RETNA is an artist who has participated in over 30 international exhibitions with works in the public realm since the mid-1990s. This year, he will be featured in the “Art in the Streets” exhibition at MOCA in Los Angeles. Before taking the stage to talk about the effect street art has on city life, he sat down for our “In The Green Room” Q&A.
Q. What do you wake up to in the mornings?
A. Work.
Q. What surprises you the most about your life right now?
A. I feel grateful that I’m able to do something that early on was a dream of mine. I don’t know if I’m surprised by it, but I’m honored and grateful.
Q. What is the last habit you tried to kick?
A. Cigarettes.
Q. What do you consider to be the greatest simple pleasure?
A. Making other people happy.
Q. What do you do to clear your mind?
A. That varies.
Q. What is your favorite cocktail?
A. I drink beer. Stella, right now.
Q. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A. Graffiti writer.
Q. If you could take only one more journey, where would you go?
A. Death, I guess. The unknown.
Q. Whose talent do you wish you had?
A. I’m pretty happy with my own.
Q. What teacher or professor changed your life?
A. Friends, gangsters, school teachers, artists, my mother-many people have helped guide me.
Q. What is your guilty pleasure?
A. Graffiti, sex, drugs, drinking, learning.
Q. Who is the one person living or dead you would most like to meet for dinner?
A. My friends Ayer and Verse, who passed away.
To read more about the panel in which RETNA participated, click here.
*Photo by Aaron Salcido.