My Favorite Taco ~ Novel One of LandMark Inc.

LandMark Inc. is located in the heart of South Central Los Angeles and is one of the few shops that features some of the best talent LA has to offer. With a writers coming from all over L.A., LandMark has solidified itself in the graff community like no other shop in the area, and has premier graffiti artists gracing its walls along with local talent showcasing their skills. L.A. TACO had a chance to talk with NOVEL ONE of LandMark Inc. about the history and current state of the shop.

What's your favorite taco?
Hands down I need to say carne asada taco from El Gavilan Tacos on Main & Gage. Right up the street from here I definitely hit that spot a few times a week there good and have fast service.

How long has Landmark Inc. been open and what fueled the need for a shop like yours?
Land Mark Inc. has been open for five years now. We started just trying to keep it raw, low key and a local shop. I never thought I would still be doing this five years later. We got tired of going to Melrose to buy supplies and racking became too risky so we did our homework and started buying wholesale from other shops and bringing it to the hood and flipping it and we progressively grew from there. Basically, we needed this in the hood.

Who are some of the best upcoming writers currently in South LA?
Some of the artist that are killing South Central would have to be Moe, Astroe, Este, Chelo, K4P, Clek, Skazi, Eder and a few more that slip my mind. We have a strong scene out here.

What's your favorite part of LA and why?
My favorite part of my city is downtown. Just the whole scene, being there hypes me up! The graffiti scene is strong out there.

If you could change one thing about this city, what would it be?
Hipsters.

How much has the graffiti scene changed in Los Angeles in the past 5 years?
In my opinion the scene has become much more artsy and much more mainstream. Nowadays everyone is finding ways to capitalize on their art, but that's not a problem. Some of these kids have never been bombing or know what it is to go out every night and hold your name down. Also the internet now has a big influence in the scene. Now you meet people online instead of the bus or actually being involved in the streets.

Run down the list of graffiti artists that have graced the walls of Land Mark Inc?
Some of the artist that have that have painted here and other walls that Land Mark is responsible for here locally would be Clark, Loomit, Binho, Persue, How and Nosm, Denz, Duel, Reps, Sue Works, 7th Letter, Gin, Wane, Kress, Katch, Else, Screw, Fate, Saves, Has and Snek. Too many dope artist to mention!!

What makes Land Mark stand alone from any other graffiti spot in Los Angeles?
We stand alone because we are a shop that is actually ran by writers so that makes us knowledgeable about the product we sell to our costumers, were are not here to capitalize from the scene but we want to enhance the way the South Central scene is viewed. I personally feel that our scene is over looked. We are not the only shop that is run by writers, there's also Maintain Shop and Artistic Air. We take pride in giving back to the community by having shows, workshops, and a safe haven where people can come and bust without having to worry about getting sweated.

LATACO and our readers want to know, What does Land Mark have coming in 2012?
We are really excited for this year, we have more shows planned bringing in more inventory trying to have more artist from all over the world to stop by and paint our spot. The return of the Land Mark Street Team. More projects with our community and we are really hyped up for our next event on the 26th of May. The most anticipated show to start the summer, How To Survive in South Central 3!

Landmark Inc.
6709 S. San Pedro St.
Los Angeles, Ca 90003

All production work from Urban Hieroglyphics 4 back in February of this year at Landmark. Photos by Erwin Recinos.