28 posts tagged Los Angeles

“I started painting in ‘86. 
I was a skater girl. Well, I still am, you won’t find me riding ramps and pools anymore, but you still might catch me skating Venice. 
Some of my skater friends were taggers and it caught the ‘mischevious’ and attention in me. Back then, my nickname was ‘Fire’. Even all my teachers called me that. So you could say I already had a ‘tag name’. 
My mom couldn’t quite jump on that one, but she thought it was cool though.
Then one day, I was cruising through Westwood on the bus, looking at all the college houses and then I saw an Omega sign and right then I knew that would be my name…That’s me.”

“Besides my lil’ stint of being my one girl crew I am UTI and will always and only be UTI! I am VERY old school on this. So I hope I don’t offend anybody but this is MY philo! I don’t preach it, I just live it.
I love my crew and I believe in having only one crew. I believe that scattering yourself all over the place just lowers a loyalty level. I am extremely loyal to my family and friends.”

“When the UTI’s asked me in the crew I was surprised. I appreciated that they saw my talent. (And I got in the crew on my art, NOT my ass!)
Skilly, Snap, Seltic, Master, Smurf, Ghost, Dash 2000 were some of the main guys then and of course, yes of course…. Pester.  I say that because he was the only one against me being in the crew strictly because I was a girl. 
The guys told me later, he was like ‘No girls in UTI’ and walked out. But he was outvoted and I ‘secretly’ began to rock harder to prove to that him that I was a true UTI. He made me push myself. I thank him for that and totally love him for it, but we laugh about it now.”

“Even when I was figuring out my tag style back in the day I was thinking ‘flow’ and ‘dynamics’, like the way a sick rif in a song moves you. 
I am a letter bender. I do characters too, but I see letters and they transform in my mind. Like a roller coaster, taking you all over the place, making you feel safe at times and then.. KAPOW! The big ups and downs.”

“I want to move and shock people with my art, make them think and try to figure out what the hell they are seeing.  And when they figure it out…it’s like an ‘ooooohhhh’ moment.”

“My name was EVERYWHERE in the valley. And before I knew better, I wrote over people. I didn’t tell anybody that I was Omega though. And then I’d be hanging out with my skater/tagger friends and they were going to town about this ‘Fucking Omega’ that was mobbing and tagging over them. It is so funny to me now, I had no idea it was such a huge diss! So I was like ‘Uh yeah, I heard Omega was this big super buff guy that doesn’t care who he kills or writes over!’
That was so funny. Especially when I finally told them it was me.”

Describe your most favorite bomb or piece that you’ve done. Why was it your favorite?
My all time favorite bomb was my piece with Skate CBS at the Sanborn yard because it is sentimental to me. We did a fish theme. I did letters, he did a chill fish. It was so fun painting with him. We were very good, dear friends.  I can honestly say that I loved him as my friend. He died very shortly after that. I miss him very much.

“My style is very definitive.  Again, I think ‘outside’ the box. 
I developed the ‘honeycomb’ style. It is very flattering to see other people do it. 
That came from the Ankh that I was very into for a minute. My pieces are vibrant, contrasting, they move and take you to a different place.  As far as being ‘girly’ or not, sometimes I use a heart for my ‘O’ or whatever, but that’s not simply because I’m a girl. My style is me.  You will always know an ‘OMEGA’ piece. And going back to the old school philo… THAT’S WHAT IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE!”

Who are your inspirations?
“Besides my amazing UTIsters. I love Mando’s work, Mear and Vyal. They definitely think outside the box and that’s what captures me.
Do something different and make it DOPE! 
Back in the day I loved AM7, he doesn’t go by it anymore, but KRENZ was and is still…SICK! I loved the way they’d to billboard takeovers! Banksy is also an artist I admire too for that reason.  Also, and sadly to say, the late and truly artistically great Dash 2000 UTI. I loved his work. Again, my dear friend. We’d come up with ALL kinds of crazy ideas for walls that lit up or moved when you walked by. But you still have to keep it graff and not commercial…..crazy ass Dash.  I miss him too. 
I also like female graff artist Asia.  She has a mad letter style. I like it!”

How do you feel as a female in a majorly male dominated culture?
“The fact is, us females have to do at least 10 SICK AS HELL pieces to get the same accolades and respect as a guy who does one. I used to always hear the guys behind me talking, ‘That’s dope for a girl…” But then it turned into, “That’s dope!’
That felt good.”

