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(1) What is your real name and where do you live?
Benny Blanco, Brooklyn, New York
(2) When and where did you start doing graffiti?
Circa 70' walls, halls, bathroom stalls, my bedroom, the subway.
(3)What got you started?
Inspired by the writing on the wall, I claimed space for my own self promotion. Wasn't that what it was all about?
(4) Where have you traveled?
Let's just say, my bags are always packed. I've been able to see some awesome sights, moreover through exhibitions and other cultural events I have ruined a few passports. Highlights include: Moscow, Seoul, Rome, Tokyo, Nairobi, Barcelona, Sydney, Berlin, London, Amsterdam and the city where I met my wife, Paris.
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(5) What crews have you been in?
Soul Artists, EX Vandals, 3YB, T.E.D. Inc. and RTB to name a few, although I think tagging up crews is bullshit. I see writing/tagging/getting up as an individual effort. In speaking for the writers of yesteryears WE WERE NOT GANG MEMBERS.
(6) What do you write and what does it mean to you?
FUTURA 2000...26 years ago that sounded so romantic, but today it's lost some shine. Back then I was a dreamer, today I'm a visionary. The work is all I'm really about, and somehow the work, reflects the name. Since the name is just an alias...the projection of an idea, I'm of the belief that it's all been fated. I always liked Sci-Fi, loved 2001, and so, I combined my future, alpha numerically. How prophetic.
(7) Do any persons, things, or events influence your work?
Family, competition, fire, Newton, sex, colors, space, computers, earth, sounds, erector sets, Bruce Lee, food, odors, water, cycling, Kubrick, motion, experiences, travel, Darth Vader, spray paint, the way someone smiles.
(8) Do any artists influence your work? (not just graffiti artists)
As a rule, NO, the trick is to NOT let these directions show themselves...writers call it BITING but nobody's fooling anybody. I run my own style, abstract or otherwise.
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(9) What writers do you admire the most and why?
(STAY HIGH 149) His tag was a thing of beauty and pure genius. When I went bombing with Wayne I was just in awe. He was my Pied Piper, my mentor, my true celebrity.
(10) Tell me about your favorite piece.
Well, it's on the ART CRIMES site entitled "AS SEEN ON TV" what I call "my almost perfect painting". For me spray painting is a physical experience where things get dictated as they happen, (on the fly). It all came together with four simple Popsicle Orange lines. You don't need mirrors if you've got the skills. That's my method, impulsive and adventurous, taking it, and being taken by it. Spontaneity is the key...actually feeling the force.
(11) How do you think graffiti has influenced your life?
Without question, my involvement in this movement has elevated me to a status I never imagined, and for that I am truly fortunate. Despite the (Ball&Chain) of "graffiti" around my neck, the paradox is, that without having been a graffiti artist back then, I wouldn't have the life I'm living today.
(12) Describe how you feel when you go out and piece.
Fearless, nervous, anxious and creative.
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(13) Are you interested in other kinds of art? If so explain.
Well I'm no hermit, so I'll say yes. But please nothing conceptual, concepts are ideas, not art. Hmmmm, film, music, dance, architecture, writing (like in books) and photography. Those seem like interesting artistic endeavors. Oh, did I mention I'm sponsored by SUBWARE?
(14) What do you think about the legal graffiti/commissioned work?
Regardless of what writers feel about this...and it's a great debate...work in the public space, is still work in the public space. Legal or not, artists should concentrate on making GOOD WORK, because that's all you'll be judged by. That and the negative shadow the "G" word casts over us all...PROVE THEM WRONG!!!!!