PERSUE INTERVIEW

Senses Lost
www.senseslost.com/interviews/persue-interview/

To start off with. Where are you from? What do you write? What crews do you rep?

Persue’: I was born and raised in San Diego, California. My Dad was from the Bronx and my Mom was from upstate New York near Woodstock. I write Persue’ (per-sway) but I don’t mind being called per-su, It’s common. I rep COD from the Bronx, Stick up Kids, The Seventh Letter, Bunny Kitty, Transcendental, Bloodclots and SBA.

Where does the name Persue’ come from?

Persue’: It was given to me by a friend in High School. He thought it was an original name so thats why I started to write it. It took me years to actually turn into Persue’. I think I live up to the name.

How long have you been doing graffiti?

Persue’: 20 years now. I picked up a can in 1988.

How did you first get started? What was your influence to start?

Persue’: Actually it was the same guy who gave me my name. He had a black book he called his “Bible” it was full of colorful drawings. I was blown away at that moment. I went back to class and started drawing and my life has been consumed by it since then. I had already been drawing prior to my introduction to graffiti and my parents had been calling me and artist since I was born. When I was a kid I didn’t know what an artist was. But now I completely understand.

When you first started out, who did you look up too?

Persue’: First, my crew mates Xpek and Fose. Then as I was getting around San Diego, Quasar, Zodak, Dyse, Sake, Peng(R.I.P), Zane, Joker and Nyse. As I started to venture out of San Diego there was Giant, Slick, Risk, AWR, Revok, Rime, Sever, Ewok, Aroe,Twist, Spie, Aladdin, Rayven, Dream, Wane, Mode2, Futura, Gnome, Virus, Bates, Ghost, Ket, FC-TC-5, Toast, Goal, and Can2. Shit, really I am inspired by alot of people. I have been fortunate to have met and painted with most of the people I mentioned. Out side of Graff I really like Shel Silverstein, Peter Saville, Klimt, Schiele, Ralph Steadman, Bode’ and Jim Henson.

Out of all the pieces you’ve done, is there one you can call a favorite?

Persue’: Yeah, I really like the wall Wane and I did in the Bronx in 2003. It was right after the USA went to war. It’s our pieces that read,”Know war, Persue peace”.

You were recently over in China for the Wall Lords Tour, what’s the graffiti scene like over there? How was the tour?

Persue’: The tour was dope. I was with Rime(Jersey Joe) MSK. We have been involved with a few projects in the past so I knew it would be a good trip. We painted alot! After the event we went out to my factory were we make our Shoes. I work for a Skateboard shoe company by the name of Vox. So I did some work and we painted the factory. I think it might be the only graffiti out in that province. The over all scene in Asia is booming! I have been going to Asia for work for the last 10 years so I’ve been able to watch it. A must see for any young traveler would be Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, and Vietnam. You’ll never be the same after that my friends! Rime and I filmed our trip and made a video to share with our friends. You can find it on my blog or you can google Persue, China.

How did you come up with Bunny Kitty? Can you tell us about Bunny Kitty?

Persue’: At the time I was drawing a lot. I remember Toast from Switzerland was living in San Diego at the time. He was a great drawing partner because he does it so well. He helped me develop my drawing skills. I met a girl who asked me to draw her a Bunny Kitty. I had no Idea what one looked like so I made it up. I remember the night I drew up the first sketches I fell in love with the concept. When ever I come up with something good I can’t sit down. I start to pace the room and my mind starts to race with scenarios. So I developed more characters, a story and even a rock and roll band called the Slugganauts. Then I introduced it through my network. I had been involved with so many successful skate brands in my past. People would always ask when I would finally do something for myself. I had no Idea it was going to be Bunny Kitty, but I am happy with it. I don’t care if it ever makes me money, its all good!

You’re not only involved with just graffiti. You’re also a graphic designer, illustrator and shoe designer. Can you tell us a little about what all you’re working on?

Persue’: These days I am President for Vox Footwear a Skateboarding shoe brand based out of Vista, California. So I manage the company and design footwear with my friend B House. In the past I was involved launching DC shoes, Osiris shoes, I named and did the logo for Circa footwear. I have done countless T-shirts, Skateboard graphics and Snowboard graphics for brands like Dub, Droors, Special Blend, Forum, Tribal, and Evol to name a few.I got into the industry around ‘91 or so. Skateboarding was not as big as it is today. So I grew with industry and so did my reputation of being a talented artist. I am responsible for putting flavor into skateboarding art at a time when it was lacking it. This was before Dave Kinsey, Andy Howell and Shepard Fairy lived on West Coast. My brothers and I also run a shop in Encinitas by the name of Home. There is a good story behind this project. You can see it at www.amomentinyourlife.com.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve either seen or experienced while out painting?

Persue’: Geez, Been pretty lucky so far. No craziness yet. Doesn’t sound possible with 20 years under the belt does it?
Oh! I sat on a cactus after a bombing mission once. I had to have a friend help me pull the thorns out of my butt cheeks. NO BUENO!

What can we expect to see from Persue in the near future?

Persue’: More Burners, more Bunny Kitty, more missions. There has been talks of a book but Im not holding my breath.

Any last words for the Senses Lost readers?

