I've grown to have a bend for the movement of street art, as I've recently learned so much about many, many artists who engage is this expression. I champion the artists who have the courage to take their art into the open, big and bold for all to see. The street is their canvas and I envy that as I don't have the courage to take it to that level. Meanwhile, I'll continue my bend to be a greasy oil painter and spot street art in San Diego whenever I can; it's like a treasure hunt to me. The movement  is powerful in imagery and subverts me often. It stops me right in my tracks with all its glory and message. I love how its ever evolving from the days of tags spray-painted on New York trains to street art images found on clothing. The biggest thrill of late was to meet Dave Persue who is a phenomenal street artist https://www.facebook.com/dave.persue. His work is worth following as he's very talented...  

Save Barrio Logan by FUERZA

Save Barrio Logan by FUERZA

There are several whimsical and even diabolical murals located at Chicano Park.  

One for example is crowned by a skull and cross bones in a cartoonish style.  It appears to be tagged on the forehead with the letters RTK, and I am uncertain if this was done at a later date or part of the mural.  The artist is named FUERZA so it appears not be his tag and wording similar to the artist name FUERA, without the Z meaning Outside also appears on the mural.  Additional, something looking like a sticker is under the chin of the skull and displays in all caps DEATH.  

The whole of the pillar is painted with a gray blue color in which the other objects appears.  Below the skull appear numerous crosses, some of which are standing vertical and others are tipped diagonally.  The crosses are dispersed below the skull in a haphazard manner with different color large dots of white and blue painted among them.    Most of the crosses are colored deep blue, some are white with a black outline of the cross, or pink again with a black outline of the cross.  There are also crosses of other colors as well, but not in as great of number as the one listed previously.  The inside of some of the crosses are filled either with blue heart or square shaped objects,  and some with white object that look like old fashion keyholes.  

The bottom of the mural is what appears to flames emitting from below the base of the mural onto the crosses above them.  The flames appear in different colors.  One such grouping is in orange/red/yellow and truly appears as hellfire licking a blue cross above it, which happens to be the largest cross in the mural.  Other flames are orange/pink in color, color yellow with red lines vertical ascending upward and one of blue that appears almost to be a road.  

I am not sure of the meaning of this except perhaps to note that Day of the Dead is a significant event in Hispanic culture, or perhaps as it lies in front of the majority of murals it is some form of glyph of protection or as a warning. 

"La Revolucion Mexicana” by Victor Ochoa

"La Revolucion Mexicana”  by Victor Ochoa

Needless to say Chicano Park in the Logan Heights community of San Diego is a meca for San Diego Street Art.  The many pillars which hold up the freeway connector and are part of the Coronado Bridge are adorned by artists with the primary focus of the art being the history of the area and Hispanic history.  

One example of an historical mural is "La Revolucion Mexicana” which has been classified as one of the most important shaping events in the history of Mexico,  basically pitted the surf verse the autocracy.  

This mural is done in the form of realism using brown, white and black as if to resemble an old historic photograph.  The only colors that appear to be used are those of silver, yellow and red which highlight the words La Revolucion Mexicana.  The mural is painted on an entire section of the support pillar and is made up of several distinct sections.  The top section of the supporting beam shows the revolutionaries dressed either as simple peasants or as banditos riding atop horses.  There are, what appear to be, at least two soldiers in regular regalia toward the rear of the photo.  The horses appear to be kicking up a cloud of dust as they march forward.  

 Right under this image is the title of the mural La Revolucion Mexicana written in bold red and highlighted underneath by lightening the area under the words.  While the word appear in the foreground of the mural behind it is crossed a machete and rifle and this is over laid by what appears to be a Quetzalcoatl symbol of a snake combined with a raptor with yellow feathers.  

Under this appears to be the model of the revolutionary himself.  That is one of a simple peasant, shouldering a rifle, and donning two belts of ammo cress crossing his chest.  The head sitting under the sombrero appears to have been painted using the image of a boy perhaps no older than 15 year old.  A stencil appears to be used on the lower half of the figure including the legs, shoes and supporting elements on the right and left of the model.   

The wording “I Rather Die On My Feet Than Live On My Knees.” , appears to be added to the 2011 restoration.  This expression is attributed to Emiliano Zapata whose portrait appears to be painted on the lower right top section of the pillar. 

 Ancestors by Maxx Moses

Maxx Moses is synonymous with Street Art in San Diego.  Many of the artists’ works adorn walls in our city.  Mr. Moses is quite proliferate and can been seen on YouTube as well as his own website http://posetwo.com/index.php which features the body of work by the artist. 

This work is quite large taking up the entire side of a building on Dewey Street in the Logan Heights area of San Diego.  Wow, now this is Street Art and it also appears to tell a story of not only black ancestry but also that of images, art, animals that proceed from the mind of the subject.  The form ranges from realistic in the feature of the black man to surreal which extend to the images that appear to be produced from the man’s mind.  Vivid color and bold strokes are used to tell a story.   From left to right , an image of a horse, zebra or perhaps a dragon emerges from the forehead and temple of the thinker and from this extends a rainbow of images apparently produced by what appear to be thought waves, evidence by white intertwining curved lines that resemble a ripple.  

