Collabo Mode: Local Artists Go in on a Wall

The Collaboration

Collaboration defined as working together to achieve a goal. On a more intrinsic level, it’s shared passion, skills, pasts, presents and personal histories. “Reaching an identical objective” (the Wikipedia version) the theoretical definition of collaboration as demonstrated through graffiti is somewhat, if not all together a different animal. Mixed in with the traditional explanation, are passion, street code, the eminent feeling of lawlessness and protection of oneself and ones crew from being on the wrong side of the law.

The Crew

Before crew comes trust, comradery and respect; a friendship of sorts or at least something close to it.

For me, a friendship is defined as a cohesive pair or group of like-minded individuals, bound together by understanding and trust. Often this group of people can know more things about you and be more supportive about decisions than ones family. In some cases, this group of friends can be called a crew, which can often play a vital role in an artist’s life, especially a graffiti artist. Crews can challenge, teach and often are the catalyst for launching an artist’s career. Crews can serve as families apart from our biological ones.

Working Late into the Night

Friends can also be visual proof of your history, as it pertains to the impact an artist has on the people he or she runs with and paints

with.

The Collaborative Art

Collaboration and crews go hand-in-hand in the underground world of graffiti.

Often times we hear artists tell stories of artists being introduced into the graff life or a friend who put them on to a huge opportunity that catapulted them into doing art as a professional. Collaboration can inspire us to learn different styles, techniques and should also encourage us to push boundaries.

Estria Mayashiro

All great men get inspiration from the masters that came before them. Artists of today have the great privilege of admiring old world painters like Gauguin and ground breaking painters like Picasso.

Many graffiti artists break ground by extrapolating what moves them in nature, works of other artists and infuse their findings into their own creativity. For Estria, Paul Gauguin one of the artists at the forefront of the modern art movement, is the stepping stone for the new frontiers he traversed in the name of graffiti. When asked who he used as motivation or inspiration for his own work, he explained that Van Gogh’s letters gave him a lot of insight into his art and served as a narrative blue print to his artistic palate, “I read every one of this letters and watched every movie that I could possibly watch,” says Estria, “I studied a little of his style, too.” He even took note of the artist rivalry had between Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso, who’s tit for tat forged a path for a new form of art that would be called “cubism.” This same rivalry is analogous to the friendly rivalry between members of crews that pushes the other to create better art and use new techniques.

Ins’t it funny also how Gauguin spent the majority of his years on the Polynesian island of Tahiti and Estria is a Hawaiian native? Estria’s canvas no doubt being partially influenced by Polynesian art and culture.

Estria Mayashiro

An intangible aspect of the inspiration Estria derives from historic painters is exemplified in his tireless drive. He freely admits to hardly sleeping and thinking of nothing but working on his next project. Spending day and night painting would characterize Estria as something of a work-a-holic and personifies his commitment to art.

Estria himself has already made history, breaking ground with art tools by co-creating the “stencil tip,” or “skinny cap,” which allows for an ultra-thin line to be painted and changed the entire aspect of technique and design.

History and those who make it are used as a stepping off point for the pioneers of today. One day far from now Picasso, Van Gogh and Gauguin will be welcoming a new comrade into the hall of fame; Estria. And thereafter, artists will be using Estria as inspiration for their work… and so the cypher will continue.

Photo by @Fire_Isis

A self proclaimed mad artist, he can be found painting well into the wee morning hours on any given day. Sprung from O’ahu, bred by the ‘aina, schooled by California’s graffiti movement and seasoned by time, graffiti veteran, Estria has lived enough life and emptied sufficient spray paint cans to know how to make his mark; and it’s more than just colors and ideas… he’s also created stories and has impacted lives. His nationally known and celebrated Estria Battle has allowed lesser known artists access to audiences and attention that otherwise would take years to acquire. These annual battles give artists something consistent to look forward to, if they have the brevity to enter and also lets the surrounding community acquaint itself with an age-old artform that continuously gets a bad rap.

