Interview by J. Donaghy
Bombing Science: Where are you from? What do you write? What crews do you rep?
Rusl: I write RUSL and come from Stuttgart, thats in the south of Germany. My crews are LoveLetters; NEM, BTB
BS: Where does the name Rusl come from?
Rusl: I took that name during a summer holiday in Turkey. Before Rusl i had a another name. After a while i realized that my name was assigned by an other writer who really did a lot stuff…i realized the situation and understood that i had to change it. I thought a while about a new name until i heared the american name Russell, i liked the sound of Russell but i realized that i never want to paint it in that way. I changed a bit and Rusl was born.
BS: How long have you been into graffiti and how did you start?
Rusl: I was got interested in graffiti around 1992 and started around 1995 and began to paint constantly!
A friend of mine was infected by the movie Beatstreet. He and myself already started with breakdancing. We spent a lot of time togehter. One day he showed me some skecthes and had a marker with him. From that moment i was infected too!
BS: What keeps you inspired?
Rusl: There are loads of things which inspired and still inspire me. This could be really everything. Each single People, Friends, Place, Magazine or Writer i saw inspired me in a certain way!
But the most important thing for me is to recognize the inspiration and start to make up own things!
BS: How’s is the graffiti scene in your area?
Rusl: Generally we have a very active illegal and legal graffiti scene here in Stuttgart. All kinds of graffiti are represented. Within Germany. Stuttgart is also well known for its good styles and quality!
BS: What surface/atmosphere do you enjoy painting most?
Rusl: I really love to do all kind off surfaces. I’m active on steel and also on concrete. But i am also starting to discover more and more the canvas thingy.
BS: How has graffiti positively influenced your life?
Rusl: I am what i am and thanks to graff i could see many things in my life. I travelled a lot and had a great time during these 14 years. I am proud of it and i wont regret that period. Graffiti helped me not to buy into all the violence and drugs running during those times. My art was my hedonism.
BS: From what do you draw inspiration for your work?
Rusl: From everywhere and anything.
BS: What do you do in your freetime?
Rusl: I like to sketch and illustrate a lot. I love concerts and parties, spend time with my friends and play basketball or generally do sports. But sometimes i prefer to chill out, couching and watch some movies.
After that… again sketching and doing graff. I also like to travel as much i can.
BS: What’s your outlook on graffiti these days?
Rusl: I think Graffiti is everywhere today. Graffiti is on TV and Internet. It is cool and not cool because its pushes and kills at the same time. You can´t say “this is a style from that locality”.There are no local styles anymore. The influence and possibilities offered by our globalized, fast-paced, environment with new media and technologies are not always positive. They skip graffiti from individualism and technique leading sometimes to a globalized art.
BS: Last words?
Rusl: Stay fresh and true to the game. Be real and love letters! Peace 2 all people outta here.
