear that
culture and traditions would play a role in the event. The artists John
„Prime“ Hina takes the lead through the first get-together. After the
artists arrive - but before they go out and paint - there is a gathering
where all artists „take home all these excursions all these holoholos
to the pali lookout“. Holoholo like Aloha is a Hawaiian word which
means a journey without a destination. For Pow! Wow!, Prime wants
to give the artists the full experience of what Hawaii is all about from
a cultural perspective. When they leave Hawaii, Prime wants them
to take aloha with them and take the mana, a spiritual energy, which
came from Hawaii, out into the world.
bitly.com/akut-for-herakut
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Long Beach, Florida is another unique location where the POW! WOW!
festival will take place annually, as mentioned above. From the 21st to
the 28th of June 2015, the POW! WOW! festival was held there for the
very first time, which triggered an amazing response from the public.
Some artists were thanked for their work in random coffee shops and
even recognized on the street. Jasper Wong claims it has been the
most supportive reaction that POW! WOW! has received anywhere.
With a range of events packed to the brim - including mural painting,
exhibitions, talks and screenings - this eight-day festival was host
to artists such as Aaron de la Cruz, Fafi, Cryptik, Hueman, Jeff Soto,
James Jean, Tristan Eaton, Jeff McMillan, Push, Bumblebee, Low
Bros and Madsteez, who literally captured the city in an outbreak of
spray paint and creative energy. However, the mural-painting activity
which dominated the urban scene, wasn’t the only thing going on.

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For instance, the explosive opening party with DJ Neil Armstrong was
a major success, the talk hosted by jeffstaple featuring Fafi offered
fantastic insight into her working process, and of course the “Verve
and Vitality: Transforming the Urban Landscape” exhibition at the
Long Beach Museum of Art became an important stop for anyone
wanting to catch the full POW! WOW! experience. Finally POW! WOW!
Long Beach finished off with a concert by the POW! WOW! School of
Music.
From the inception of the festival concept, MONTANA has followed
its progress and expansion. In 2015 the size of the festival outgrew the
capacity of their previous sponsor. After multiple recommendations
made by the artists, Jasper approached us, and asked whether we
might be interested in sponsoring the festival. It was a no-brainer, we
agreed immediately!
Jasper Wong (Founder POW! WOW!)
and Kamea (co-lead director of POW! WOW!)
more images and videos can be found on:
WWW.MONTANA-CANS.COM/montana-BLOG
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more images and films can be found on our blog
www.montana-cans.com/montana-blog
make sure to follow the event on
www.powwowhawaii.com
watch all videos on
vimeo.com/powwowhawaii
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MONTANA X MIZU
A FRESH BOTTLE FOR YO‘ FRESH WATER
When you think of giveaways, things like lighters, pens and maybe a nice USB stick come to
mind, but MONTANA decided to go with something more practical this year. Since Mizu action
sports water bottles are the latest rave among our peeps, we decided to design some of our
own. „Mizu“ is the Japanese word for water. The company’s goal is to focus on and raise awareness
of the waste produced by plastic water bottles, and then in turn, create reusable containers
that will help remedy that problem. Environmental protection is their highest priority.
For instance, did you know that the amount of oil used to produce the quantity of non-recycled
plastic bottles in the world can fuel 1 million cars for one year? These are the issues Mizu
has taken to heart, and the reason they produce stainless steel water bottles from nothing
but 18/8 food grade stainless steel, which is not only durable, easy to sanitize and corrosion
resistant, but also will deter chemicals from migrating into your fresh water. The high quality
Mizu bottles come with a lifetime warranty. This bargain seemed to be the perfect gift for our
closest customers and friends, not only giving them a cool container with their favorite logo
on the side and a chance to be environmentally-conscious, but also a way to save some real
money compared to plastic bottled water.
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HAFENDAMPF
literal translates to „harbor’s
steam“ – Ahoy!
Graffiti and abandoned industrial buildings
have always been a perfect match,
like paint to a canvas or ducks and water.
The Ruhr Valley is a conurbation for
people and industry, but it is also known
for being „grey“.
