berlin drawings 20-22 > spray paint

Berlin’s grunginess, particularly in Friedrichshain, inspires apocalyptic fantasies for some of its artists. One such painter is my neighbor across the hall, Mosha, whose darkly comical paintings implicate humans as a scourge on the planet. He invited me to collaborate with him on a mural in Rummelsburg, and so, in keeping with his vision, I invented CU.GO. the Cleaner. CU.GO. (CU-rtis GO-ldstein) is a sentient robot who takes his job of cleaning up the planet, with fire, seriously. CU.GO.’s favorite movie is Taxi Driver, and he nicknames himself Travis, after Travis Bickle, actor Robert De Niro’s psychopathic vigilante character who goes on his own cleaning spree, with guns, in New York City. His mantra is an altered version of a famous line from the movie, with rain and wash replaced by fire and burn: Someday a real fire will come and burn the scum off these streets. Mosha invented his character Mighty Mosha to defend humanity, and kick some alloy butt.