What are your views on graffiti art being displayed in galleries? Do you think this legitimizes graff, or commercializes it?
“I think you have to decide personally what you want to do with your art.  As kids we were all renegade. Racking, bombing, mobbing.  As adults, we go….oh damn…..can’t (shouldn’t) do that anymore. How can I make a living off of what I love?  Is that not what other people do?  There is nothing wrong with that. Rock your world!  The underground culture of hip hop, graff, breaking, DJ, and rhyme will always continue!  But when was the last time love put food on your table and paid your rent? OK!”

Tell us a random fact about you. 
“I’ve been training in the martial arts for almost four years now. I’m a green belt - very close to brown, in American Kenpo. I train in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I also train in Eskrima and FMA which is sticks (which represent baseball bats, clubs, crow bars), knives and gun disarms. Me and my husband own a martial arts school, Kenpo Karate Evolution.  We also teach a teen girls’ and woman’s self defense class free on the first Sunday of each month. And besides all that ninja stuff….I’m a Zumba instructor!  Oh, yaaaaaaa!

I am also married to most amazing man of all time! He is everything I could even have imagined and more than I ever thought could be. I do a LOT of things! And he ‘gets’ me on all of it! Especially my graff.  That’s a deal breaker for me if that doesn’t happen! I cannot tell you how much that means to me. FINALLY someone who can understand that I am feminine and love to get dolled up and has a successful career (I was in PR and marketing for entertainment/red carpet events, etc.) and be wined and dined AND, hold up…….wait for it……….. totally bust a spray can and get rough too! VERY important to me! My husband rocks!”

Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
“Yes, There is some guy in the bay area writing Omega. He contacted me about three years ago on MySpace with the most STUPID intro I have EVER seen…‘Hey what’s up Omega, we’re putting work in for the same name…. blah, blah…freakin..blah!’  I replied to this guy to do his damn homework!  You cannot just take someone’s name! 

Let’s all start bombing ‘SKILL’ or ‘DAZE’, or how about we all start breaking and call ourselves ‘CRAZY LEGS’, and popppin’ and start callin’ ourselves ‘Mr. Wiggles?!’
Hey, there’s an idea! So, yes, I called him out. I will battle him ANY DAY! He is NOT OMEGA, and never will be! Come to L.A. and FIND OUT WHO OMEGA UTI IS!”

1.    What’s your graff name? How did you get or come up with your name? What crews have/are you in?

I write/wrote KAIR

I came up with my name because it sounded neutral, plus my homie sat down with me and I mostly picked out letters I felt were easy to draw, I always felt my name was easy to paint and the letters flowed.  I was put down with DCV ( Def Crown Villains) because my homie FEAR. We met at a wall after I had been painting for awhile  and stuck by him for a minute and got put down shortly after, at the time I was the youngest from our crew. Big shout out to the whole crew.

2.     When did you begin painting? What or who inspired you to paint graff? Why do you do it?

The first time I had ever seen graffiti was in second grade, for a summer trip my family drove a van from California to Maine. So I seen the most in New York, I had no clue it was graffiti just it looked dope, better than just plain walls. I started tagging at 14 with a different alias.  I was the only girl in my area that I knew painted at the time, I mostly just tagged with streaks and drew on slaps because the dudes I chilled with were mostly into just drawing in blackbooks. I remember looking through a blackbook and seeing a JROZ piece and I always thought it was a guy until my homies was like na it’s a female. After seeing her pieces I wanted to paint on walls. Also, when my mom would drive towards LA I would be stuck staring at tags, bombs and pieces where ever I went. I never seen anyone paint with cans and I was just drawn to it. I was always an awkward kid into shit others knew nothing about, I liked having that knowledge over people. Until I met my homie and biggest influence ROTEN SKA, he showed me I knew jack shit and I was just a toy and needed to step up my game.  So thanks!

3.     Are you a graff writer or a graff artist or just and artist? Is there a difference?

I wouldn’t even know, I never knew what the hell I was doing. I just liked bombing on walls. I liked seeing my name big and tags, stickers didn’t do much for my ego.  I think there’s a difference, but the whole technical side of graff trying to dissect it for readers to understand is lame.  But in a nutshell yeah.