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The concept of
planing a jam in
the heart of the
Ruhr district was
born – for one –
out of necessity,
and for another
and foremost
out of passion for
graffiti. From the
scene, for the
scene.//
HAFENDAMPF
„Hafendampf“ has sure put an end to
that rumor: Thanks to the bounty of
industries, the graffiti scene in the Ruhr
Valley is quite notable. The great quality
and the high volume of graffiti output
made it obvious that the Ruhr Valley’s
metropolis Essen needed to take advantage
of this talent. In the summer of
2013, the first „Hafendampf“ was held.
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HAFENDAMPF
literal translates to „harbor’s
steam“ – Ahoy!
A graffiti gallery on concrete pillars was
created in the cities harbor-hood right
below the Autobahn A42. Many fantastic
local sprayers came to participate, and
36

there were a few acclaimed German
artists who travelled to take part, including
Flying Förtress, JBCB, 463, Blues
and GBR. This crowd of creative minds
made „Hafendampf“ the largest graffiti
jam in North Rhine-Westphalia. Since
the 90’s, there haven’t been any graffiti
related events or get-togethers in the
area of the Ruhr Valley. This fact, and
the volition to offer the graffiti scene a
platform to come together and exchange
experiences and project ideas, was the
reason for the first „Hafendampf“, and
continues to be the axiom of this event.
This passionate commitment to act on
their maxim was one of the most important
reasons for us at Montana to get
involved. We know our sponsored cans
have been put
to good use giving Essen a face-lift in
graffiti-style. Initially, the „Hafendampf“
was created as a graffiti happening with
the a deliberately chosen emphasis on
writers and sprayers from Ruhr Valley. A
wider more international crowd would
be welcome to join in in the future.
// I DREAM
OF THINGS
THAT NEVER
WERE AND
ASK WHY
NOT?//
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Sneaker
Freaker
x
Montana
Keeping laces lose and caps fat
If you find yourself looking through tumblr galleries of graffiti artists or fans, there is one seemingly
unrelated item that will almost always pop up: a sweet pair of sneakers, or 10. This heavy romance
between cleats and street art has been going strong since the 70’s. We thought it was time for a celebration:
MONTANA teamed up with Aussie footwear aficionados Sneaker Freaker in the summer
of 2014 and created a special can in honor of this special bond. So, we got out our color pallets and
a winner was chosen: a classic Infra-Red, commemorating the „Radiant Red“ shade by Nike. Next,
the design needed to be created. Sneaker Freaker came up with an awesome head-to-toe print of
the Sneaker Freaker logo in a barrier tape look. Our production plant went straight to work printing
our matte finished lithos with the SF design and filling our cans with the hue of choice. To literally
cap off the project, we chose a slick red nozzle, and there you have it. Sneaker Freaker’s very own
Montana issued can. Some loves never die.
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URBAN
NATION
GALLERY
Berlin is but a canvas to Urban Nation’s imagination
In nearly all the major cities across the globe,
the observant pedestrian will encounter and
enjoy Urban Art. Their reward is taking in
artworks of all dimensions, flaunted on walls,
bridges, pillars or signs, using a variety of tools
such as brushes, glue or spray cans. But you
will rarely find a higher concentration than
what can now be seen in Berlin’s Buelowstrasse,
where suddenly, every pedestrian becomes
a gallery visitor.
Since its formation in late 2013, URBAN
NATION is a foundation based in Berlin that
focusses on bringing together urban artists to
form and enrich neighborhoods, particularly
in Berlin, but also all over the world. They hold
many different kinds of workshops, events and
exhibitions in non-profit public spaces with one
goal: bringing community and artists alike together
to beautify their surroundings. Their priorities
are what makes this foundation unique,
promoting equal support for upcoming as well
as renowned artists, and communities, cities
and their inhabitants. And the reactions they
have received, especially in Berlin, have been
their reward: full support from the community,
people coming to take pictures and attracting
positive attention. The „One Wall“ project series
they have organized, has generated much interest
from the locals, ultimately achieving their
goal of boosting community, participation and
creative exchange.
Their focus on redesigning urban spaces, and
consequently making art more accessible to
the public, has already made a large impact on
the street-life in Berlin, Kietz. Prettifying a few
seriously ugly buildings has also required the
help from some neighborhood kids, for whom
a workshop was held to impart the values of
street art and especially the impact our surroundings
have on our everyday life.