From this ripple emerges a face, surreal in form which takes the shape of vegetation and again attempting to take on human form with an eye buried under the lush growth, which appears to be observing its own metamorphosis.   The image then progresses through an orgy of color and shapes to form a small figure which responsible a mammal, perhaps a fox, before going full pareidolia, and birthing a being whose features  - eyes, lips, nose - are those of humanity sounded by the soft silhouette of the animals in which it coexists.  The far right of the mural ends with the lower portion displaying the extension of a hand, which itself appears to be ‘willing’ the further extension of life by acting as an agent of the thought from which it was produced.  

Perhaps this man is a shaman whose original thought and vision birthed his own universe as many ancient creation myths would allude to.   Also as an aside this art form reminds me very much of the art by Alex Grey which is influenced by the shaman medicine brew 

 Also as an aside this art form reminds me very much of the art by Alex Grey which is influenced by the shaman medicine brew Ayahuasca.  Here too the images are ones produced by the mind which weave the way into the production of a world contained within itself. 

Hasta La Bahia!!!

“Hasta La Bahia!!”

We took a look at “Hasta La Bahia!!”, and even in my limited Spanish I understood this meant “To the Bay!!”.  The semi-realistic image shows two middle age people, one man and one women on either side of the bridge support pilings, holding a banner proclaiming Hasta La Bahia!!. 

The man appears adamant with his arms extending upward and waving the banner which itself appears to be rippling.  In front of the man, stand the Coronado Bridge and the ocean waters.  It’s unclear if the perspective of the man should actually be in the water as his legs appear to be silhouetted in it, or if this is from the vantage point of the viewer seeing the man approach the bay.  In either case, it appears to be a metaphor representing the power of the people looming larger the actual construction which dwarfs them.  

The woman carrying the other side of the banner displays facial features which appear to be that of joy unlike the serious manner of her male counterpart.  Additionally, the facial features of  the women are obscured, and this mural was recently restored one can only deem it must have purposes, which remains unknown, verses here mail counterpart whose features, even though in a semi-realistic form, are still clear.  As a brief aside, in my mind it appears that the women faded facial features resemble portraits subjected to rotoscoping.  Also, unlike her male counterpart, the woman clearly is silhouetted by the bridge.  Perhaps this was done to indicate that the protest was due in part to the construction of the Coronado Bridge.  

I researched this mural and it appears to have been completed in honor of the Logan Heights community participants who protested for a promised park to be placed under the bridge.   This park was to be completed as compensation for the home removed by its construction, and the expansion of the Naval Base.  It appears when residents were not informed of the proposed construction and were not solicited for their input as to the park’s design the protest began.  So in April 22, 1969, the community aided by other activists occupied the area for twelve days, after which concession where made to have a park designed by and made for the community.  

Also , interesting is that the several of the murals were restored in 2011.  “Hasta La Bahia!!” was one of the murals restored and it appears the bridge and water were added to the both the image of the man and that of the women.  It appears this addition was also to signify that the protest took place as well to protest the Naval expansion which blocked accesses to the beach.  

 

Street Art at Chicano Park, San Diego

My husband laughed when I took him by Chicano Park in San Diego and wondered if graffiti had lost its touch or as he put it, it's tag...I thought it was funny how he knew the word, being a 6' 2" blond hair blue eyed Caucasian of Norwegian decent.  However, he was born in Los Angeles, he is proud to say on “Sunset and Vein” and his family spent most of his youth moving farther from the “blight” and associated graffiti.  

He did however appreciate the murals at the park and he explained his original laugh was due to the fact that most of his life he had not associated these type of murals as street art.  Instead he had associated street art as the graffiti taggers used as their form of expression the type of which his family kept putting farther and farther in the rear view mirror.  Likewise the street art at Chicano Park are not tag nor have the murals themselves been tagged.  

The mural “Cosmic Clowns” has a surreal form and is drawn in an almost cartoonish fashion.  It appears the artist chose this form of pictorial to sooth children who played in the park, to perhaps divert their attention away from the more serious revolutionary aspects of many of the murals it surrounds.  However, it appears that several park supports found the mural to be a mock of the efforts made by them to have the area taken seriously.  Either way it still stands, and apparently must be held in some respect as no one had made an effort to tag the piece.  The image of three heads donning large eyes and ears appear to be more representative, in my opinion of Bat Boy then of clowns, but perhaps this is why they are cosmic and perhaps not of this world? 

 Kind of like Bat Boy… The feature perhaps overlooked by the protestors is the form of a heart entwined by a serpent with a dagger running diagonally through the center of the heart, a drop of blood rest above the head  of another “spirit” who is breaking free of the chains of bondage.  I am not certain what the “+” figure represents that is on the figure’s forehead, but the reaction of freedom, perhaps induced by the blood drawn from El Corazon…a tagger no less noted by my husband that signed such tags in a part to the Valley he grew up in Canoga Park.