Decades before the term street art was being uttered from ad executives' mouths, Blek Le Rat was bouncing about Paris throwing up political, thoughtful and humorous stencils... Banksy was quoted as saying, "Every time I think I've painted something slightly original, I find out that Blek Le Rat has done it as well. Only twenty years earlier..."

A new book on Blek Le Rat is due out this winter along with the solo show 60/30 at 941 Geary here in San Francisco to celebrate the 30 years that Blek has been creating works in the street. We emailed him a few questions below to see what he's been up to since we last spoke with him in '08. -Trippe

In the 1960s children used to read a lot of comic strips; I took on the name of Blek le Rat in reference to an Italian comic strip called Blek le Roc. I changed it into Rat, because I painted rats and the word "rat" is the anagram of the word "art" (something Banksy hadn't thought of!).

In the 1980s I drew all of my stencils, nowadays it depends on the stencil. Often I still draw the stencils because I am inspired by photographs that are not of a quality that lends itself to the stencil making process. I also use xeroxed copies on occasion, but not very often. I like the "handmade" aspect of the stencil, in both the preparation and the final image. Stenciling, though an antiquated medium, also has a very modern look and is ideal for street art, which is why so many street artists employ it. I also prefer black and white—I do not like colorful stencils much.

Street art is ephemeral and it is very important to keep a memory of what has been done in the street. It is important to me that my fine art reflects the street or urban/public landscape in some way. I try to reproduce the ambience of the street where I often work at night when shades of black and white are dominant. I use the same characters in the street as well as in the work I produce intended for the gallery.

No. I don't work in the streets of Paris anymore because I know each and every inch of Paris. I love to work in places I don't know because these locations allow me to get in touch with a new atmosphere, new lights, and new people. If I continued to work in Paris I would have the instinct to do the same thing over and over again, without making any progress.

Mac Miller - Professor Green (from England), Kid Ink-Lunatic (French old school), DJ Nyck (trance music), Eminem, 50 Cent, Public Enemy, and Cypress Hill.

My son, Alex, is 18 and likes Shepard Fairey (his stickers are all over his room), Above, and London Police a lot. He is not an artist but would like to work in the art business some time in the near future.

I will be celebrating my 30 year anniversary creating street art at Justin Giarla's new space, 941 Geary Gallery in San Francisco. The show is called 60/30 and runs November 19th through January 2012. I also have plans for several speaking engagements and book signing events in the works—make sure to fan me on Facebook and check in frequently for updates.

I am not the right person to talk about that. I know better the art scenes of New York City, London or San Francisco. I never go to gallery openings [in Paris]. Unfortunately, Paris is not the capital of art anymore, there is much more creativity in London, SF or LA than there is in Paris. I don't love Paris—I know how it works here that I have lost interest.

I am thinking about moving to the States.

Sample from the forthcoming book on Blek Le Rat

I don't care about Banksy. People would love me to be concerned but he doesn't interest me. You should ask Bansky what he thinks about me:)

My book, which is a retrospective spanning my 30 year career, will debut at Art Basel this year in December. Fans and collectors can visit me and purchase their copy at the Arts Fund tent at the W Hotel, South Beach from December 1st-4th, where I'll be signing and dedicating copies. If someone wants to purchase a copy of the book, but will not be attending Art Basel, they can pre-order now from my publisher here: artpublishingltd.com/bleklerat.html