Another ongoing project is „Project M/“.
URBAN NATION’s director Yasha Young chooses
a curator, who then invites a group of internationally
acclaimed artists to transform the
windows and facade of a prominent building in
Berlin, which is currently undergoing change.
MONTANA’s support for URBAN NATION hasn’t
wavered since the foundation has taken its
first steps. Our team was fortunate enough to
be in Berlin during „Project M/5“, curated by Roland
Henry and VNA Magazine. The lineup was
quite swank including Mark Lyken, Ben Frost,
Pam Glew, Will Barras, Eine, Steff Plaetz, Nick
Walker, O. Two, Sickboy, Xenz and Sheone. Eine
refers to M/5 as being „the first urban contemporary
museum solely dedicated to stuff that
we do“, reflecting the respect and recognition
project M has yielded for the impressive urban
art scene. On that level Berlin is flourishing
with the help of URBAN NATION, which is
a cause, that we simply had to be actively
involved in.
The gallery is open: Berlin’s Buelowstrasse offers a gallery-style view urban art to every pedestrian. „The movement of this particular art form is spreading so big, that
there is a confidence that comes from it.“ says URBAN NATION director Yasha Young.
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The gallery is open: Berlin’s Buelowstrasse offers a gallery-style view urban art to every pedestrian. „The movement of this particular art form is spreading so big, that
there is a confidence that comes from it.“ says URBAN NATION director Yasha Young. www.urban-nation.net
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2014, Steffen Seger, Berlin Moabit, Lehrter Siebzehn

LOOKBOOK
016
MINIMALISM AT ITS FINEST
STEFFEN SEEGER
Watching Steffen Seeger create his
artworks is mesmerizing. His quirky
self-made tools and swift smooth strokes
seem to come so naturally, almost
effortless. The Berlin-based artist has his
roots in graffiti street art and has evolved
over the years by disengaging himself,
and reducing and abstracting his work.
Today Seeger belongs to the most
wanted illustrators in the world, creating
and performing for major brands such
as HUGO BOSS, or Absolute Vodka. One
sure thing about the Seeger-style is that
it’s unbelievably distinguishable: his
minimalistic, black-and-white, „one line
technique“ and multiple line projects are
incomparable to any other artist.
>
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Minimalism at its finest
STEFFEN SEEGER

LOOKBOOK
016
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Ghett0blaster
in y0uR
design
www.berlinboombox.com/montana
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Montana-Cans Iconic Series
MARTHA COOPER
EDITION
One day in 1981, Martha Cooper was riding on the subway of
New York holding a camera, which considering the crime rate at
that time, was not a recommended move.
The low ISO of her Kodachrome 64 film was going to make it
impossible to take any pictures while the car was underground
anyhow. But, when the subway hit daylight, the motif of the police
men standing in a frame of graffiti tags was irresistible. Was
she going to dare to ask the officers for a photograph? Since
taking pictures on the subway was illegal, that wasn’t advisable,
so, she’d just go for it. But she would have to stand up to take
it. „Luckily I got the shot. Mission accomplished.“ says Martha
Cooper today.
The photo-journalist is best known for her investment in the documentation
of the explosion of the New York graffiti culture
scene, beginning in the late 70’s. Cooper gathered and compiled
her experiences and encounters to create a collaborative book
that has become something like the holy writ of graffiti writing,
titled, „Subway Art“. Which in turn inspired young artists all over
the world to spread this urban art movement.
In the course of the cultural insurgencies of the 1960s, Cooper
earned an art degree from Grinell College Iowa, taught English
as a volunteer for the Peace Corps in Thailand and traveled from
Bangkok to London by motorcycle to receive a diploma at Oxford.
Upon her return to New York she secured a position at the
New York Post in 1977 using her commute to scout for pictures.
Longing for adventure, she’d explore the neighborhoods, taking
pictures of kids playing makeshift games on the streets. This
was when she came across graffiti and some members of it’s
community. Foremost a young kid, who showed her to some
art around the neighborhood, explained a few pieces, their artistic
values and some lingo, finally asking her if she wanted to
meet „the King“. Soon after, she was introduced to world class
sprayer Dondi, the first artist Cooper decided to shadow, taking
pictures of him tagging New York. Cooper quickly understood
that she had stumbled upon a vivid street culture and became
an eager student of the writers she befriended.
