You don’t know him, but you’ve seen him everywhere - driving down the 110, walking down Pico, taking a piss at the Airliner. This artist (who would like to remain anonymous) has been relentlessly posting his work all over LA for the past several years. Somehow, I’ve gotten to know him and have invited myself over to his studio to catch up through an interview.
Spottings:
Under the Bridge -
On the 110 -
I arrive at the artist’s studio (located on the outskirts of downtown), and am greeted with a warm welcome. He stands approximately at 6′ 1″ and is properly tatted with gambling imagery. He’s the most laid back, mellow fellow I know, but you would never know it from the way he works - the man works like a beast! The studio gives evidence to his work ethic. Stickers cover the walls and prints can be found everywhere. Because all screens are prepared and printed here, ink is smudged on to every piece of furniture. Welcome to the Restitution Press.
The artist proceeds to give us a tour of the studio and as it turns out, the whole second floor doubles as a gallery. I notice that at the end of one of the hallways, framed screens from the Restitution Press zine adorn the walls. I ask about it and the artist pulls out a collection of past issues - including a huge annual.
Here the artists goes over a couple of the pages:
After receiving a tour of the place we sit down to talk and the artist gives us a little bit of his background:
We wrap up the in-studio session and go for a stroll to some spots the artist has been posting at. As we walk, it dawns on me how much the poster has been integrated into LA street culture - the older postings have deteriorated and almost look like an official LA wallpaper template.
After the interview, on my drive back home, I spot some more posters. These postings seem to be fresh, but I know they will look different in a short amount of time. Like the artist said,”It’s gonna age, become good like wine.”
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