The term Dreckige Dutzend or Dirty Dozen sounds just as cool in English as it does in German. It has been a long time since only 12 graffiti writers have come together in the form of a Dirty Dozen to paint a non-commercial graffiti production in Frankfurt Germany. The term Dirty Dozen more so relates to the constant presence of paint splatters and overspray on the shoes, jackets, t-shirts, hoodies, and fingers when painting. Something every writer can relate to.
Whatever we’re wearing, it’s covered in paint
These days writers are coming locally, nationally, and even from abroad to get together and make colors happen. And if what we see when visiting the Dreckige Dutzend 2017 website is correct, the title DD12 suggests that the DD team has been doing this for quite a few years. And it appears with success. This year the event was again supported by Montana Cans and the welcomed presence of Montana BLACK and GOLD cans, but more importantly was attended by graffiti writers DOKE (SLOWAKEI), KRON (SCHWEIZ), JMS CUTZ (SCHWEIZ), VIVY (SCHWEIZ), AMOK (MEXIKO), ESOBE (POLEN), MONE UZI, JASE, CREIS, YOURS DBL, ALIEN, SMOK, ELEVENADE, BAKER ONE, BASCO, ME ONE, STEN, DEJOE, SPEEDY, COPSA, BÄCKER, MONKEY, KALLIGRAFREAK, EASY, COKE, KICK, NEIN, JET, JEY-T, SEAN, RUFOS, FNB, ENTE, LONE, RADIK.42, LAKOONA ART, ZAPHYRE, YOUR, DER KUNSTWERKER and AMBER.
The constant presence of paint splatters and overspray on the shoes, jackets, t-shirts, hoodies, and fingers
Something that every writer can relate to
Although the weather at the time in Germany was predicting that the European summer had already departed, a warm Autumn sun made a strong appearance keeping any rain well away from the event. And if it wasn’t writers, colors, and sun rays warming up the mood, then it was the 3 DJs spinning beats, the rapper spitting rhymes, the pizza baker making pizzas, and the food truck keeping everyone fed that kept the vibe at a constant high.
But as with many graffiti events, it’s not the words written about it that show its achievements, it’s the painted words, characters, and images that best summate what was going on at the time.
Images by DD1222, Marcus Kontrastreich & Conny Pfeiffer