After many early mornings of waiting for hours to get the right
shot of moving trains, and many more acquaintances with graffiti
legends such as Zephyr, Seen, Kase2 and Lady Pink, Cooper
and fellow photographer Henry Chalfant published „Subway
Art“ in 1984. Many have claimed on numerous occasions that
this book has changed the course of art history in our world.
Following this book, Cooper has authored several more collections
documenting the urban art developments in New York including
„Hip Hop Files: Photographs 1979-1984“ and „New York
State of Mind“.
Keeping up with the tags, walls and trains of New York and the
street art scene all around the world still continues to be her
endeavor, whether she is documenting the Wynwood Walls project
in Miami as their official photographer, working with graffiti
artists in collaborational exhibitions or just plain instagraming
her daily encounters with this passion. The times have changed
and street art is ever-evolving. Many artists all around the
world are now taking parts of Coopers photographs and basing
their art on them. Sections of different shots are being cut out
and incorporated into other pieces of art. This kind of synergy
has led to many successful exhibitions including the „Martha
Cooper:Remix“ exhibition in the Carmichael Gallery in Los Angeles.
The Wynwood Walls project in Miami has been a treat for
Cooper since it began in 2009. Documenting the metamorphosis
of this warehouse district is what she refers to as a „dream
assignment“. Her pictures provide an invaluable view behind
the scenes of the making of urban graffiti murals.
Martha Cooper has been inseparable from the street art scenes
of the world for more than thirty years and her work has been
seminal to the development in urban art. She has seen it grow
from an underground burgeoning movement, to the largest art
movement in the world - always taking shots along the way.
instagram.com/marthacoopergram
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Montana-Cans Iconic Series
Futura
EDITION
As a well-established brand and a integral component in the
graffiti scene, it is our great privilege to be able to honor those
who have contributed significantly to the development of our
culture. Our way of doing this is to dedicate a limited edition can
to him or her in our ICONIC SERIES.
The most recent icon to have been featured is FUTURA. We
teamed up with renowned exclusive fashion design-brand AC-
RONYM® and Berlin-based curator and art-blogger BEINGHUN-
TED to put on a worthy celebration of his 60th birthday and decades
of abundant artistic output. Our contribution to the event
was to create the ICONIC SERIES FUTURA2000 Black – a black
hue based on our Montana GOLD highest quality NC-ACRYLIC
paint – especially for the occasion. This special limited edition
can will not be available for purchase.
When looking closely at Futura’s amazing contribution to the
graffiti scene, it seems virtually endless. Starting out during the
underground graffiti movement of the 70’s, tagging New York’s
subways, Futura made a name for himself which then led to
collaborations with many others, such as ALI. His exhibition at
New York’s Fun Gallery in 1981 connected him to
the British punk rock band ‚The Clash‘, with whom he toured
that year, painting their backdrop live, on-stage during their concerts.
Today, Futura owns his own fashion label with a store in
Fukuoka, Japan. He has worked with many popular brands such
as Nike, Recon, The North Face, Supreme and Hennessy, and his
numerous exhibitions reach all across the globe. Yet, he is still
best known for his original abstract graffiti style and artwork.
As a part of the festivities, the ICONIC SERIES FUTURA2000 can
was revealed and there was a display of ACRONYM®’s special
clothing line at the BEINGHUNTED.Space. The master himself
travelled to Berlin to take part, and of course, to create some
very exclusive artworks. During the course of the evening celebration,
cans were signed, canvases were admired, attire was
ogled and fun was had by all. That’s a very successful birthday
celebration, to our way of thinking.
instagram.com/futuradosmil
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»The sound
of the
streets of
Istanbul«
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Reunion of the greats
at the Pera Museum

The 2014 „Language of the Wall“ exhibition,
which was held in the Pera Museum
in Istanbul, was called to our attention by
a featured artist-duo who have deep ties
to the MONTANA brand. Turkey has been
rattled by political tension and a religious
imbalance causing unrest and strain on
the society. Promises of civil right improvements
have been put on hold and the
conditions for freedom of speech have been
changed for the worse under the current
administration, developing a deep seated
frustration in the pro-western population in
Turkey. Istanbul, which was elected the European
Capital of Culture in 2010, is a metropolis
for art, music, theatre and architecture
- the Pera Museum being a invaluable
pillar of support to these facets.