It’s been  decades since Estria was a college kid and up until present day, he’s gone from learning the ropes with California cats to making a name for himself, painting scenes oversees and serving his community, “I was in the mainland for college and I thought ‘What’s this graffiti shit?’” When asked how he got from altering street cars in Cali to being invited to Europe to paint, he sarcastically responded, “I just hopped on a plane…they have paint over there, too.” But in all seriousness, it is because of his passion and success that he wishes to provide the same opportunity to other artists and never opposes an artist  ”making it big” off their craft. Though he does have his perimeters, “If a company like Coca-Cola came to me I wouldn’t do it,” he says, “But that also depends on what they want me to do and how much money we’re talking,” he continues, “Because with that money I can invest that and expand my own cause.”

Photo by @Fire_Isis

“If an artist is really making money off of his art, then go for it,” Estria continues on the subject, “I mean, no one is going to do anything for free,” he says, “You’re  not going to be able to take care of your family and your wife is going to leave you.”

While backstreets are the landscape that house these proud monuments erected of spray paint, sweat and bricks, an artist is an artist whether he garners profit for his craft or not. And every artist is a bit mad; dedicating his life to craft that has no guarantee to be lucrative. But with art there is always a method behind the madness and a history behind the methods.

by @Fire_Isis

His art is powerful, his words even more so. Estria is known around the world and his nationwide Estria Battle that takes place in New York, Los Angeles, Honolulu and Oakland. Born and raised on O’ahu, Estria is a member of the old school class whose interests lie in a very unique type of youth advocacy. While most guys in their 40′s succumb to a solemn life of suits, ties and corporate ladders, Estria’s dedicated to getting the youth more involved in the arts, by way of legal graffiti… and illegal, too…

Spray paint cans in the hands of young folks is always better than guns and Estria is wondering what all the fuss is about; why are people so confused? The philosophy behind graffiti is pretty straight forward: “Art is meant to disturb,” Estria says. And with that perspective, art as graffiti is doing its bidding in Los Angeles while city officials and cops scramble to dismantle all evidence of murals or “public art” whether it is on public property or not.

By obliterating any trace of public artwork, city officials in cities such as LA and

Estria and Spray Paint Cans

Santa Monica are hoping to eliminate any temptation to deface property by way of graffiti vandalism. The only problem is, even if the owner of a private business has hired an artist to create a mural on the exterior wall of their own building, they must cover the art with beige paint or face a $5,000 a day fine. City police are even accused of intruding on public property and harassing business owners. Estria himself has made an effort to help another fellow artist, Saber to put the word about this moratorium on murals. One such organization being affected by this city-wide ordinance is environmenta

On Memorial Day weekend, Honolulu Academy of the Arts invited the community to an urban affair: the 2011 Estria Battle in Honolulu… And the winner is Katch One

Second runner-up was uber talented artists, Ckaweeks.

All competing pieces featured the word, ‘Hanau’ which means ‘birth’ in the Hawai’ian language.

Some other artists included: Scarz, Devour, Bogus and Ekundayo.

Celebrity artists in attendance included Aaron “Woes” Martin, OG graffiti artist Prime and of course, Estira himself.

For anyone whose grown up in the culture knows how important pride is for one’s city. If Hawai’ians can relate to one thing, it’s love and respect for their sacred islands, whichever one they may call home. For Meut, the love of the sacred lands of the Hawaiian islands transcends to the kama’aina or children of the land and individual artists who choose street art as their outlet.

“In Hawai’i, my introduction to OG graph writers was interesting,” says Meut, “In Oakland, there is still a separation between old and new school and beefs, something I don’t understand.” In Hawai’i, he says, “There is a lot of communication going on here,” he explains, “If you have a beef with someone, you go write with them.”

The distinct separation of the OG’s and “new g’s” in Oakland and the nonexistence of such in Hawai’i creates a unique experience for those involved. The “law of the letter” denotes less stricter boundaries in terms of crews and turf on the Hawai’ian island. Partly because the island is so small (O’ahu in particular), it would be pretty easy to step on the next man’s toes.

Among locals, Hawai’i is a stolen land under the guise of American government and constitutionality, “This nation is being occupied illegally by the U.S.,” he says, “And they carry that message forth (in their graffiti) and present it beautifully.” But love for country extends passed the bounds of Hawaiians speaking out against the theft of a sovereign country, “There’s also the cat that has pride in his history,” Meut says, “One of the most beautiful pieces I’ve seen thus far on O’ahu was a chief head (a depiction of a Hawai’ian king),” he continues, “It was just a little throw up piece.” Meut observed that the power behind local graph art is intrinsic in their ability to articulate their demands and present them strongly and beautifully.

