Episode 21: Dave Persué

Giant's interview with Dave Persué, a fine artist based in San Diego, California. Recorded in their studio in Miramar on Monday, October 23, 2019. Topics discussed: Per-Sway, growing up in San Diego, Star Wars, sports, getting forced outside to play, drawing, Nikol Schattenstein, William Randolf Hearst, inspirational mother and grandmother, absent father, soccer, discovering alternative music (Visage, Roxy Music, Ultravox, Adam Ant, Duran Duran), Morrisey-style, electric bass, high school bands, discovering graffiti and rap music in 1988, influential older sister, began writing graffiti in 1988, Xpek, Wesk, hanging with crews, Boone’s Farm, experiments with hallucinogens, Acid Mike, Subway Art and Spraycan Art, bombing, Ken Block, DC companies, Mike Vallely, Tony Magnusson, Mike Ternasky, full time graphics work, rubylith, Circa, contracts, designing shoes for Osiris in the 1990s, skateboarding, eating concrete, basketball, graffiti friends, 1.5hr commute, living close to your office, off-site design agencies, corporate paperwork, meeting each other in 1993, first time on E, Olé Madrid, street racing in 1991, mid-11sec 1/4 mile Honda CRX, cops ending parties, San Diego Car Clubs, Tesla drags, El Niño, Alphanumeric, Bunny Kitty is born in 2001, Tiny Shits blackbook/zine, lettering styles, Quasar, Wane COD, Writers Bench, Cey Adams, Instagram community, working behind the scenes, transitioning from commercial to fine art, PJ, Brisk, the Bunny Kitty book/collaborating with mom, Alzheimer’s, maniac kid, shock therapy, minor electrocutions, moving to NYC in 2014, studio practice, Wet Paint Shanghai, 1xRUN, the poster business, Alli, Stella, low overhead, origin of the Wet Paint project, collaborations, Wet Paint Miami, The Museum of Graffiti, Art Basel, getting arrested with Rime and Gorey, Drugs TVC, bold vs. sly, Freeze Means Run, getting kicked out of the Judah Tunnel, advantages of being big, the magic of wall writing, years of graffiti collaborations, sketch vs. freestyle, Stick Up Kids, touring Europe, “European-style” graffiti productions, TAT, FC, FBA, BA, Evan Hecox, playing music/jamming with friends, long walks, San Diego culture, sharing a studio space in Miramar. @persue1 @wearewetpaint @bunnykitty bunnykitty.com davepersue.com