Hawaii Graffiti OG Production in Hayward, CA

This production is by East3, Kraze, Bam and myself. These are all Hawaii graffiti writers from the '80s and '90s. Thanks to Kraze for offering up his wall, and for doing a great comeback piece after not painting for 8 years!

Character concept - Bam, character rendering - Estria. This is Musashimaru, the great Sumo islander, kickin' it on his day off.


Clockwise from upper left: Kraze, "Buntz" by Estria, Bam, East3


"Howzit! You get da kine?" This is my all-time favorite character I have painted.


Kraze, 808 Giants


East3, 808 Giants


"Buntz" by Estria


Bam

Four Guardians Production for City of Oakland

The City of Oakland is testing out a radical (for California) concept of commissioning murals in redevelopment areas in the hopes of deterring vandalism while improving the area. In this case they understood the importance of supporting urban art that would be well received by both the surrounding community and the graffiti community. It was great that youth participation was a requirement of the project, because that gives more people a sense of ownership of the mural, and community pride.

This may be the largest and most visible mural within Oakland city limits. Created for the City of Oakland, it measures 22' H x 125' L. It faces the train tracks and 880 freeway.



The concept was developed by 357 and myself. 357 designed the phoenix. I designed the rest. Our goal here was for the larger shapes to be easily identifiable from the highway, and if people walk up to the wall, then they will see the details in each one. We have incorporated elements from contemporary hip-hop art forms within the body of each creature with the intention of connecting the younger generation with the old myths, culture, and ways.

Here is the traditional meaning behind each creature. Many pardons if we have butchered this.



KIRIN (UNICORN)
It ate fire in its ravenous fury, but it was specially praised for being able to discriminate between good and evil, and that it would gore the wicked whenever it meets them. Appearing only when there was a wise and virtuous ruler, and that it had a discriminating mind that enabled it to know when benevolent rulers or wise sages would appear in the world. It was considered to be able to walk on water, and that it had a perfect goodwill, gentleness, and benevolence to all living creatures. It is so gentle that when it walks it is careful not to tread on the tiniest living creature and will not even eat live grass but only what is dead. The span of this animal's natural life is a thousand years. In Chinese mythology, the Unicorn was an animal of good omen that came to humans only on important missions.



FENGHUANG (PHOENIX)
In Chinese mythology, the phoenix is the symbol of high virtue and grace, of power and prosperity. It represents the union of yin and yang. It was thought to be a gentle creature, alighting so gently that it crushed nothing, and eating only dewdrops. It symbolized the Empress usually in a pairing with a dragon (the dragon representing the Emperor), and only Empress could wear the phoenix symbol. The phoenix represented power sent from the heavens to the Empress. If a phoenix was used to decorate a house it symbolized that loyalty and honesty was in the people that lived there. Jewelry with the phoenix design showed that the wearer was a person of high moral values, and so the phoenix could only be worn by people of great importance.



DRAGON
The Chinese New Year Dragon is the emblem of guardianship and vigilance. The Chinese dragon has long been a potent symbol of auspicious power in folklore and art. The Dragon is a beneficent and gracious creature and is worshipped as the divine ruler of Lakes, Rivers and Seas. It is the powerful yet gentle ‘Loong" that brings rain to the earth, hasten the crops and cools the toiling framer. The Chinese dragon is traditionally also the embodiment of the concept of yang (male) and associated with the weather as the bringer of rain and water in an agriculturally water-driven nation. Its female counterpart is the Fenghuang (phoenix).

The dragon is the largest character I have painted to date. It took Mike Bam and I ten days to paint. It is equal to four normal sized pieces.



TORTOISE
The tortoise represents longevity, of steadfast effort, of deliberate action that inevitably leads to success. The combination of the Dragon and Tortoise combines the qualities of both animals into a potent symbol of success and longevity. Dragon Tortoise symbolizes good fortune and longevity.

Vogue and Erin Yoshi helped pull this tortoise together in 6 days.



David Platford came through and drew all the mountains. Vogue and I painted all the trees, which was the most fun, unrestricted things to paint in the whole project. The background was rolled out by many friends and students from Visual Element.





The two teeth under the tongue are my favorite things I painted in this production. I like the pink glow, the shadows, and the depth.