4.     Is it important as a graff writer to fulfill the illegal aspect of graff ( tagging, bombing)?

It depends what you’re trying to accomplish and what you want out of it. Personally, yeah I think you do. I wouldn’t see if you want to get in the scene and get respect from the people who paved the way, why you would skip out on all the work they did to get where they’re at. Yeah, your shit looks pretty… big deal, who are you? I don’t get why you wouldn’t do illegal graffiti? That’s the best part, who wants to sit at a legal wall your whole life and have a couple people say it looks dope. My memories and stories and adventures are more fulfilling then some person telling me its cool. The illegal aspect is the only reason why I ever was thrilled about it.

5.     Describe your most favorite bomb or piece that you’ve done. Why was it your favorite?

My favorite bomb was just a simple silver I did in the soto yard. I was painting with another female SHE and some other chicks were with us, I was painting the at the bottom of the yard and was looking up seeing some dudes in the yard painting also. I got a little agitated that one of the dudes painting there was capping a bomb I had running there. So I watched for a second and walked up there. I hit him and his homie up and told the dude he was going over me. He laughed and I admit I got heated. I told the dude either he left now and saved his paint or he could waste it and I would just cap him as soon as it dried. I don’t think he believed me because he kept at it. I waited and sure enough as he walked away I lined his shit. His face was priceless, the bomb I went over him with was better than the one I had there so it was in my favor. About a week later the bomb was on front page of some graff site.

6.     Describe your style, do you display femininity in your work or do you keep it gender neutral? Why or why not?

I say neutral, I would try and use bright colors at times because I was a girl. But when I met dudes a lot would say they thought I was a dude. I always thought it was my baggy clothes and butch haircut that landed the male questions. I tried to stay away from the girly shit, tried … I never wanted to be known as a female artist I feel it’s like some plee for some extra unearned recognition because theres so few and some girls use being a female as some boost to get some easier judgment. I just wanted to be a writer. 

7.     Describe your best and worst experiences painting.

My favorite times were always the times that went wrong, downtown LA was always my favorite that I have the most stories from. One night I went with the homie and we carried a bible with us to look discreet I guess, I was reading through some of it and we heard this deep creepy voice coming from bums across the street and I swear to this day me and the homie were listening to this voice/bum recite out loud what I was reading… We tripped and booked it.. haha I’ll never forget how scared we were. The worst time was painting behind some cemetery and I was walking solo and I slipped on some rocks and one of my feet landed in mud and sewage or mold or some nasty shit and I lost my shoe! I still remember walking up to the homies without a shoe and painting barefoot and the long walk on the track with a cold foot, pretty bad.

8.     Any other artists that you look up to? If so, why?

I look up to quite a few so I’ll only mention the ones I feel closer to. First off the one who brought me up a lot was ROTEN SKA, real humble dude, great artist some of the cleanest pieces I’ve seen. He taught me everything, put up with my tantrums when I would throw cans because I went bipolar a few times because I didn’t grasp onto the cleanliness of the task too quickly. I owe him a lot we had some of the craziest times painting with each other, a lot of  dope stories, we made a dope duo for awhile. We fed off eachother’s constructive criticism. But he taught me what LA graffiti was and I just ran with it. FEAR DCV UTI, my other teacher. My style was never influenced by him but he was the head of my crew and had a blast with him even if we bumped heads. He always brought me around and introduced me to so many OGs from LA, and hearing stories of the good ol days were some of the best times for me in my life period. He’s like family, like an Uncle, let me crash whenever family life was hectic so I thank him for a lot also. I was also very thankful to be real close with one of my favorite writers CAB, that dude taught me a lot. I was never really star struck by an artist but painting with him when I did I admit I felt dope ha! He’s the most humble cat in the game and a huge influence on my stuff. We always agreed that bombing was always more fun, he’s another that stories were priceless to me. Lastly, the artist I have and always will look up to MOST  is Panic otr uti sh lod stp uca rtdk td12 fb wnt cwa arc , super humble dude and his graffiti blows my mind. I don’t care how many pics you show me and whats being done now but LA GRAFFITI is PANIC to me. He was always real cool to me and great on advice one of the first to recognize me as a female writer which I was hyped about at the time.