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1. JonOne painting a wall inside the museum
2. installation by evol
3. wall painting by cope2 inside the museum
4. interior painting by Mist
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"LANGUAGE
OF THE WALL
AT PERA"
Bringing the urban street flair to the inside
of the museum walls really acknowledged
this special art form and brought it into a focused
light and setting. The Pera Museum’s
appreciation for graffiti, and their desire to
promote and educate people on the roots
and evolvement of the art form, is what
Cope 2 calls a „blessing and a home run for
graffiti art“.
For this exhibition, many artists specifically
requested MONTANA cans. Because of the
high demand and our loyalty towards our
sprayers, we chose to support this awesome
event for the sake of the art.
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Syria
Herakut & AptART
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Colors of a Warzone

Forgotten Childhood
Forever Waiting
herakUt & apTaRt
Giving Syria’s children
a voice through art
fingerpainting, freedom
and other treasures.
© Photography, Falk Lehmann
Relief for Desperation
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Forgotten Childhood
LOOKBOOK
01/16
HERAKUT/aptART
CollaboRATION
Since early 2011, the Syrian conflict has been
frequently covered by news stations all over the
word. The civil war has pushed millions of Syrians
from their homes, forcing them to flee their
country. Jordan has provided shelter for many of
the displaced, resulting in large refugee camps
such as Zaatari.
AptART - Awareness & Prevention Through Art -
an organization founded by Samantha Robinson
which aims to give vulnerable children an artistic
experience, and promote an awareness about
the issues that affect their lives - carried out an
8-week street art project in the camps in Northern
Jordan. One of the artists they invited to join
the project were Herakut, an artistic duo made
up of colleagues Jasmin Siddiqui, aka „Hera“, and
Falk Lehmann, aka „Akut“.
Samantha Robinson and Herakut belong to
MONTANA’s tight-knit group of trusted and valued
collaboration partners. For this exceptional
project, in these exceptional circumstances,
MONTANA went to great lengths to support the
workshops and creative workings with cans and
other supplies.
>
Relief for Desperation
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Herakut & aptART
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Colors of a Warzone

LOOKBOOK
01/16
Street art by herakut as part
of a an aptaRT project with
children in the Syrian Refugee
Camp Zaatari and children in
north Jordan.
During their three weeks of their stay, Herakut
created 8 walls, 6 of which enlisted the help of
children. They used topics such as „home“, „peace“
and „I am the future“, each giving the children
an opportunity to participate in the creating and
expressing of things that affect and move them.
Everything from painting with paintbrushes, finger
painting and making birds out of the tent canvas,
specifically turning a symbol of their loss into a
sign of freedom, peace and hope. In the face of
all the destruction, sacrifice and fear, the kids still
chose life-affirming colors, still laughed and took
part in the workshops provided for them. In fact,
the workshops were overrun, which lead to an
unexpected extension of the „home“ mural, which
is the written word „home“, made out of many little
building blocks. Each building block was decorated
by a child with their most treasured associations
with the word. The main goal of this project was
to nurture the perception that each child is worthy
of appreciation as an individual building block. In
Zaatari, Herakut created two murals on containers
emphasizing the importance and value of water
and how vital it is to keep it clean and share it with
others. Much of their time was also spent interacting,
eating and talking to the families. Herakut
describes the lingering feeling in the camps as
being similar to that at a train station: Everyone
is waiting for the train to take them home, which
never arrives.
The idea for curating an exhibition occurred to Herakut
while in the field. The exhibition titled „Colours
of Resilience“, which was staged in the AusstellungsHalle1A
in Frankfurt, offers a sobering insight
into the world of the refugee camps. The event
line up includes talks from Hera and Samantha
Robinson and live music.
www.herakut.de / www.aptart.org
/
In partnership with Acted, supported by Echo and
UNICEF, © herakut & aptArt, Jordania
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Line is a rich
metaphor for
the artist. It
denotes not only
boundary, edge
or contour, but
is an agent for
location, energy,
and growth.
