Interview: Branded
An honest look into the daily life of a street artist and his oversized wheate paste-ups. See the clip which first caught our eye, then be sure to check out the full interview with photos below.
Q: Your profile?
A: I just turned 38, but look really young for my age!! Location: Los Angeles!! A city you have to get to know to really appreciate. Occupation: Graphic Designer.
brandedbunny.com
ophotn.com
bastardartist.com
A: I just turned 38, but look really young for my age!! Location: Los Angeles!! A city you have to get to know to really appreciate. Occupation: Graphic Designer.
brandedbunny.com
ophotn.com
bastardartist.com
Q: What's your average day like?
A: I wake up between 5:30 & 6:30, get ready for the day, sit in traffic for 40 minutes, then sit in front of a computer for the next 8 hours. I tend to do a lot of sitting. Once I'm off work I like to walk at least one block to throw up some stickers. This really gets the blood flowing again. When that is done I usually try hook up with friends for some real human interaction. If that fails and I end up going home I have to fight the urge not to sit and zone out in front of the TV. If I can get past that urge and I'm feeling irie I bring out the paste and get sticky. At the end of the day I crash anywhere between 10:30 & 12 depending on how much sleep I got the previous 2 days.
A: I wake up between 5:30 & 6:30, get ready for the day, sit in traffic for 40 minutes, then sit in front of a computer for the next 8 hours. I tend to do a lot of sitting. Once I'm off work I like to walk at least one block to throw up some stickers. This really gets the blood flowing again. When that is done I usually try hook up with friends for some real human interaction. If that fails and I end up going home I have to fight the urge not to sit and zone out in front of the TV. If I can get past that urge and I'm feeling irie I bring out the paste and get sticky. At the end of the day I crash anywhere between 10:30 & 12 depending on how much sleep I got the previous 2 days.
Q: ha, your day sounds quite similar to mine, only include a wife and baby into the mix. So when the feelings right and you're feeling sticky icky -- what is it your paste-ups communicate? If anything at all.
A: I really feel like I am still finding my voice as an artist, but once I made the decision to print sticks I knew they had to say something - especially with living in Los Angeles. With that said I feel Branded communicates a couple things to me...
It comments on the effect that huge corporations our having on our society. It is like we are being led to fear change. It feels good to know that there is a Starbucks that will give you the same service/product on every corner. This gives us fear to try the Mom and Pop store, and really gets rid of our sense of adventure.
I always knew that street art and graffiti was the art of self promotion, with an emphasis on the art. I wanted to play on self promotion more. I wanted to remind everybody and myself that "what" I was doing was not pure. The purity for me comes from not the what, but the "why." Why I started is completely different. It was therapy for me. I started at a time when I really needed a change in life. I love to hike and camp, and this gave me a chance to do the same in the inner city. It fed my ego, gave me confidence, and helped me to meet and make a lot of new friends. I now feel like Los Angeles is my city and care deeply about it.
A: I really feel like I am still finding my voice as an artist, but once I made the decision to print sticks I knew they had to say something - especially with living in Los Angeles. With that said I feel Branded communicates a couple things to me...
It comments on the effect that huge corporations our having on our society. It is like we are being led to fear change. It feels good to know that there is a Starbucks that will give you the same service/product on every corner. This gives us fear to try the Mom and Pop store, and really gets rid of our sense of adventure.
I always knew that street art and graffiti was the art of self promotion, with an emphasis on the art. I wanted to play on self promotion more. I wanted to remind everybody and myself that "what" I was doing was not pure. The purity for me comes from not the what, but the "why." Why I started is completely different. It was therapy for me. I started at a time when I really needed a change in life. I love to hike and camp, and this gave me a chance to do the same in the inner city. It fed my ego, gave me confidence, and helped me to meet and make a lot of new friends. I now feel like Los Angeles is my city and care deeply about it.
Q: It's rare to get such a genuine response. Now, how about some specifics about your paste-ups, specifically your whale (see video). Why the sea creature? And how long did the action take?
A: The whale idea came about after reading Wooster one day. They posted something about a site that was looking for street art images of whales for a "Save the Whales" campaign. At the time I didn't really think much of it, except that it would be cool to do a really huge whale paste up. A couple months later I came across the wall that it would be perfect on, and started planning. I originally wanted to go twice as big and about 8' higher on the wall. This would have just about covered the whole wall which is about 45' - 50'. After planning I realized this would only be possible with scaffolds, or a truck that could lift me up. Since I did not have the resources to pull that off I scaled it down to half the size 21'x8' (about 15 panels of paper) and got a couple friends together to help out. The over all paste took about 40 minutes, minus the 5 minutes we had explaining to the cops what we were doing. The cops let us finish, after I repeated that it was for a "Save The Whales" project 100 times and told them I had permission to put it on the wall. The truth is we left out the cops in the video because it just didn't seem as cool seeing cops pull up then leave.