9.     Favorite kind of paint? Surface?

Free paint was always my favorite, but specifically I liked the Rusto Whites, Walmart Silvers, Montana Silvers, Krylons Ultra Flat Black, Killz White, Montanas Fever Red. Anything that covered well and you didn’t have to keep going over.  I loved bombing trains and walls…I was stuck to the LA river and soto yard mostly, just because I liked going solo I felt safe there. I went there many times solo to blow off some steam and paint. Train yards were always fun, the best part rolling up and wondering how many lines were parked waiting.

10.  How do you feel as a female in a majorly male dominated culture?

I never had an issue with it, I mean it’s like life in general mostly everything is dominated by a certain group isn’t it? I never liked chilling with females anyways so I actually preferred it. I learned a lot from every dude I met. I hated the drama and gossip, but as a female I felt I was the little sister to a bunch of crazy ass brothers and I wasn’t to be fucked with. I enjoyed it, many dudes I rolled with taught me a lot from a male perspective and felt in life it helped me a lot, a more cold hearted frame of thinking. I got my street smarts and life smarts from the males. Plus, there wasn’t too many girls doing much with it…. I never did as much as I wanted to either. I got pregnant had a kid and I left. I felt at a certain point graffiti was like a slut, I had my way with it, did what I wanted with it, and dropped it. I had bigger dreams for myself and as much I respect it, just felt I personally wasn’t going anywhere with it.  But oddly enough I give graffiti a lot of respect, was the greatest part of my life I enjoy speaking about.

11.  Do you think female graff artists are getting the recognition they deserve?

Yes and no. I think the ones who were worth mentioning yes. The only females that deserve recognition are ones who are original artists, ones who got their hands dirty and would tag solo and not just and for some males attention. I don’t know any female writers these days to say no this girl isn’t. The baddest bitches in LA  graffiti already did their work. I would love to see a new graff female do a bunch of dirt and wow us, but I just don’t see it. Take it as a positive challenge….

12.  What are your views on graffiti art being displayed in galleries? Do you think this legitimizes graff, or commercializes it?

I think it’s dope. I don’t go to many art shows unless I know graffiti is the topic. I think graffiti being included in galleries is a positive for many starving artists. Many artists have this as their only way to eat and I support it 100%. I just think the newer art is garbage like the whole Bansky and Obey cats. I hate that shit, that’s what kills it for me is gallery shows like that. Like I said before I like the raw graffiti, I don’t care if its some basic clean letters just make it look dope display it and if you can make a buck for a cheeseburger why not? Normal people don’t get we have pioneers in this scene and a lot of artists struggle because all they have is graffiti and they should be able to feed themselves and children with what they do!

13.  Tell us one random fact about you!

 I have freakishly small hands, that made it hard to hold cans at times.

14.  Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

MUCH RESPECT TO ALL THE PEOPLE I’VE MET THROUGH LA GRAFFITI. ALL THE FRIENDS AND ENEMIES I’VE MADE, ALL WORTH IT. REST IN PEACE TO GYROE AND SAEL DCV AND TO THE RECENT PASSINGS OF EVAK, GIL, AND DASH.

Don’t forget to check out LAGG artwork this weekend!
Opening Reception is Friday, March 18, 8 – 11pm.

Cella Satellite Galleries is pleased to present Scaling the Wall. Curated by Trina Calderón and Miah Jeffra, the exhibition features graffiti and graffiti-influenced works by a diverse group of writers and artists in California.

Scaling the Wall comprises large-scale bombs by four of Southern California’s best female writers, and a white-wall display featuring six artists straddling the worlds of street and gallery institution, through various media.

Inspired by the groundbreaking MOCA street art retrospective, Art in the Streets, opening later this year, Scaling the Wall attempts to act as complement to Art in the Streets’ largely male roster of artists, while also discussing the complex and evolving relationship between street art and the arts institution.

Artists featured are [LA Graffiti Girls interviewees PERL FDS, JERK, OPIA, KUTA ONE HEM BWS] as well as ROOTSYSTM, ogdarthvader, LOVER ONE, C.1, Proto and Alberto Aviles Molina. 

The bombs, thrown up on bifurcated wood panels, will be auctioned on opening night, then divided at the close of the exhibition.  Proceeds will benefit ArtStorm, an aerosol art non-profit organization that provides self-sustaining world-class Urban Art and LifeSkill programs for at-risk youth in Los Angeles.  Aerosol paint for the bombs is provided by Montana Store Los Angeles, in Echo Park.

