Gias Time-Lapse Billboard Video and Interview
Four months in the making. Gias has taken billboard graffiti to a place that has never been taken before. This is the world's longest and most detailed non-commissioned billboard that has been created to date. Check out the much anticipated time-lapse video of Gias creating the billboard as well as his inspiration and thoughts for creating it.
1. How long did it take you to complete the billboard?
Hour-wise I spent around 35 hours total spaced out during random mostly middle of the night sessions for over 4 months. Right after I really started to focus working on it around January I wrecked my shoulder which prevented me from going up there for over a month and from then on there was always something to slow down my progress whether it was rain peeling the paper off and having to redo parts, employees working directly beneath the billboard till all hours of the night, dealing with cop issues or just being too exhausted to climb up and down a ladder and paint for hours in the middle of the night. I'm still trippin that I actually finished the whole thing.
2. What inspired you to do such detailed work?
In general I'm always pretty obsessive about details and planning things out but in this case I actually had almost no plan when I first got up on that billboard. I just started free styling lines until I got an idea for a portion of the image and from there I kept adding on to it.
I knew that that billboard rarely ever gets advertised on so once I had the idea of what I wanted to paint up there I figured I'd take the time to do it real proper. I actually had to take out a lot of extra details and images that I had initially planned to put in there because it started taking me so long to finish the thing.
3. Can you share any stories during your months of painting?
Nothing to talk about except for a lot of sleep deprivation.
4. I had the privilege of watching you paint one night. The billboard was completely lit up. I have never seen anyone paint a billboard so calm. How were you able to stay so relaxed?
I think I remember the night you were shooting photos from down on the street but when I'm up there I'm phasing pretty much everything out of my head but what's in front of me so that I can get in the zone and bomb it out as quick as possible without getting distracted.
After a certain point I had done so much work on the thing that I think it just looked like I was commissioned to put a mural up there so I would just go up on there for hours like I owned the thing.
Kind of like how you can sometimes stroll into a random building walking in like you own the place and even security or people who work there won't trip because you look so confident about what you're doing. And if you do end up getting caught then you gotta know how to not crap your pants while you spit some bullshit. And if that doesn't work then maybe you're going to get screwed but not thinking about that is what's key.
5. Do you want to say a few words about yourself? (Who is Gias?)
GIAS=God Is A System. Based on about the past 10 years of my studies, it's my firm belief that the Gods of every civilization throughout the history of mankind were created from the naive minds of primitive people which continually morphed and merged with neighboring beliefs over thousands of years and eventually turned into a system of mind control and power in the name of "order".
There's too much evidence out there for me to not see that. And it doesn't come from conspiracy theory internet chat rooms or Satanist cult meetings, it comes from history books that anybody can access at a library. People are just never motivated to look into any of this because they have no desire to dismantle their comfortably laid out existence. My existence happens to be fueled by the pursuit of this type of knowledge and I have a lifetime full of more research to do as I have just barely fully devoted myself to studying all of this worlds history and exposing all the historical information that gets left out at the pulpit. All so that people can make more informed decisions about what they're really subscribing to and the consequences of what they do by forcing themselves and others to believe in it.
Ignorance is bliss for the majority of people so they will never be open to any of the knowledge that I along with many other people can provide because they don't want to get rid of their security blanket and are not open to new ideas that go against their ingrained beliefs. I know because I was once there. Most people are too afraid to question anything that will disrupt their nicely laid out routine in life so who I'm really speaking to with my art are the small percentage of people who have minds that are thirsty for knowledge and are ready and waiting to hear what I have to say but just haven't been reached yet. And it's also a beacon out there for people who agree with my beliefs and are eager to share their knowledge with me.
So to sum it all up, my art is less about getting solely my name up everywhere for recognition and more about getting a message out there to the few people who haven't been completely brainwashed/zombified in this world and are in need of important information as well as inspiration which I feel I can provide and that I am in need of as well.
6. Anything else you want to add?
For those who are in need of an explanation for what this billboard is about: it's my attempt at alluding to the subscription to any organized religion as more of a vice than a virtue. People forget or don't realize that all of the major religions were all created and laid out by men (who are inherently imperfect and prone to evil) and have been laden with deceit, corruption, abuse of power as well as prone to extreme violence for thousands of years which obviously still goes on today.
So with all kinds of glaring evils that are consistently spawned from institutions that are supposedly guided and directed by a divine God, why don't more people at least question at some point if what their prophets and leaders are telling them is really true? Or why not at least thoroughly study the other available religions out there to make sure that you're really with the right one instead of just assuming that you have the divine truth without any other knowledge to back it up? I believe that the answer is that people of faith who are stuck in their religious habits are stuck in the same type of habits and routines as people who spend their lives as habitual tv addicts or habitual drug users amongst a slew of other examples I could have provided. They have all shut their mind off to a certain degree in order to exist in this world by escaping certain aspects of reality that they can't deal with.
