'KATSU' Takes On Detroit
Katsu is a popular Japanese dish in which a pork cutlet is breaded and fried, sometimes topped with curry sauce. It also happens to be the name of an infamous New York-based graffiti artist, and he's apparently expanded his territory to Chicago.
Named one of 2012's "25 Greatest Graffiti Writers Right Now" by Complex Magazine, KATSU is best known for tagging high-profile locations with a customized fire extinguisher. He emerged in the late 1990s, and most notably tagged a homeless man in New York as well as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. His graffiti is generally anything but elaborate, and generally consists of just the word "KATSU" scrawled in giant letters.
And those giant letters have recently begun to appear in a city that hasn't seen them before: Detroit. According to Motor City Muckraker, his trademark tag has appeared in at least four buildings in the city, including the CPA Building on Michigan Avenue, the empty Hotel Eddystone, and a factory.
While it certainly isn't ornate, those in a certain frame of mind just might welcome this famed traveling street artist into brand-new territory. Others probably wish he'd head back to New York.