I feel I need to say something about pastes of this size. They take a lot of time to put up, and are very labor intensive. I hear a lot from people that pasting is "easy." For the most part this is true of typical street pastes, but there are factors that make it hard like texture of the wall, size of poster, and how hot the location is. I have since done 2 huge pastes 36'x8' collaboration with this cat Mullet off the 5 freeway which took an hour of intense labor, and a huge bunny downtown 8'x11' which took about 40 minutes of intense labor. Both killed me due to how I had to position my body. There are things that could make them easier like scaffolds or a truck, but most the time those are just not options.
A: The whale idea came about after reading Wooster one day. They posted something about a site that was looking for street art images of whales for a "Save the Whales" campaign. At the time I didn't really think much of it, except that it would be cool to do a really huge whale paste up. A couple months later I came across the wall that it would be perfect on, and started planning. I originally wanted to go twice as big and about 8' higher on the wall. This would have just about covered the whole wall which is about 45' - 50'. After planning I realized this would only be possible with scaffolds, or a truck that could lift me up. Since I did not have the resources to pull that off I scaled it down to half the size 21'x8' (about 15 panels of paper) and got a couple friends together to help out. The over all paste took about 40 minutes, minus the 5 minutes we had explaining to the cops what we were doing. The cops let us finish, after I repeated that it was for a "Save The Whales" project 100 times and told them I had permission to put it on the wall. The truth is we left out the cops in the video because it just didn't seem as cool seeing cops pull up then leave.
I feel I need to say something about pastes of this size. They take a lot of time to put up, and are very labor intensive. I hear a lot from people that pasting is "easy." For the most part this is true of typical street pastes, but there are factors that make it hard like texture of the wall, size of poster, and how hot the location is. I have since done 2 huge pastes 36'x8' collaboration with this cat Mullet off the 5 freeway which took an hour of intense labor, and a huge bunny downtown 8'x11' which took about 40 minutes of intense labor. Both killed me due to how I had to position my body. There are things that could make them easier like scaffolds or a truck, but most the time those are just not options.
Q: I can't believe cops snooped around the paste-up and with some convincing left you alone. I know of so many getting busted for dropping a stickie on a lamp post and you get away with a 21 foot wide masterpiece? hehe. 40 minutes of hard work and how long did it stay up?
A: Los Angeles is a funny city like that. I have been stopped a couple times, due to getting too comfortable. With exception for the whale I usually take the poster down immediately and talk about how I work promotions. I think the cops just want it down for the most part, and look at it as the same as advertising. I'm sure if I had a can of paint I would end up locked up. It also helps that this city is spread out. We really have a huge playground and it allows us not to have everything in a concentrated area.
The whale for the most part is still up, and has been up since late July. The last rain really caused some damage, so I plan on doing repairs soon. Even after the repairs it will probably last only a couple more months. I'm kind of glad in a way. I really want to start covering new ground and exploring new ways of getting up. Posters can be nice that way, because the life span of them is maybe a year depending on weather conditions and how protected the spot is. It forces me to let go, and to not be as attached.
A: Los Angeles is a funny city like that. I have been stopped a couple times, due to getting too comfortable. With exception for the whale I usually take the poster down immediately and talk about how I work promotions. I think the cops just want it down for the most part, and look at it as the same as advertising. I'm sure if I had a can of paint I would end up locked up. It also helps that this city is spread out. We really have a huge playground and it allows us not to have everything in a concentrated area.
The whale for the most part is still up, and has been up since late July. The last rain really caused some damage, so I plan on doing repairs soon. Even after the repairs it will probably last only a couple more months. I'm kind of glad in a way. I really want to start covering new ground and exploring new ways of getting up. Posters can be nice that way, because the life span of them is maybe a year depending on weather conditions and how protected the spot is. It forces me to let go, and to not be as attached.
Q: Agreed and actually we're based out of Miami which is quite similar to Los Angeles in that the city is spread over such a large space. It definitely supports planned pastings, but the lack of concentrated areas also makes it difficult to get the exposure some pieces deserve.
Well, I'd love for you to keep us updated with any new ground you cover... until then leave us with some final words.
A: Stay up, and inspiration will come!
Well, I'd love for you to keep us updated with any new ground you cover... until then leave us with some final words.
A: Stay up, and inspiration will come!
photos and art by branded and bastard artist
