Atlas (graffiti artist)

Rick Ordonez, also known as Atlas and known colloquially as the "kitty cat tagger," is an American graphic designer and graffiti artist from Alhambra, California.[1]

Atlas' graffiti art (on the right) on Anderson Street, Los Angeles.

In early 2010, Atlas transitioned from creating large ornate graphics to drawing stylized cats, particularly on or near Pasadena Freeway. In April, Andy "Midzt" Rios was wrongly arrested for tagging the cats. On June 30, Atlas was arrested without incident at his home. He was charged with allegedly causing $15,000 in damages and faced up to 90 days in jail and 300 hours of community service. Ordonez was described as a “cat-lover" who kept cats as pets. In an article for LA Weekly, he was described as "a nerdy guy who draws cats."[2] When asked why he drew cats, he simply replied "I love cats."[1][3][4][5]

Later that year, Atlas got his own show entitled "Rick Ordonez: Kitty Litter" at Mid-City Arts in November 2010. Gallery manager Medvin “Med” Sobio stated "I saw them and thought it was something completely different. Everybody’s out there doing big, bad graffiti things [to show that] 'I’m a big, bad guy,’ and here he is, doing cats." Ordonez remained anonymous for the show.[6][7]

Atlas was part of the ESMoA art laboratory SCRATCH show in 2014.[8]

See also

References
  1. "Alhambra man suspected in tagging spree". Pasadena Star-News. 29 August 2017.
  2. Romero, Dennis (20 July 2010). "Rick Ordonez, Notorious 'Kitty Cat Tagger,' Does Time, Must Clean Up Graffiti". LA Weekly.
  3. Romero, Dennis (30 June 2010). "Notorious Kitty Cat Tagger Arrested After Allegedy Painting Feline Images Around Downtown Los Angeles". LA Weekly.
  4. "'Cat graffiti' artist pleads guilty". ABC 13 Eyewitness News. 14 July 2010.
  5. "Arrested for vandalism in July, L.A. street artist now has gallery show". Los Angeles Times. 26 November 2010.
  6. Boehm, Mike (26 November 2010). "Elusive cat tagger Rick Ordonez gets a show at Mid-City Arts". Los Angeles Times.
  7. "Feline-friendly graffiti felon is out of the clink, brings his images to gallery show". Los Angeles Times. 25 November 2010.
  8. "Experience 11: SCRATCH". ESMoA. 21 September 2014.


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