When I'm making these claims I'm speaking from experience because I've been on both sides of the spectrum. I live an insanely busy and stressful life with a million different things constantly going through my head that I have to work on or that I'm behind on so I'll resort to a bottle of booze or puffing on a joint in order to be around people without being an unnerving stress case or even just to shut my mind off so that I can try to sleep at night and not watch the sun come up.
So I'm willing to admit that I'm guilty of the need to escape reality myself but the point that I'm making with the piece is that those who unquestionably obey their religious doctrine and can't escape their routine thinking for even a minute are guilty of nearly the same type of escapist mentality/ inability to deal with aspects of life that the people whom they cast judgment upon are guilty of. Although there are indeed a lot of good things to acknowledge about these religions, the fact remains that they are imperfect institutions and are in dire need of being completely rethought and redeveloped with all of the fairy tales and primitive nonsense taken out in order to adapt to the ever-advancing human intellect that is increasingly calling bullshit on it.
The reason I put a huge decaying zombie head with his brains rotting out is because I can't get away from the analogy that most people on this planet are like zombies in that they're stuck in these mindless routines and are incapable of deep thought or reason beyond what they're programmed to believe by their tv or their religion. Just like zombies, all of these organizations' members congregate together in large masses in order to claim more helpless victims as their converts.
Their strength comes solely from their numbers and not from rational reasoning ability exactly the same way that zombies take over. I realize that I'll never be able to awaken the whole population of Earth out of it's zombie spell so like I said earlier, this message is really just a telegram to the few people out there who haven't had their brain stolen in this mind-numbed world we live in and to let them know that they're not alone.
To everyone else: you should pray to your God and let him know that he needs to get me off the face of the planet before I convince too many people he's not really there. And for those who could care less: Keep on Truckin!
Related:
Graffiti Billboard Masterpiece in the Making
Daytime Pictures
Graffiti Billboard Masterpiece is now Complete
 | "I spent around 35 hours total spaced out during random mostly middle of the night sessions for over 4 months" |
1. How long did it take you to complete the billboard?
Hour-wise I spent around 35 hours total spaced out during random mostly middle of the night sessions for over 4 months. Right after I really started to focus working on it around January I wrecked my shoulder which prevented me from going up there for over a month and from then on there was always something to slow down my progress whether it was rain peeling the paper off and having to redo parts, employees working directly beneath the billboard till all hours of the night, dealing with cop issues or just being too exhausted to climb up and down a ladder and paint for hours in the middle of the night. I'm still trippin that I actually finished the whole thing.
 | "I just started free styling lines until I got an idea for a portion of the image and from there I kept adding on to it." |
2. What inspired you to do such detailed work?
In general I'm always pretty obsessive about details and planning things out but in this case I actually had almost no plan when I first got up on that billboard. I just started free styling lines until I got an idea for a portion of the image and from there I kept adding on to it.
I knew that that billboard rarely ever gets advertised on so once I had the idea of what I wanted to paint up there I figured I'd take the time to do it real proper. I actually had to take out a lot of extra details and images that I had initially planned to put in there because it started taking me so long to finish the thing.
3. Can you share any stories during your months of painting?
Nothing to talk about except for a lot of sleep deprivation.
 | "When I'm up there I'm phasing pretty much everything out of my head but what's in front of me so that I can get in the zone and bomb it out as quick as possible without getting distracted." |
4. I had the privilege of watching you paint one night. The billboard was completely lit up. I have never seen anyone paint a billboard so calm. How were you able to stay so relaxed?
I think I remember the night you were shooting photos from down on the street but when I'm up there I'm phasing pretty much everything out of my head but what's in front of me so that I can get in the zone and bomb it out as quick as possible without getting distracted.
After a certain point I had done so much work on the thing that I think it just looked like I was commissioned to put a mural up there so I would just go up on there for hours like I owned the thing.
Kind of like how you can sometimes stroll into a random building walking in like you own the place and even security or people who work there won't trip because you look so confident about what you're doing. And if you do end up getting caught then you gotta know how to not crap your pants while you spit some bullshit. And if that doesn't work then maybe you're going to get screwed but not thinking about that is what's key.
 | "Ignorance is bliss for the majority of people so they will never be open to any of the knowledge that I along with many other people can provide..." |
5. Do you want to say a few words about yourself? (Who is Gias?)
GIAS=God Is A System. Based on about the past 10 years of my studies, it's my firm belief that the Gods of every civilization throughout the history of mankind were created from the naive minds of primitive people which continually morphed and merged with neighboring beliefs over thousands of years and eventually turned into a system of mind control and power in the name of "order".