It is literally
movement and
change
– Lance Esplund –
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NC.FORMULA.
TUMBLR.COM

ncformula.tumblr.com
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www.artbasel.com
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Make sure to watch the video:
„Between Street and Art | Miami Art Basel 2014“
www.bitly.com/steetandart
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Many varying opinions are represented, but we’d like to express our view using the words of
Shepard Fairey: „Some people pander to the fine-art-world and they don’t care about the streetart-world;
some care about the rules of the street art world and they are scared of the fine-artworld.
My favorite people aren’t scared to break down all these barriers in between, „call bullshit
on all of it“ and just do what they want to do.“
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„For his works the German Artist Jan Paul Müller (26) uses primarily Montana SKETCHLINERs as well as ACRYLIC markers and inks.
The simplicity of the black graphics on the white booth are Jan Paul’s signature feature, adding his personal character to the objects he designs.“
//www.janpaulmueller.de/
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Just about the only thing that is better that having a can in one hand,
is having a can in one and a nice cold beer in the other. Choosing your
beer is much like choosing your collaboration-partner; a decision that
deserves careful consideration. After a deliberate process of pondering
and tasting, we at Montana have come to the conclusion: Heineken
is our beer of choice. To make the verdict even more worthwhile,
we decided to get involved in a collaboration as well, which led to the
idea for a one-of-a-kind beer-tasting and spray-painting happening only
to be experienced in Miami, Florida, which we call the Heineken Mobile
Art Experience.
Throughout December 2015, this live art truck travelled from Wynwood
to South Beach, stopping at walls and pop-up events all along
the way. The truck itself is equipped with rotating canvases on the
outside and is home to a gallery on the inside. Live-sessions with artists
such as Greg Mike, Kamea Hadar, Felipe Pantone and 2Alas, and
getting to watch them
www.heinekenxmontana.com
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Because we know how much our fans love our limited edition cans, we decided to
create a collectable model for this special experience. Our commemorative
Heineken X Montana can doesn‘t just sport both logos and Miami’s
beloved palm trees, it also contains Heineken’s favorite green
color. Since the cans are not available for normal purchase,
they belong to our special collectable can editions.

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Vienna based artist Nychos, painting a larger than life eagle during the
2015 Art Basel in Miami. Characteristic of this Montana-Cans supported
artist, Nychos fuses illustration, comic art and the anatomy of the body
into one powerful image.
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LOOKBOOK
016
95

Level Up for the Streets of Mannheim
Creating an urban gallery for the
everyday spectator
We really love what we do. This isn’t news to anyone affiliated with
our brand, but there is a special satisfaction in seeing the fruits of our
labors locally. We are very proud to be supporting the project ‚Stadt.
Wand.Kunst‘, which translates as: ‚City.Wall.Art‘. These are, in our
opinion, the essential ingredients for awesome graffiti. The four initiators
– the GBG housing association of Mannheim, Montana-Cans,
the Agency for Urban Cultural Development and the Alte Feuerwache
cultural arts center - have made it their goal to create a public gallery
on grey city walls - to design large-scale murals on blank house fronts
in the central districts of Mannheim.
But, one essential ingredient for awesome graffiti is still missing in
this list of factors. Yes, the artist creating it. Fortunately we have a
fantastic pool of fabulous artists to choose from. In 2015, we invited
prominent national and international artists, namely SOBEKCIS from
Belgrade, STOHEAD from Berlin and SatOne from Munich, in addition
to local artists like Hombre, Boogie, Sweetuno and Meiner.
SOBEKCIS’ „Motion“ and SatOne’s „Insomnia“ murals are located in
Mannheim’s city district of Neckarstadt. These works are large-scale,
colorful and their impressive designs convey the artists‘ styles and
preferences. STOHEAD‘s „RHYTHM“ mural can be found directly in
Mannheim’s city center. The graffiti-style writing in the mainly black
and white design really captures your attention and corresponds wonderfully
with the city’s new status as the „city of music“ since 2014.
