Los Angeles based graffiti legend SABER has made a film about a homeless street artist called Pepper. The two then went on to collaborate on a print(above)called 'Pepper's World'.
SABER was already a fixture in the Los Angeles graffiti scene, but in 1997 when he completed the largest graffiti piece ever created he was catapulted to global legend. His piece (see top image above) on the sloping cement bank of the Los Angeles River is nearly the size of a professional football field, and can be read clear as day from a satellite photo. It took 97 gallons of paint and 35 nights to complete.
SABER had this to say about his work with Pepper. “Pepper is a true street artist in the purist sense. Hes known to some by his altar ego; the Mayor of Skid Row, and hes proud to proclaim that hes the last homeless person on the forefront of downtown LAs gentrification. He lives on Santa Fe Ave. where years ago a large tent city used to be, the last holdout.
When I was younger and creeping around downtown, I would notice these colorful, bold, and scrappy art instillations. Pepper has a habit of decorating his immediate surroundings, wherever that might be, with multi-colored paint splats, piled on discarded toys, and other purposefully arranged found objects. You can frequently catch him running around the city with his red shopping cart full of freshly discarded trinkets.
The print Peppers World, and the mural I painted on 7th and Mateo that it inspired, is in homage to his existence. I have enormous respect for those who can survive in such extreme conditions yet still be able to express themselves creatively.”
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