Here is the original mock up. We stayed pretty faithful to it.



We could not have done it without the help of many friends and supporters. Thank you all!

Clarion Alley Mural Cuba x Estria x Ceyba

Here's a two day production I did with the legendary Cuba in San Francisco's famous Clarion Alley. It runs between Mission St. and Valencia St. between 17th and 18th Streets.

We painted this freestyle jam a week after the Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle in October. It was a huge honor for me to finally paint with one of the first graffiti artists on the west coast. Cuba started painting in '79 in Baltimore and got serious in SF in '83. It was also an historic moment for me as it was my first mural in Clarion.



Cuba's health is not good, yet no complaints. He just got up on the ladder and did his thing. You got to admire that. Such a cool, humble cat. Doesn't call himself a king despite a long list of firsts under his belt. The man just loves to paint, and you can't help but feel that around him. It's contagious.



Clarion is well known as a mural alley. Whereas SF's first mural alley, Balmy Alley is known for political murals, Clarion is known for being open to subject matter. Yes it does include some hipster stuff.





Thanks to Ceyba for video taping and interviewing Cuba. (We'll post later.) Thank you also for bringing the family and homies and making it a great day to be alive in la Mission.



Photos courtesy Mike Bam Tyau

Custom Painted Adidas Auction Sat. 10/31 San Francisco

Shoebiz SF x Adidas x Living Word Project
Don't Sweat the Technique: Kicks & Cans

Graffiti writers from this past year's battles will paint 20 pairs of Adidas Shelltoes and Stan-Smith kicks for an auction to help youth in Oakland and orphans in Africa. Shoebiz will donate all proceeds to: YouthSpeaks.org & YouthAgainstPoverty.com

Participating Artists in Custom Painted Shoe Auction

Hawai'i:
Estria :: Eukarezt :: Katch :: Bam

Chicago:
Chucho :: Melon :: Rome Won :: Tsel :: Like DC5 :: Gloe

New York:
Cekis :: Queen Andrea :: Cern :: Wane

California:
Max Ehrman Eon75 :: Vogue :: Vyal One :: Twick :: Chez

12noon - 6:00PM

Shoe Biz + Adidas Concept Shop
1420 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94117

More info and photos of the shoes here: www.shoebizsf.com

Queen Andrea AOK, of New York City

Katch, of Hawai'i

Chucho DC5, of Chicago

Tsel, of Chicago

Eukarezt, of Hawai'i

Max Erhman Eon75, of Florida

Gloe, of Chicago

Rome Won, of Chicago

Chez, of the Bay Area

SHOEBIZ x Adidas is a proud sponsor of the 2009 National Finals in Oakland, CA. Prizes for winners and shirts were provided for all contestants.

Pecha Kucha Oakland Slide Show Friday, Oct. 9th

Eastside Arts Alliance, Hard Knock Radio, Samurai Graphix and Youth Speaks Present:
Pecha Kucha Night Oakland
Don't Sweat the Technique: Graffiti for Social Change



Friday, October 9, 2009, 7:30-10:30pm
2277 International Blvd. Oakland, CA 94606

Admission $5
Seating is LIMITED, so show up early!
All ages welcome. Beer and wine bar open to over 21.

10 presenters, 20 slides each, 20 seconds per slide

Confirmed presenters (out of 10 slots):

1. Jim Prigoff, co-author of Spraycan Art, Walls of Heritage Walls of Pride, and Graffiti New York
2. Brett Cook Dizney, nationally renown community artist
3. Marc Bamuthi Joseph & Bethanie Hines, presenting Life Is Living
4. Spie TDK
5. Nancy Hernandez, San Francisco community activist
6. John "Prime" Hina, founder of 808urban.org
7. Steve Grody, author of Graffiti LA
8. Erin Yoshioka, of Trust Your Struggle Collective
9. Estria

Awarded "Best Intersection of Arts, Politics and Powerpoint" - East Bay Express annual Best of the East Bay Edition, August 5, 2009

Two years ago, Oakland Graffiti muralist Estria Miyashiro was invited to participate in Pecha Kucha Night Honolulu, but was unable to attend. Since then, he has brought Pecha Kucha Night to Oakland and enlisted the help of EastSide Arts Alliance (ESAA) and Hard Knock Radio (HKR). Estria felt it was a great format for local visual artists to share their work informally with many different people outside of a gallery setting. Estria explains, "Pecha Kucha is a great way to expose your art to many professionals in other fields in one quick-fire burst."