Purple and Orange by Meut

Although he’s already done pieces with Hawai’i graffiti legend, Prime, for Meut the rules are much different here, “I’ll paint when I’m invited” he says, “I will never put myself in a position here, where I’m taking advantage of the Hawai’ian people,” he concludes, “I’ll walk as humbly and as quietly as possible.”

As for himself, Meut’s message is also intrinsic; meant to be interpreted in his art, “My art is more intuitive,” he says, “It’s not expressed outright.” “I write to reclaim my right to exist in American society; our silence is our voice.” Lastly, Meut offers what may be an explanation to his ambiguous pen name, “We are mute, so if the only thing you understand is for me to throw it in your face…then I’ll throw it in your face.”

Finally Words: “Evolution. Things change. That is what I’ve come to know and love about graffiti.”

From Audubon and Amsterdam Ave., NYC to now: How fitting is it that the earliest graffiti etchings can be traced all the way back to ancient Greece, the word “graffiti” comes from the Greek word “graphein” which means “to write” and that one of the greatest graffiti writers in the world is a kid from New York of Grecian descent. He made it a habit of leaving his name around, TAKI 183, with permanent pen around the city. He made himself a legend who is still celebrated today.

He is the catalyst that started it all; an underground movement that is alive and well. TAKI 183, whose legal first name is Demetrius, was present at a book signing in New York on July 21st at Hole Gallery. He is now 57 and has long forfeited his illegal tags that have since faded from city walls. The book is entitled The History of American Graffiti and the authors, Roger Gastman and Caleb Neelon.

Modern day vandals still look to old photos of TAKI 183′s tags and artwork and spoken memories of his outlawed crusades. Both young artists and seasoned veterans hold this lauded and mysterious man in high regard. He was more than just a random tagger; there was pseudo rationale behind his actions. In a 1971 New York Times article, he likened tagging to politicians being able to plaster campaign posters on city buildings without consequence.

He was only supposed to be scrawling some letters and his street number because there was “nothing else to do,” but it spawned something much greater. The not-so-public, historical figure now owns an automotive body shop that specializes in older cars in Yonkers, New York.

City officials all over the country are up in arms about how out of hand this so called graffiti is getting. As a supporter of art and especially graffiti, I’d like to finally take a stand and say: It’s not the graffiti itself, that creates the problems– it’s when wayward youth with nothing but time go scrawling any and everything all over the city without proper training or concrete ideas of what they stand for and what message they’d like to convey. Any real graffiti head will tell you that a genuine love of graffiti, the thrill of bombing and throwing up a quick tag only comes after they’ve learned the ropes. It’s not about haphazardly running around with spray paint and covering any empty surface without a thorough understanding of graffiti culture and principles.

I’ll admit that there is a devilish part of me that smiles whenever I see a tag from a familiar graff writer or a beautifully composed peace sprawled across a liquor store or government building. There’s something inherent about wanting to knock down or deface anything created to perpetuate “the man” and anything intrinsically oppressive. Our baser instincts tell us to stand up for what we believe and graffiti is no different than a church sermon or prayer it’s simply an expression of beliefs.

Out of all of the interviews I’ve done, every single artist recanted stories of why they first started doing graffiti: the inspiration, the research, saving money for paint or even stealing it, all for the risk of painstakingly putting up a piece of original art only for it to be covered the next day or hand cuffed/fined for it. The pride is in actually getting away with it, but being willing to pay the cost. What stands out most in every story are the very personal reasons why each artist decided to turn to art for refuge and the lessons they learned from fellow artists or crew members. Each one of them is a talented and seasoned artist who knows the dynamics of street art.

They are not young hoodlums desperately wanting to be part of an outlaw crew or trying to impress the girls. For real graffiti artists, the clout comes after they’ve already proved themselves. In the world of street art, acclaim is organic and not outwardly boastful. In fact, anonymity is the reason for survival and ones ability to stay out of jail cells.

