When many of us think of Los Angeles we think of a city of sun and glamour. Beautiful beaches, upscale homes, and high end cars. A place where you are likely to see one of your favorite celebrities and where people come to chase their dreams of stardom. While there is truth to that side, there also is a city within in a city. Where the air is thick with hopelessness and depression rather than prosperity and economic growth. Located right in the heart of downtown Los Angeles is Skid Row. A 54-block area that is home to the nation’s largest concentration of homeless people. Anonymous artist turned community activist, Skid Robot, is on the frontline addressing the issue of homelessness through his movement, The Living Art Project. The artist, who wears a mask to hide his identity, has become an advocate for the homeless. What started as spray painting think bubbles and dream backgrounds on the walls of buildings in Skid Row, has transitioned into a full-scale crusade. By putting a face to the plight of those that are homeless, he hopes to solve the issue through art, technology, and the compassion of the human spirit. Rebel Kulture Magazine Senior Editor, Tawanda Timmons, recently connected with Skid Robot to learn more.
Rebel Kulture:
I think your work is just amazing. What you are doing visually is phenomenal. Take me into how this all came about.
Skid Robot:
It’s a long story from where it started to what it evolved to. I’m a graffiti artist. I’ve been doing graffiti
for a while. It’s part of my artistic background and where I come from. I wanted to do something different with my graffiti art than what I had been doing. A few years back I was having a conversation with my girlfriend at the time. We pulled up to a red light over on Skid Row. She pointed out to me, “Why don’t you paint this person sleeping on the street dreaming of money.” I thought the idea was brilliant. I grabbed a spray can and jumped out the car and painted it. That’s pretty much how it got started.
Image via Skid Robot
From that point on, the more art I was doing on Skid Row, the more time I was spending out there. I became affected by what was going on and what I was witnessing around me. I realized the level of neglect by executives, the Mayor’s Office, and just the people that are supposed to make sure this type of stuff isn’t happening in society. America, in general, promotes itself as a wealthy nation and Los Angeles is one of the most cosmopolitan cities on the planet. It just seems unacceptable to have third world living conditions on the same block as five star hotels. There is a tremendous imbalance in the economic equality. The more time I spent doing the art, the more I started to connect with people and hear their stories. I was impacted and moved by some of the things I heard. I wanted to share with people.
When people read these stories, they were affected just like I was. That’s when the art of graffiti became more like poetry as well. From that point on it became about helping people. By using the art to raise awareness and eventually reach a tangible, realistic, affordable, eco-friendly type of solution for the problem.
Rebel Kulture:
What is the one thing you are trying to elicit from people that see your work? Or are you trying to elicit anything?
Skid Robot:
Somewhat. I mean really, it’s on the observer. It’s kind of a mirror to some degree, in which someone looks at the art. I would hope the reaction is empathy and at the same time, an understanding of the art. It could be viewed in different ways, where some people would laugh at what they are seeing. Some of the dream bubbles did have a sense of humor to them. If someone could laugh and at the same time begin to think on a deeper level of what they were looking at, then it really gets them thinking about an issue they normally don’t think about at all.
Rebel Kulture:
Tying into that, when you go out and talk to people like Birdman and JW, what do you think are the common contributors that keep them in dire straits? Do you think that it’s just that there are not enough resources or jobs?
Skid Robot:
It’s hard for people that are homeless to find employment, let alone keep employment. Just because of all the responsibilities that are attached to it. Grooming and keeping yourself clean is a challenge when your homeless. When it came to Birdman it was hard to understand why he lived under that bridge for twenty plus years. I never really dug deep into that and wanted to know. I just appreciated what he shared with me and enjoyed painting the art around him. I’m glad to say at this point he is no longer homeless. He has a very swanky apartment in MacArthur Park. When it comes down to it, there’s a good deal of people that are hopelessly fighting depression through their addictions. There’s a lot of broken spirits, that lead to broken minds, that turn out broken lives. As human beings we are strong, but at the same time we need spiritual and emotional support. We need to have that type of comradery with other people. You need to have some type of support in that way. A big part of the problem is that it’s addressed as a crime, rather than understanding that they are trapped in their own minds and bodies through their addiction.
Rebel Kulture:
You mentioned addiction. Is that something you have personal experience with? Not you per say, but maybe a family member or friend that makes it relatable to what you’re seeing every day?
Skid Robot:
Well, you know amongst associates and friends we all know people who drink religiously every weekend, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. How I see it, if you want to party and you're able to maintain your responsibilities and you don’t end up homeless, you’re doing okay. Not everyone is equipped and built the same way. Some people have stronger addictive personalities than others and that develops at a very young age. If you don’t have anybody that is concerned for your well-being, then it’s very easy to get on that slippery slope and over-do what you’re doing.
