Born in New York City, 1961. For over 30 years, Eric Haze has been a leader in the worlds of art, graphic and product design. In the 70's, ussing the name, "HAZE", he established his own influential styles of graffiti, bombing the trains and the walls of NYC. During the 80's, Haze became one of the first artists to help visually communicate Hip Hop culture to the world via his graphic and logo design. To this day, Haze continues to produce a variety of work and shows at exhibitions worldwide. The collaborative relationship between G-SHOCK and Haze began in 1999, with Haze designing his first signature model, and has continued to progress for nearly a decade.
HAZE:Really the essences for project like this that's represents 25 years, it has to be feel...
Q:It's very long time.
HAZE: It has to feel right for 25 years ago and it has to feel right for now. So it can't be so much of period piece. It has to be little more timeless.
Q:So, it was anniversary or it was just the beginning or it just..
HAZE:Has to be both. Has to represent the beginning and the now so it has to be the universal.
Q:So, what do you think about G-SHOCK?
HAZE:What I'm think about G-SHOCK? I've had a long good relationship with G-SHOCK now. G-SHOCK is a kinda leader in sports watch and some technology and I'm ____ working with G-SHOCK.
Q: It's been about 10years since you start coraborate with G-SHOCK. Do you feel any changes, or did G-SHOCK ever changed some how during this period of time?
HAZE:Probably the main answer's the stylish change. I mean G-SHOCK is also classic product, so I think idea's every time you revisit or redesign something, you never throw out the old idea. You take the classic piece and you try to find the ways to make it little more about them. And then for me, I always try to find the way to make it just little personal. So there's little bit of my fingerprints.
One of the things about doing collaboration with major cooperation or really big companies is, you know, you find the balance between company identity and your own identity. If you do small projects you can go crazy with, you know, different styles and different ideas. But when it's a something like this project it represents the whole CASIO company world wide with a lot of history so sometime you need to stay a little conservative terms of the whole identity.
Q:Do you like the project with G-SHOCK?
HAZE:Yeah, Especially the last times model we did. I was given a lot more freedom to do the band, box and packaging. So each projects gets juicier I think. May be after all this time CASIO trust me now to...not so many limitations. The first project was kind a conservative, just logo and little graphics. Second one, more freedom.
Q:What is your expectation for future G-SHOCK?
HAZE:Mmmm, a little bit same as our conversation, you know. Again, if I look to the future for G-SHOCK, or some collaboration, same basic vive just some little materials little different technic, probably more question of "What I'm doing this new?". Because, you know, especially some of the body styles are... you know, again it's classic so just a little bit of twist.
Q:May be color contrast?
HAZE:Yeah.
Q:So, now you're in NY, back to original. What's your plan for the future from here?
HAZE:A lot of different new things going on here in NY. We launch the brand from Brooklyn. New products.
Q:Nice!
HAZE:You know for about, that's a...this row, this is Skateboards and NY cap, going to ah..Taiwan, London, Germany, Hong Kong, San Francisco, LA, Hawaii, ah...you know?
Q:All over the world?
HAZE:So, you know a lot of...for the last 5 years a lot of HAZE brand has been focused in Japan and we have been worked so hard in the U.S. and International, but now...plan was always come home to Brooklyn. We launched the brand. Small in control limited edition sets. But we build the brand then a...account base international, and also I'm back to doing more art, real painting and drawing, And a...you know I set up the new studio. So, I say plan for NY is three things. To relaunch HAZE brand, international, but small in control. Not commercial brand, you know. Even for Japan side was getting too big, too commercial. So, I pulled all back in Brooklyn to get little more creative control again and just trying to bring the brand back to the original feeling of the roots. And part of that is Art first, product second.Instead of thinking product marketing. Haze brand shouldn't be a marketing brand. It should be an Art project that creates product from the Art, from the Design. That's the original essence. Take it back to that.
Q:What's your second...?
HAZE:And like, these are all brandnew paintings. New paintings new canvases working on some major painting shows next year. Hong Kong, Taiwan, NY...
Q:NY as well?
HAZE:Yeah. Definitely relaunch...I think first painting show has to be in NY. Doing a lot of drawings also. Just sent seven drawings to Barcelona.
Q:Is your style changing?
HAZE:Yeah. Well, but again little bit in a circle. Much more back to...sort of 80's pop-art feeling. You know, 90's...so much computer now, so much graphics, graphics, graphics. Well, I can do that, but that's sort of main stream now. So...
Q:You're kind of pioneer for its era?
HAZE:There is a lots of things, that a lot of people can do. And somethings I do that not everybody can do. So I sort of...
Q:What's your identity?
HAZE:My identity?
Q:To describe yourself?
HAZE:Ah...super simple. I'm a pop artist. And that's a "Population". Not always"Popular" but a...I like to think what I do. I do for everybody. So it's "Pop"ulation, "Pop"ular...but you know, Graphic design, Fine art, Painting, Product, Art direction, Fashion it's all part of the "Popular Culture". So you can say I'm a painter, you can say I'm a graphic artist, you can say I'm a graffiti artist, but to me it's all...now a days its "Pop-Art". It's the big picture, and always has been.
