While attempting to do a top 5 graffiti spots in LA., I quickly realized that I have to consider a lot of factors: times, dates, impact, etc. So its now my top 10 graffiti endeavors in Los Angeles over the years….
SEEN – The Hollywood Sign
Seen and the Hollywood Sign – Graffiti Stories #1 by FondationCartier
Seen and the Hollywood sign: This one is a personal favorite of mine because I have always wanted to do it. We all used to party at the sign and catch tags and what not but I always over planed and never completed the task. I wanted to change it to RISKYWOOD. With an elaborate skeme of stealing bed sheets from a local hotel and and sewing the letters or portions of blacked out letters and draping them from the top. I was a day late and a dollar short. Seen walked up and used the work smarter not harder and bombed the most dense viewable part as if he were doing a whole car back home. Bravo to Seen! well played…..
ZEPHYR – Venice Beach
Image courtesy of Zephyr.
Zephyr on Venice beach: It makes my top ten simply because Venice was the spot to go if you were looking for graffiti in L.A. and he dominated long before the Graff explosion hit LA. If you were one of the first 10 writers in L.A. (yes 10!) you definitely jocked this spot!
GKAE – Boyle Heights
GKAE on the 101 fwy in Hollywood: The “Hollywood Fwy” sign across the center of the freeway. He did many of these but I picked [his Boyle Height’s endeavor] because he did it naked on acid and it made the news….
“I did the front of a freeway sign in Boyle Heights on acid once. I was about 16…17. I wanted to do huge fills from my feet to as high as I could reach, but I only had stock caps, and I tried to fill in solid. I was up there for a minute. I was really tripping out and thought every car that passed was a Buick Regal with some Cholo driver. And then I thought there was an earthquake. In retrospect the sign was probably just shaking from the 18-wheelers, but at the time it almost made me jump off. I think the spot ran a day.” — GKAE, Frank 151
SABER – L.A. River
REVOK – Billboard
OZIE – San Diego Freeway
AYER – Freeway Pieces
KRENZ – Billboards
MOCA L.A. – Art in the Streets
Photo: Mark Westall/FAD.
“Art In The Streets” show at MOCA: This show was not only held at the Museum Of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles but it was the biggest most comprehensive museum show to date.
And so many more!
Belmont Tunnel, 2000.
I have to give a combined award to all the legendary spots like the Belmont Tunnel, Motor Yard, and Crenshaw Wall for putting L.A. on the map. Also have to mention Chaka for making it on Jay Leno show as a joke. Jay said, ‘the space shuttle took off today, wait what is that?’ he zoomed in and it was a Chaka tag! Epic!
Also: 360 VIDEO | Graffiti Icon RISK Demonstrates “Beautiful Destruction”