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As a result of our endeavor, graffiti, as a contemporary art form, gets
high public exposure in prominent places in the cityscape, as well as
being a substantial improvement in its appearance. The public at large
can enjoy the growing number of artworks any time and can even
enjoy following the process of creating these monumental artworks
free of charge.
Our efforts began in 2013, with the idea of inviting HERAKUT to create
a mural for their storybook project on one of Mannheim’s facades.
The idea was received with much enthusiasm by our partners at the
Alte Feuerwache, the GBG housing association - the owner of the
facade we chose for the project - and the agency for Urban Cultural
Development - an agency which shares our goals. These include
promoting young talent and strengthening the local street art scene.
Young, local artists are provided the opportunity to gather experience
with large scale art and refine their technique on the walls of condemned
buildings.
We want to support Mannheim’s capacity for promoting the street art
scene and help maximize its potential. In the future, local artists, and
national and international artists alike will have their works displayed
on predominant walls of Mannheim’s downtown area.
www.stadt-wand-kunst.de
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open urban art gallery mannheim
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Montana x Marsimoto
When a German Rapper receives a platinum record for an album,
we tend to notice. It is not only the music of this specific
HipHop star that is so impressive, but also his interesting career
path. First he starting off playing soccer as a member of the
U-17 squad of the German national soccer team, then he was
discovered by a model scout in New York. After he got bored
with modeling for brands such as Diesel and Hugo Boss, he moved
back to Germany in 2003 and studied acting, and then – to
our pleasure – decided to dive into his music career.
We are talking – of course – about Materia or more precisely
his alter-ego MARSIMOTO, who has created a design for his very
own signature color: Green! To be specific, our very own, brand
new hue: MONTANA MARSIGREEN. If MARSIMOTO had his
way, the entire world would be green. MONTANA MARSIGREEN
stands for hope, calm, safety, inspiration, freshness, nature and
life. Marsigreen rooms can have a calming, balancing and even
noise-dampening effect. It gives your eyes a sense of restfulness,
since the sight of green is never strenuous. The simple design
of the green can depicts the MARSIMOTO logo on the front
and center of the litho, making the design simple yet effective.
As a result of fooling around with some effects in a recording
program, Materia created his alter-ego MARSIMOTO, paying
homage to Madlib’s alter-ego Quasimoto. Both alter-egos are
known for their high-pitched voices. He released his debut album
as MARSIMOTO in 2006 and started soaring in the German
charts from there. MARSIMOTO just released his newest album
in 2015 titled „Ring der Nebelungen“, literally „Ring of Fog“, which
is actually a play on words referring to „The Ring of the Nibelung“
a cycle of operatic dramas by composer Richard Wagner. We
definitely prefer MARSIMOTO’s version rather than the worn out,
ancient tale.
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IMPRINT
Media owner and publisher:
Montana-Cans
Graphic design | Art direction:
RB02 Design Raum & Montana-Cans
Texts:
Lydia Scott
Photography:
Bryan „Birdman“ Mier p. 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45
Brandon Shigeta p. 1, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 30, 31
Edward Nightingale p. 6, 7
Boris „The Grifters“ p. 8, 9, 78, 79
Falk Lehmann p. 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73
Jonas Maon p. 28
Chokografie p. 34, 35, 36, 37
Jordan Katz p. 46, 47, 48, 49
Alexander Krziwanie 50, 51, 60, 61, 62, 66, 67, 97, 99, 100, 101
Martha Cooper p. 54, 55
DRAW A LINE p. 74, 75, 76, 77, 82, 85
Marcus Werner p. 81, 81, 83, 84
Evan 5PS p. 90, 91, 93
Frank Bässler p. 94, 95, 96, 99, 100, 101
Manuel Wagner p. 97, 98, 100, 101
Calvin Nakamaru, Jok Sauer, Jan Pecht
© 2016, Montana-Cans
All rights reserved.
Reprinting, even in part, only with the approval of the
publisher. No liability can be accepted for unsolicited
photos, slides, films or manuscripts received.
/
MONTANA-CANS
Häußerstraße 36
69115 Heidelberg
Deutschland
Ph: +49 (0) 6221 36 333 0
info@montana-cans.com
www.montana-cans.com

LOOKBOOK / EDITION # 01 / 2016
WWW.MONTANA-CANS.COM