MadC celebrates her art on a Diplomat Fountain pen!

Diplomat, MadC and a Happy New Year!

What is the one gift that sways a pen lover’s heart? The answer is easy, a fountain pen. But if one were to buy himself a fountain pen to mark the arrival of the new year, what would one buy? Now, that answer is not as easy and I am sure we all have our individual reasons for choosing what we ultimately would. That is precisely why I would not like to venture into it and would rather tell you about the fountain pen that I am gifting myself to mark the year 2020.

For one, the year is 2020 – perfect vision as they say – and therefore, the pen that I have chosen is naturally, an eye-candy.

Secondly, it is of German origin, which I believe needs no elucidation. What is important is that the company that has made the pen has been making them since 1922 and is globally revered for using the traditional methods of craftsmanship ever since. The facts that the pens manufactured by them incorporate the finest materials, are still individually tested manually and are known to be the paragon of quality and workmanship are almost by default, understood. Even taken for granted. Yes, I am talking about Diplomat.

And the pen I have chosen for myself is one of their latest offerings – the MadC Limited Edition Fountain pen. It has all-metal casing, incorporates water printing and comes fitted with a finely chiselled and polished stainless-steel nib.

The third reason that prompted me to opt for the pen was simple – the writing (or is it painting?) on the wall was clear. The pen features the work of MadC who was born as Claudia Walde and is currently one of the world’s top street artists. She has spent the last two decades and more in constant engagement with graffiti and street art, working her way up from being a teenager starting off with a spray can, to the position of pre-eminence that she is now in. She holds degrees in Graphic Design from two universities and has already published three books about street art.

Now, I have always been fascinated by the bold and bright – the vividly coloured, calligraphy infused works of the rebels with a cause, young people, whose works are often labelled as counter-culture, but are still of a kind of purity that hits one in the solar plexus. Graffiti is an enabler, a binding force that transcends all and most graffiti artists are way more passionate about their art than I am about my fountain pens, so I guess, the choice was natural – one lover celebrating the love of many others. 

Claudia, for the uninitiated, is a widely exhibited artist with her canvasses drawing (no pun intended) the cognoscenti wherever they are featured, either as parts of groups or solo exhibitions. However, it is her street connection that really makes her who she is, and the numerous coloured murals she has painted in different corners of the world are as vivacious and full of life as only Graffiti as an art form can be, if I am allowed to slip in my two bits. MadC is celebrated for the uniqueness of her work, a breath of pure fresh air, that has its roots in graffiti art, comes in its trademark riot of colours with compositions that are layered and are perfectly paired with the spontaneity of the fast-painted lines of a master calligrapher. That she does it on the scale that her street murals attain is breath taking, to put things mildly. The sheer energy that her works depict and the unfathomable depths to which she is capable of engaging the viewer intellectually is what makes her stand out as an outstanding exponent, not only of her genre, but also of the generation she represents.         

Little wonder that MadC’s work has been covered by various magazines and newspapers such as National Geographic, Saatchi Magazine, GQ, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, The Source, GraffitiArt Magazine to name only a few.

These are the days of instant gratification and graffiti as an art form is instantaneous, fast paced, even on-your-face, frozen motion. Not really something that defines the old-world charm of a fountain pen, one that has steadily, but silently, created the times that we now live in, even for that matter, Graffiti as an art form. Naturally, for the same fountain pen to celebrate MadC’s work on itself is a defining moment, one that is not merely a bridge over time, but approaches the transcendental. For a company that is steeped in tradition, that too almost a century old, to make such a move is therefore monumental – reason enough for the pen to acquire a pride of place in any collection, including mine.

Finally, I will fail in my duties if I don’t mention Anish Todarwal of Ateeagn International from whom I acquired my prized Diplomat MadC possession. Not only were the dealings extremely courteous and above board, the pen was received by me within two days of placing the order – faster than one could spray paint a thank you on a wall!

For More information:

about diplomat pens: http://www.diplomat-pen.com/

about Claudia Walde MadC: http://madc.tv/