There's too much evidence out there for me to not see that. And it doesn't come from conspiracy theory internet chat rooms or Satanist cult meetings, it comes from history books that anybody can access at a library. People are just never motivated to look into any of this because they have no desire to dismantle their comfortably laid out existence. My existence happens to be fueled by the pursuit of this type of knowledge and I have a lifetime full of more research to do as I have just barely fully devoted myself to studying all of this worlds history and exposing all the historical information that gets left out at the pulpit. All so that people can make more informed decisions about what they're really subscribing to and the consequences of what they do by forcing themselves and others to believe in it.
Ignorance is bliss for the majority of people so they will never be open to any of the knowledge that I along with many other people can provide because they don't want to get rid of their security blanket and are not open to new ideas that go against their ingrained beliefs. I know because I was once there. Most people are too afraid to question anything that will disrupt their nicely laid out routine in life so who I'm really speaking to with my art are the small percentage of people who have minds that are thirsty for knowledge and are ready and waiting to hear what I have to say but just haven't been reached yet. And it's also a beacon out there for people who agree with my beliefs and are eager to share their knowledge with me.
 | "My art is less about getting solely my name up everywhere for recognition and more about getting a message out there to the few people who haven't been completely brainwashed..." |
So to sum it all up, my art is less about getting solely my name up everywhere for recognition and more about getting a message out there to the few people who haven't been completely brainwashed/zombified in this world and are in need of important information as well as inspiration which I feel I can provide and that I am in need of as well.
 | "...this billboard is about: it's my attempt at alluding to the subscription to any organized religion as more of a vice than a virtue." |
6. Anything else you want to add?
For those who are in need of an explanation for what this billboard is about: it's my attempt at alluding to the subscription to any organized religion as more of a vice than a virtue. People forget or don't realize that all of the major religions were all created and laid out by men (who are inherently imperfect and prone to evil) and have been laden with deceit, corruption, abuse of power as well as prone to extreme violence for thousands of years which obviously still goes on today.
So with all kinds of glaring evils that are consistently spawned from institutions that are supposedly guided and directed by a divine God, why don't more people at least question at some point if what their prophets and leaders are telling them is really true? Or why not at least thoroughly study the other available religions out there to make sure that you're really with the right one instead of just assuming that you have the divine truth without any other knowledge to back it up? I believe that the answer is that people of faith who are stuck in their religious habits are stuck in the same type of habits and routines as people who spend their lives as habitual tv addicts or habitual drug users amongst a slew of other examples I could have provided. They have all shut their mind off to a certain degree in order to exist in this world by escaping certain aspects of reality that they can't deal with.
When I'm making these claims I'm speaking from experience because I've been on both sides of the spectrum. I live an insanely busy and stressful life with a million different things constantly going through my head that I have to work on or that I'm behind on so I'll resort to a bottle of booze or puffing on a joint in order to be around people without being an unnerving stress case or even just to shut my mind off so that I can try to sleep at night and not watch the sun come up.
So I'm willing to admit that I'm guilty of the need to escape reality myself but the point that I'm making with the piece is that those who unquestionably obey their religious doctrine and can't escape their routine thinking for even a minute are guilty of nearly the same type of escapist mentality/ inability to deal with aspects of life that the people whom they cast judgment upon are guilty of. Although there are indeed a lot of good things to acknowledge about these religions, the fact remains that they are imperfect institutions and are in dire need of being completely rethought and redeveloped with all of the fairy tales and primitive nonsense taken out in order to adapt to the ever-advancing human intellect that is increasingly calling bullshit on it.
The reason I put a huge decaying zombie head with his brains rotting out is because I can't get away from the analogy that most people on this planet are like zombies in that they're stuck in these mindless routines and are incapable of deep thought or reason beyond what they're programmed to believe by their tv or their religion. Just like zombies, all of these organizations' members congregate together in large masses in order to claim more helpless victims as their converts.
Their strength comes solely from their numbers and not from rational reasoning ability exactly the same way that zombies take over. I realize that I'll never be able to awaken the whole population of Earth out of it's zombie spell so like I said earlier, this message is really just a telegram to the few people out there who haven't had their brain stolen in this mind-numbed world we live in and to let them know that they're not alone.
To everyone else: you should pray to your God and let him know that he needs to get me off the face of the planet before I convince too many people he's not really there. And for those who could care less: Keep on Truckin!
Related:
Graffiti Billboard Masterpiece in the Making
Daytime Pictures
Graffiti Billboard Masterpiece is now Complete
posted by G at
9:07 PM
6 Comments:
Amazing! I hope that runs for a long time!!
Unfortunately, it is gone. But just like the Saber billboard that was there before it may re-appear.
I think the new thing with billboards is using a one piece vinyl. This way the vinyl can be peeled off in once piece and reveal what's under it. If we are lucky, the KIIS FM billboard that's over it will soon be removed to reveal Gias' work again.
You cant wake the hopeless i've tried.. just live life and keep the graff scene alive, last of freedom of speech
thats the most amazing thing i have seen
much respect, hit us up, lets callob on a prod.
www.myspace.com/sikprod
we on the same tip, my boy.
I've never seen such an awesome piece of art in my life.
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