Interview with PERSUE

Bizarre Beyond Belief: Many children start off as artists or creating, when did you decide that the arts was going to be a career instead of a hobby?

I grew up in a very supportive family. My grandmother and mother knew I was an artist at an early age. I don’t know how, maybe it was the subtle things I did with my drawings or the way I used my hands. They always said my work was very detailed, and that I was able to capture movement. They even defended me from teachers who told me to stop drawing on my homework. 

I think it was decided for me. I originally enlisted in the Navy with the intention to see the world. I even asked the recruiter if there was an art department! So naive! But it wasn’t meant to be, I was discovered painting at a skate shop in a small suburb outside of San Diego. The owner of the store asked if I would be interested in designing t-shirt graphics for his friends company. That T-shirt company was called Eightball. I submitted my first t-shirt graphic drawn on a Subway sandwich napkin. It did so well, they asked me for more graphics and eventually hired me. I was 19 and the year was 1992. I helped them establish brand direction for all of their future projects including Droors, Dub and DC shoes.

BBB: We’ve read you got into graffiti in the late 80s, what sparked your fascination of the culture to begin painting?

Persue:Timing. Around the same time I met a new kid at school, I was watching a lot of gangster movies and interested in the cholo style writing around San Diego. You could see on his face that he wanted to be asked what was in his book, so I asked. He corrected me and called it his Bible. When he opened it up, I saw it was filled with sick futuristic letter styles. I had never seen anything like it. I geeked out on it. The writing culture was super small then and “Street-art” was a sperm in Graffiti’s nut sack. It was art, and it was competitive: two of my favorite things.

BBB: How would you describe what the scene was like in your city at the time?

Persue: Vibrant! Lots of bombers and future kings developing their styles. But that came to a screeching halt when a sting operation wiped out over a hundred writers, which was a lot for a small city like San Diego. The B-Boy summit was a big draw in the early 90’s. That would bring an international Hip Hop audience to the city. The late 90’s scene in San Diego was dead. Some OG crews were around but the Kings stopped teaching the younger generation,  wanting to keep their techniques a secret. I was the last writer to be mentored by Quasar, who was a San Diego legend and in my book one of the most talented graffiti artists to live in this city.  

BBB: Nearly 30 years later, how have you seen the graffiti community develop and transform since you began?

Persue: It is way more of an international scene now. When I was traveling through Asia in the early 2000’s, they hadn’t caught the bug yet. Now it is in full force. I like meeting youngsters that take pride in the heritage of writing. You know…doing their homework. It’s important. I guess i’ve seen the introduction of “Street-Art.” I like some of the artists that have made a name for themselves. But for me, it’s not the same as graffiti writing, it’s a different language. I notice a lot of “Street artists” don’t pay homage to the pioneers of graffiti, who were some of the the first to put art in the streets using spray paint as a medium. 

BBB: Considering technology has played such an important role since then, where do you think it will go in the next 30 years?

Persue: Hopefully the internet is dead. No more instant fame. I think it’s important to work for it. I traveled through Europe pre-internet and did just fine meeting artists and painting spots.

BBB: As someone who was involved with the skateboarding community at the same time, how do you feel that shaped your development as an artist?

Persue: It made me more refined. In the sense of starting something and seeing it all the way through. Plus it was like being a teenager though my 20s and 30s.

BBB: What would you say some of the similarities and some of the differences are between the two cultures? 

Persue: There is a saying in skateboarding “If you don’t skate, you don’t relate”. Its the same in the writing culture. The differences between the two is that skate companies pay salaries and endorse their pros…this hasn’t really happened in graffiti. Maybe because art is so subjective. 

BBB: Did you ever think during your original concept for BunnyKitty that it would become such an iconic character in graffiti and street art?

Persue: I came up with the original concept of Bunny Kitty in 2001. I wanted to create something out of my sub-culture that would be looked at as positive. Every thing connected to graffiti in the media at that time was negative, and I wanted to change that. I figured I could get it noticed if i put as much energy into BK as I did all my other projects. It took me years to refine the drawings of the characters. I went through a huge life changing experience in 2010, and took a break for a year or two. But I’m back at it. I have a lot of great BK projects. I am finally releasing the story of Bunny Kitty in book form through 1xRUN in 2015….Big things for BK and her fans!

BBB: After the creation of BunnyKitty, you added more layers and levels to its world, how has your original concept developed over the years?

Persue: I am excited for people to discover her world. I am pretty much living the first book. Lately, I’ve been showing the darker side of BunnyKitty’s world in my recent work. ‘The Origins of BunnyKitty’ was written with my Mom in 2004, but wasn’t released until recently at my last two art shows. The story gives so much more meaning to the character. Especially with my mom’s development of Alzheimer’s. I read the story to her last week, and told me she remembers writing the story with me. That felt good. 

BBB: You often work with your brother’s band the Slugganauts, can you describe what goes into a collaboration there?

Persue: I have always been a huge music fan. My brother Peter Summit has been a singer and song writer for years. It was my opportunity to work with him and work in a medium I love. The visual production of a band. I thought it would be fun to have this element in my Bunny Kitty story. So for years we have collaborated with the Slugganauts. In the story the Sluggaanuts is Bunny Kitty’s favorite band. She has a crutch on the guitarist. They have played live a few times. You can find the video from 2010 on youtube. We will release Slugganaut music sometime in 2015. 

BBB: How does working with other artists in both same and different mediums affect your creative approach?

Persue: I think it depends on what medium we are working with. It depends on communication in the vocal and non-vocal sense as well. Playing off each others energy…its something that comes pretty natural to creative types. Sometimes the outcome is awesome and sometimes its not. Thats the beauty of it. Not knowing. The fun part is the trip you take in your mind during the development of the project that makes it fun. Most of the time.

BBB: With nearly 30 years of graffiti under your belt and many more in various industries, where does PERSUE see himself by 2030?
 

In 30 years I will be 72! What ever it is I hope it doesn’t involve changing my diaper.