SFAB: Why did Pompeii make an impression on you?
BLR: Because of the feeling you have when you are in the city. It’s very strange because everybody died in a few hours. And you feel the feeling of violent death very strongly everywhere. A massive amount of people died together. You can feel it. It’s very powerful with reference to art. The remains of the people and everything stayed absolutely in good condition, frescoes and the way that they were living, even dogs, statues of dogs. And so that’s the reason that I wanted to work on places like that, you know, where something very strong happened before. So I worked in Volubilis. It’s the same kind of city as Pompeii. It’s in Morocco and it’s smaller than Pompeii. I worked in this place in 2003. You see the way the people were living 2000 years ago. They were making lots of graffiti. People wrote their name or drew a boat or horses. You can find a lot of graffiti. It’s very cool. SFAB: Is there anything else that you want to say? BLR: I’m very happy to be here, to be recognized in the US. It’s very important to me. It’s something that I would never have imagined before; when I started in the ‘80’s, I would never have imagined. It took a long time, but when something must happen, it happens. Things happen at the right time. BLR: I made the pieces on wood here. I like to work in the country where I have a show. It’s very pleasant for me to go in different countries than mine and to work. I hate being a tourist. For me it’s a very good experience: preparing things, talking to people. I love that. I really love that. It’s absolutely great. It’s very important to have something to do when you travel. To work or meet people, living life in the same way. SFAB: I really think that the Mona Lisa piece hits the nail on the head. It’s describing street art as an undeniably and essentially important movement in the history of art. BLR: This one is a police man who is working here in the Tenderloin (district of SF). He belongs to the anti-graffiti team. I met him. Some taggers from SF are going to tag it, which is very important to me: to have an exchange of work. I love to share my work with other people. SFAB: The finished piece has about eight other writer’s tags on it. This is definately one of my favorite pieces from the show. It’s aesthetically beautiful and a big f-you to the anti-graf squad. BLR: It’s a tribute to Taki 183. He was one of the first graffiti artists in New York. This guy brought a lot of things to the world: a new way of thinking; a new way of expressing art. SFAB: I have to say, that’s exactly the way that I feel about Blek Le Rat. He was an absolute pleasure to work with. He has not let any of his acclaim tarnish his demeanor that remains humble, open and kind. If you can learn more - order essay from the online paper writing service
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