Word With DUEL RIS

Omnigraff: Duel, how did that name come about?

Duel: I was writing under another name I wasn't happy with from 84-86. I also ran with like 10 aliases. I basically wrote out the alphabet and circled all the letters I liked and came up with the name based on flexibility. 

Omnigraff:How long have you been active in the graff game? 

Duel: Thirty one years total as of next month (October).  

Omnigraff:How has RIS been family to you? 

Duel: They've been great. We like family. It's a small crew and everyone is super tight.  

Omnigraff:What part about your mother's painting sparked your interest in art? 

Duel: My mother was an art teacher. She rocked with oil paints. She made me practice still life drawings a lot when I was real young. I'll admit, I wasn't feeling it. I loved what my moms was doing but I think it was for me. I wasn't into graffiti either. It just happened. Ha. It wasn't till I was much older till I really started to really appreciate my mother's art and other art forms. That's when I went to college, I started taking art classes. I learned a few things but I wasn't really focused. It wasn't until a few years ago I started taking it more seriously. 

Omnigraff: If you were to reminisce on the subways what would you say about it?
Duel: Wow. I ain't that old. Haha. I wasn't into graff back then. But I did ride the train to visit my dad at work. I do remember the trains were trashed. Inside and out. I just remember most trains were busted, smelled like piss, and my mother telling me not to touch nothing. Haha. Crime was also really bad at that time. My earliest memory of transit graffiti was being able to read a Flame TPA piece. But that was early 80s. 

Omnigraff: New York City is filled with many spots, cutty and open, which would you say has been the craziest spot you have hit? 

Duel: Craziest spot. Don't think any spot in particular was really too crazy. Maybe getting to a spot or a particular time a spot was hit might have been. Which led to chases that were crazy. Haha. 

Omnigraff: Graffiti and Commercialization. Do you think that's a good combination? 

Duel: I guess it's good. I think graffiti should be more accepted in the art world. But that might just be my thought process in my old age. Lol. I'm sure if I was a teen again I wouldn't care, I'd do it just to get up. 

Thanks for getting down with us and giving the readers info and opinions on different topics. See you up in the streets! September