Today we’d like to introduce you to Polo Cutty.
Hi Polo, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My life as a creative started off while I was in elementary school, where I used to sell my Pokemon drawings. Since then, I got into graffiti which is basically as dedicated to creating art as you can be, being that you’re risking everything to create it. What separated me from other graffiti writers was my presence online and the content I created. I was one of the first graffiti “meme-rs”. I was able to make a subculture understandable for people outside looking in. At the same time, I was able to critique the subculture in a humorous way, from a woke perspective (which wasn’t such a cringe word back then). I was able to discuss race, politics, etc. through my medium. Shit you wouldn’t necessarily expect from a big black dude in a skimask thats promoting illegal activity.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There’s obstacles and challenges that come with my lifestyle, and those are all consequences that I accept. I’d say the biggest obstacle that I wasn’t prepared for was taking care of mental health. Once you garner a big following and start releasing content that’s addressing serious topics like and race, politics and sexual assault you start attracting serious trolls that want to “debate”. which is whatever, just put the phone down right? I just wasn’t prepared for it at first. I used to want to address everyone in the comments which is just mentally and emotionally draining.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I just like to create, Painting is what I do, it’s where I’m the most comfortable and confident. I’ve had several art shows, and thanks to the homie Devin Troy Strother, I’ve published some work. Currently, I’m working on more paintings and I’ve been creating merchandise as a more affordable way to access art. They are based off of things that stuck with me growing up, like comics and pop culture mixed with society’s outlook on graffiti artists. If you were to ask what I’m known for though, it would vary on the audience. Generally, it’s for my memes and videos on my Instagram, Polo_Cutty. I basically parody the whole graffiti subculture which is plagued by these narcissistic sociopaths. What really sets me apart from other pages that are starting to do the same is that I’m an actual person despite keeping my identity anonymous with the mask. I interact with people and people have an idea of who I am and what I do day to day. I’m not just a username or an account admin. What I’m most proud of is the Modelo time video because my mom loves it. It was a viral video that ended up with bootleg tees in the swapmeet so thats pretty cool.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
My humor for sure, but also that I grew up code switching. I’m able to move around LA pretty freely, it taught me how to communicate well, and essentially thats how I’m able to breakdown and translate messages for a wider audience.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.Aterriblesite.com
- Instagram: Polo_Cutty
- Twitter: polo_cutty
Image Credits
Jonathan Robinzuela, Micah Owens