Rebel Kulture:
Where would you like to see the movement in 5-10 years?
Skid Robot:
Well ideally the goal is to be able to continue this project on a national scale, using the latest technology. Whether it be 3D printing or tiny houses. There’s all kinds of solutions that have been
brought up that are very reasonable. However, these are ignored by those in executive power because it
doesn’t really allow them to continue using the system as they have been. In the sense of lining their pockets. There’s no shortage of examples of political parties using aid money for their own benefit. This isn’t saying that all politicians are dirty or that all politicians are crooks, but we have to be real about the issue.
For me, a private venture into raising capital to purchase space on lots that are zoned for housing on their own. Then constructing pre-modified container homes or 3D printing or whatever the solution may be. There’s so many individual, normal, everyday people that are coming up with all kinds of solutions.
The vision of the container homes is to be able to paint them with murals from artists all over Los Angeles and have them become outdoor art galleries. The vision for that comes from the thousands of shipping containers that are left in the Long Beach port that are never going back to China. Rather than have them sit there, why not use them as emergency shelters? People will argue that it’s not a permanent solution. Well if it can house them for the next five years or so then that’s doing some good.
Rebel Kulture:
How much does one of those containers go for?
Skid Robot:
On the cheaper end its about $2000 a container. So, between $2000-$5000 depending. If its brand new $10,000. It cost less than $100,000 to renovate it. Then anywhere from $20,000-$100,000 for integration.
Rebel Kulture:
Now has anyone ever done (a shipping container) one of those already?
Skid Robot:
Yeah. This is a solution that’s being used by other countries to help with their homeless and poverty issue. Other people have done it independently. If you go through Architecture and Design and any kind of forum, you’ll see that. A lot of people are taking this approach because its affordable. My whole vision with it is that I think they make great canvases for amazing artists to paint and to enhance the community in which they are placed. It keeps art at the center of the solution.
Rebel Kulture:
I think your art forces people to look at poverty. Why do you think that we normalize it so much? Does that help society feel better about what they’re not doing?
Skid Robot:
At this point societies attention span about matters have gone to what you could put on Facebook in under thirty seconds. People just don’t seem to have the ability to focus on issues to resolve them. Instead, we are forced to think about certain issues more so than others.
Like what’s going on with transgender rights and everything. That’s a big issue. I think Dave Chappelle had made a joke about how it’s like winning in the discrimination Olympics vs the African-American community. This is true. The issue of police killing on video and getting away with it, with pay. That sends a huge message to minorities across the country. However, that’s not addressed as much as transgender people being able to do certain things or fighting for equal rights.
Image via Skid Robot
Rebel Kulture:
Let’s talk about your naysayers. Technically what you are doing is illegal. What do you say to people who focus on that aspect to deflect off what the greater good is of the work?
Skid Robot:
It’s a paradox of a crime really. The crime that I am committing is addressing a bigger crime. What I’m doing is vandalism, but what’s going on in the streets is a crime against humanity. Which is on a completely different level, which affects everyone on a whole.
Rebel Kulture:
I believe you're trying to elevate the solution to more than just giving out blankets and sandwiches at the shelter. What are things that we can do individually to help the cause?
Skid Robot:
Organization and participation in that organization. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a committee or non-profit. Just an understanding that when a call to action is made, bodies need to be there. It’s been proven that people are willing to talk about the issue but they are not always willing to take any steps or action towards it.
Rebel Kulture:
You have been deemed or you have been called a super hero. Is that an appropriate moniker for you? What do you feel is your super power in this whole scheme of things?
Skid Robot:
I’m just an artist really. I don’t have all the solutions. I have my vision and what I feel can be a solution. I know that people have reached out to me and been inspired by what they saw. Its compelled them to take action in their own lives. Being Skid Robot is really a means for anybody to be Skid Robot. It’s kind of like you have the power to be Skid Robot. You can throw on the mask. It really is just about doing good deeds in whichever way you can. I just chose graffiti art and being an artist. So, there are tons of ways to do it. If it’s in your heart just go out and do it.
Rebel Kulture:
You have given us a lot of pertinent information. Do you have anything else you might want to say that I didn’t address?
Skid Robot:
Yeah. Anybody reading or listening to this needs to understand that they hold responsibility to be a part of the solution. Whichever battlefield they want to be on it’s their responsibility to take action. If we are going to come up with solutions it’s going to be collectively as a society.
Rebel Kulture:
Thank you for taking the time out to speak with Rebel Kulture Magazine and allowing us to get this important information out to our readers. Have a great rest of your day and good luck with everything.
Skid Robot:
Hey, thank you. Same to you.
Image via Mass Appeal