ESAA and the EastSide Cultural Center is the official home of the bi-monthly Pecha Kucha Night Oakland. ESAA is known for presenting cultural events that connect art with politics, and Pecha Kucha Night Oakland is no different. Maisha Quint of ESAA relishes the opportunity to take Pecha Kucha to another level. "We are gonna flip the script on Pecha Kucha by presenting artists that are really saying something about the human condition and the state of the world. We know that Pecha Kucha started as a way for designers and architects to present their work and we respect that and will be honoring the original format. Our focus will be on designers and architects of social change."

Each Pecha Kucha Night Oakland has a theme, and Weyland Southon of Hard Knock Radio is usually responsible for coming up with something appropriate. For this edition, the choice was a no-brainer. We decided to curate an all-graffiti lineup to celebrate revolutionary artwork, in conjunction with the 3rd annual Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle.

Keeping with the tradition of the original Pecha Kucha Nights in Japan, each Artist will present 20 images and speak on each image for 20 seconds. Pecha Kucha Night Oakland is part of a global network of Pecha Kucha Nights that happen in over 500 cities worldwide.

For the full Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle events and information, check out estriabattle.com

Can Film Festival Thursday, Nov. 8th Free!

Hard Knock Radio, Samurai Graphix, 1AM Gallery, United Playaz and Youth Speaks Present:
Graffiti Film Festival
"Don't Sweat the Technique: The Can Film Festival"

Thursday, October 8, 2009, 6:00-9:30pm
1:AM SF Gallery
1000 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94127

Free Event!
Seating is LIMITED, so show up early!
All ages welcome. Street food vendors will be present.

Doors open 5:30pm, Shows start promptly at 6:00pm
Panel discussion immediately following the films. Moderated by Jeff Chang, author of Can't Stop Won't Stop
Panelists: Kevin Epps, Dr. Susie Lundy, Erin Yoshi, Estria

Food carts by Adobo Hobo and Brazilian Bites

6:00PM- Bomb It
7:30PM- Panel discussion
8:00PM- Style Wars

Featured Films:
Style Wars (1983)


Directed by Henry Chalfant & Tony Silver. 69 minutes

Some call it tagging, some call it writing, still others call it bombing--it's all graffiti. Whether it's art or not is another matter, but it's undeniably illegal. Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant's historic PBS documentary Style Wars tracks the rise and fall of subway graffiti in New York in the late 1970s and early 1980s. At the peak of its popularity, graffiti was as much a part of B-boy culture as rapping, scratching, and breaking. The filmmakers present a sympathetic, but well-rounded portrait of their subject through extensive interviews with taggers--notably Seen, Kase, and Dondi--art collectors, transit authorities, and even Mayor Ed Koch, who would eventually put the hammer down. Along the way, they documented the burgeoning breakdance scene, with a focus on the world-famous Rock Steady Crew. The soundtrack features selections from Grandmaster Flash, the Treacherous Three, and other tagger-approved icons of old-school hip-hop. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
www.stylewars.com

Bomb it! (2008)



Directed by Jonathan Reiss. 93 minutes

BOMB IT is the explosive new documentary from award-winning director Jon Reiss investigating the most subversive and controversial art form currently shaping international youth culture: graffiti.

Through interviews and guerilla footage of graffiti writers in action on 5 continents, BOMB IT tells the story of graffiti from its origins in prehistoric cave paintings thru its notorious explosion in New York City during the 70's and 80's, then follows the flames as they paint the globe. Featuring old school legends and current favorites such as Taki 183, Cornbread, Stay High 149, T-Kid, Cope 2, Zephyr, Revs, Os Gemeos, KET, Chino, Shepard Fairey, Revok, and Mear One. This cutting edge documentary tracks down today's most innovative and pervasive street artists as they battle for control over the urban visual landscape. You'll never look at public space the same way again.

BOMB IT has shot in Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Tijuana, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Hamburg, Berlin, Cape Town, São Paulo, and Tokyo. --from the website
www.bombit-themovie.com

For the full Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle events and information, check out estriabattle.com