No matter how much city officials try to tame a timeless culture, there is no way to mainstream a form of art whose sole nature is to grow against the grain. Programs such as MuralsDC and other anti-illegal, arts based graffiti initiatives are great and all, but they miss the entire point of doing graffiti in the first place. The very reason why graffiti exists would be completely illegitimized if the only way graff artists could create was through government funded programs with rules and regulations. The point of graffiti is to express those ideas that oppose government in cities that are supposed to belong to “the people” in the first place– it’s a give and take, symbiotic relationship.

There is a difference between vandalism and graffiti…they are not one in the same. Simply put: a mural is not real graffiti and will not abate unrest created by illegal tags…if you sanction it, you’ll kill it.

What are your thoughts?

I haven’t been back through Urban Mediums to update anything in quite a while; life’s circumstances kept me away from feeling at all creative or worthy of writing anything. I needed time… time to step back and evaluate… time to be inspired and time to be focused enough to write a quality blog post. Time is such a peculiar entity. We need it, no matter what our endeavors are in life. Time can either work for or against you. You can either have all the time in the world or not enough hours in the day. But no need to spout off heavily used catch phrases.

I want to examine time and how it shapes us; as humans and in turn, as artists or creative types. How we loathe it, but need it and how the love/hate relationship somehow segways into trascendental masterpieces.

Meut of Northern California’s TDK crew, a veteran group of artists that blazed trails, knows something about time. He’s been decorating the exterior walls of his city since he was but a young whipper snapper. For him, “artmanship” is a way of life. Time has taught him that nothing of quality in this world is cheaply made or mass produced, “That’s why I go to boutiques because I know the craft that when in to making it,” he explains, “I want to know that some kid up the block doesn’t have on the same shop,” he continues, “That’s the difference between mass produced and quality material.”

Time has also taught Meut the importance of innovation and improvement of arts materials, “There’s now a new wave of paint and art tools,” he says, “Back in the day I remember we only had two colors but we still did our thing.” Now there are new high gloss paints, an array of colors that are minimally toxic.

Father time has also made Meut aware of the vast differences in how rival crews battle for turf and it seems that now it’s all for show; a battle of egos as opposed to genuine merit and talent, “There’s still such a separation between old school and new,” Meut explains, “I don’t understand beefs,” he says, “Even the ones in Oakland,” he continues, “It used to be that if you had beef with someone you would do it with your graff work.”

The unspoken rules of old school graff days fade with the weight of time and a new regime of artists now dictate the ways of the land. One never knows; things may come full circle and settle back in to what they once were. But for the sake of evolution, art is in a constant state of metamorphosis and time will only be able to tell what’s on the horizon for art and the communities that serve it…

… MORE TO COME

So I’m wishing myself a very belated 28th birthday to me and one of the foremost graffiti legends, Dondi White. He is the entire reason why I started this blog. Thanks to my brother, I’ve always had a love of graffiti that was piqued at a young age, but finding out that a young African American man, who was born in the same city, same hospital on the same day… as me … was almost like a sign; a calling card to follow my dreams.

On April 7, 1961 a king was born in Beth Israel Hospital in Manhattan, New York. 32 years later, my mother would bare her second and last child who would follow curiously in the footsteps of the artists and creators that so liberally paint the streets, windows, highway signs and brick walls of urban cities with their ideas, dreams and political messages.

I’d almost forgotten, that as soon as I cracked open the pages of a Dondi White book, lent to me by a former room mate, how my mouth gaped open in disbelief when I saw my exact birth date and place listed under a picture of a tall, slender lightskinned Black man who would be known as a legend even after his death in 1998. It’s a testament that all of us artists, no matter what medium, can lose sight of why we first started.

Our craft is our compass; and two years after started a blog about something I had no expertise on, I am just now settling into the notion that it’s okay to learn things along the way. After all, I am in no way an expert on graffiti or street art, but I am an expert on how art makes me feel…how it inspires me. I look at where this blog started and I’m proud of what it is now; a work in progress.

The artists I’ve interviewed and the opportunities I’ve encountered because of this blip in an entire universe of URL’s and websites, has and will continue to amaze me. I am so grateful for the talent I have to express my love for graffiti. I’m grateful to my mother for giving birth to me on April 7, 1983. I am grateful to be 28. I am grateful for Dondi White. I am grateful for art. I am grateful for life.

Happy Birthday to ME! RIP Dondi …