The evening will feature live painting by Collective Aesthetics.  Sound equipment to be provided by Looport and DJ Mixter Ed will spin records for the opening event.

EXHIBITION AND GALLERY EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Here’s a sneak peek of the artwork to be featured in the exhibit:

Perl

Jerk

(Photos courtesy of Trina Calderón)

Cella Satellite Galleries is located at 10816 Burbank Boulevard, North Hollywood. Gallery viewings are by appointment after Friday.

For more information, please contact Shannon Currie Holmes at 213.291.7908 or info@cellagallery.com.

A special thanks to everyone who came out to support all the ladies painting live at the Black Roses show!

Photography by Amazyun and HuskeyRadio.

I started painting back in ’95. Back then I was running around with a lot of gangsters and was tagging “Weasel”.  I was raised in a predominantly Hispanic community with a lot of Surenos and so I was very infatuated with gangster tags, having fun, smoking weed and drinking MD 20/20. After a few years, I ran into a couple of girls who were into graffiti and hip-hop scene. I started painting with them, and became known as Kuta One. We formed a crew called KUAD which later became known as DCF. I still hit DCF up from time to time, but currently, I rep HEM and BWS.

I came from a highly artistic family and everyone has some type of talent or at least interest. Everybody has been encouraging and supportive of my lifestyle. My father and grandfather were sign makers and pinstripers so I’ve always had an appreciation for lettering and clean lines. A lot of my influence came from my peers rather than older cats, per se. I learned a lot from my homie Beks DMS SRT IBD. He took me out to paint my first freights. Phevr IBD and Dams ABH also had a lot of influence and have helped shape who I’ve become. 

There was a point back in probably 2001-02 where I was painting horribly and still getting props just for being up and being a female, but I was happy with that… then these two guys who wrote Jest and Aker told me straight up that I sucked. That was a break screeching halt for me. I wanted to prove so badly that I could be good to them. I started painting five freights a week minimum, I was piecing and trying new things, pushing my limits and finally started putting out quality work. I am thankful for those two guys, their criticism helped me tremendously.

One person that I must mention as my favorite artist is Mutes KOG. I think he’s amazing and his letters drive me nuts and as much as I hate to admit it. And Yikes KOG taught me how to paint fast, big and clean. I’m making a conscious effort right now to paint with people who paint because they really love it. People like Romanse179 HYSU EW ROF. He paints for himself and his drive inspires and reminds me of when painting was just pure fun.

I don’t really know if I have a set style, I like to experiment and really just paint whatever makes me feel happy. Versatility is important, I can fit my entire fist in my mouth and I own a chinchilla. I paint a lot for shows and do commissioned work from time to time. When I start painting a canvas I think about what I would like to hang in my own house or bedroom. Then, if it doesn’t sell I’m never stuck with anything that I hate to look at every day. I think I get offered a lot of shows and galleries just for the simple fact that I’m a girl, but then again that could be my classic low self-esteem talking.

For a while I was trying to paint like a guy so that people couldn’t tell I was a chick, then I got over that and went balls to the wall with the fruity colors. Red is my favorite flavor of candy, but any shade of pink is great for paint. I wish i still had a full stock of Berry Pink, that is one of my all time favorites.

I don’t think I’ve had any bad experiences painting. If I’ve been chased it always ended in laughter and there’s nothing better than a good laugh. I like to bring snacks along when I paint, don’t be surprised if I pull out half a burrito from my pocket, a girl’s got to eat.

I paint to clear my mind of all the clutter that is my life. Painting illegally is the only time that my mind is numb to the rest of the world. My addictive personality does not allow me to quit. If I go too long without painting I feel like a failure and the urge to paint eats at my insides. The older I get the more I find myself doing things that are community based. Right now I’m working on mural boards for the 2011 Children’s Summit. It’s a different type of fulfillment and pushes me to get over my ninja anxieties. I struggle a lot with becoming a yuppie art fag. On one hand, I crave the recognition and like the money, on the other hand I don’t want anyone telling me when and how to paint. That defeats the purpose of doing something you love.

-Kuta One 
Gangsta Extraordinaire
 

You can check out more of Kuta’s artwork at Scaling the Wall, an art show discussing the complex and evolving relationship between street art and the arts institution. Opening reception is Friday, March 18, 8–11pm. Click here for more info.