Cold K's Talking Walls

Source: Fading Glory by Nate Lippens
While there is plenty of graffiti around town, you may have noticed the proliferation of a very distinctive ghost and the tag cold k or cold killr on bus kiosks, buildings, and parking garages. While the tag originates from a cold-blooded killer connotation, there is also an idea of killing the cold--whether this is the chill of urban life, corporate space, or a more existential dread is left to interpretation. Cold Killer runs with the BOTW krew, which stands for Beware of the Walls. The Stranger recently spoke with Cold Killer on the phone. He wouldn't give us the locations or any information on how he gets access to some of the spots, but he told us a little bit about his motivations. I used to live in the Central District, and one night when my girl and I were out on a walk, we saw a man get murdered. When I told the police, they wouldn't even listen to me. It fucked me up a lot, 'cause I never found out what happened. It was a while after that, that I started writing Cold Killer on everything, and drawing skulls and ghosts. I started out doing skulls and crossbones, anything sort of death related and then it became a ghost. I like the ghost because it's there and then it's gone. Sometimes the sun is coming up and it's a climb and runner and it's just beautiful. It's kind of romantic. The first time I started painting the streets seriously was after the first time I ever saw Nirvana, when I saw a bumper sticker on Kurt Cobain's guitar that said: VANDALISM, AS BEAUTIFUL AS A ROCK IN A COP'S FACE - but that wasn't the Cold Killer, it was random vandalism. I try to make my art look as nice as possible, so people will like it, but I have some motor damage, and my brain is kind of rotted out from huffing and other drug abuse, so the pieces usually come out super shitty. That is what makes me paint a lot. I think if I practice hella and my tags aren't so shitty maybe people won't hate it so much. Current favorite artists: John Wayne, Retsol, Floe, Move, Hick, Pores, Desend, Slend, Eager, Whore 24, Vote 187, "GO AWOL" Some people have said it looks like Pac Man but I don't like that.
-Nate Lippens The Stranger 2004
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