Persue’: Good Luck !

www.itsbunnykitty.blogspot.com

www.knowngallery.com

www.voxfootwear.com

www.amomentinyourlife.com

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How did you get interested and involved with graffiti?

Steve Grody: I have been interested in letters and art since I was a kid. I remember doing bubble letters in my notebook in grade school. Later, I became interested in poster art of the psychedelic ’60s and by extension the art of Mucha and Beardsley and the like, so it was natural thing for me to find the new lettering of modern graffiti very compelling.

How long have you been documenting Los Angeles graffiti?

Steve Grody: Since June of 1990 I believe. I saw things going on since the mid ’80s, but it wasn’t until I accidentally came across the Belmont Tunnel after the Slick/Hex battle that I finally decided that I needed to keep a record of something extraordinary that disappeared quickly.

Where is the best place or places to find graffiti around LA?

Steve Grody: There used to be three important yards, Venice Pavilion, Motor, and Belmont, that ran for some years, twenty years in the case of Belmont. Other yards have gone back and forth from active to inactive, and occasionally, such as with Commerce yard, back to active. And of course the L.A. River has always been active. There are spots in East L.A., Commerce, the North East (Highland Park, Atwater), Hollywood, South Central and the West Side that have been single hits, short time runs as well. Right now, there are (off the top of my head) perhaps three or four areas that are painted and open to writers (in contrast to walls controlled by a single individual or crew). So the answer to the question is where is the best graffiti on a particular day or week.

Over the years of documenting the graffiti movement is there one particular wall or painting that you can call a favorite?

Steve Grody: No, too many good walls have been done to call one a favorite?

What’s a typical day for Steve Grody?

Steve Grody: I teach street-oriented self-defense (JKD and Filipino Kali) privately, so my photo time is planned around that, but I keep a running list of things to shoot. The list comes from talking to people I run into about what’s up on the walls; from seeing postings on photo sites and then contacting people that may be able to tell me where those things are; from just paying attention as I drive around and often on the way to one site I’ll see things I didn’t expect to see. A few people will call with a heads-up. So I plan a run going from one site to another. I might start in Commerce, then up to East L.A., check a few spots Downtown and in the Arts District, then off to either the North East, Alhambra/Lincoln Park or Hollywood and then down to the Mid-city area or West Side and then home.

What was your biggest challenge when creating the book “Graffiti LA”?

Steve Grody: The story of L.A. graffiti is like a puzzle that could legitimately be put together in a dozen ways, so there were a number of challenges. I wanted to balance three areas: history, technique and aesthetics, and the personal/sociological aspects. I also wanted to talk about ethical issues. Within the area of history, I wanted to work really hard to make sure that the East Side, West Side, South Side, North East and the Valley were all represented properly and to not jock one crew or area. I wanted to go more deeply into technical and design issues more than I had seen written about before, how that developed and who influenced who. I wanted the photos to show important contributors from the first generation onward, and not just show the stuff happening now.

You have a ton of great graffiti legends throughout the book. How did you go about getting in contact with these artists?

Steve Grody: I met writers over the years, and some trusted me pretty quickly, while others took years of seeing me around to realize I was sincere in documenting the scene. When I started working on the book, I asked everyone I could “Who do you think is important to the story” and how could I get in touch to see if they would be available for an interview. There ended up being just a handful I’m sorry I couldn’t get to. Some were hesitant because they have been so misquoted or misrepresented before, but everyone that was interviewed felt good about the way they came off. I’ve gotten a lot of love for the book and god knows, the graff crowd will tell you if they think you screwed up somehow.

Are you working on any new graffiti projects at the moment or in the future?

Steve Grody: I am, but I don’t want to be more specific until it’s more developed. I will say if it comes off as I’d like, it will be very special. A number of writers that have photos have asked about how to put a book together, and I tell them that a publisher may not care if you have a ton of photos if they are not good photos and you can say something distinctive. This is the time of graff and street art book glut and most of them don’t say anything interesting.

Do you have a favorite graffiti artist? Who would it be and why?

Steve Grody: I have a number of favorites from various crews. All of the major crews have talented guys and some weaker links. I don’t want to mention names because I try to get along with all the crews and I’m sure I’ll piss someone off if it turns out I like more writers from one crew than another.

How often are you out looking at graffiti?

Steve Grody: Two to five days a week.

Since you’ve been involved with graffiti for a great deal of time. What are your thoughts on graffiti and the internet?

Steve Grody: The internet is a sharply double edged sword. It’s great for seeing what’s out there with ease, but too many kids don’t get around to really study things in person and they need the personal mentorship that the net does not provide for the best quality development.

What are you predictions on the outcome of future graffiti? Where do you think it will go?

Steve Grody: Predictions rarely pan out, but just because graffiti is so ubiquitous now in pop graphics and merchandising, it’s natural that it would fall off at some point. On the other hand, while movements generally come and go, graffiti is one of the most available ways for kids to be kids and I don’t know that that will change quickly.

Any last words for the Senses Lost readers?

Steve Grody: Some people are standing on the shoulders of giants, and others are standing on dog shit in a ditch. Choose who you want to be carefully. It’s always easier to be a toy than someone really making a contribution to the world.

Find out more at: senseslost.com and GraffitiLA.com