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Thursday, September 27, 2012

Lac Du Flambeau/ Ojibwe (Midwest III)

A visit to Lac Du Flambeau "lake of the flames" Ojibwe band near Lake Superior. I was fortunate enough to participate in doing a youth workshop with this community. I hope the pictures speak for themselves. This was a great experience working with the people and youth of this northern woodland tribe in northern Wisconsin. In the end the youth schooled me on who they are, and as a collective we created a mural that speaks to who these people are and the legacy they carry on. This community project is one of my favorites to date. Thank you to everyone involved, and for having me.

Jazmine after our walk through her community...she gathered a feather and other natural materials.

A boarding school dorm

"Gi Waabanda Min (What we collectively see)

Traditional birch bark artwork and floral patterns

Down the lake

Ojibwe floral pattern beadwork

The primer

This community is named after an event in which French traders witnessed Ojibwe fisherman spearing fishing at night from their canoes on the lake...with torches guiding them.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Milwaukee(Midwest part II)

My 1st time in MKE(Milwaukee). For about 7 days I was back and forth between Chicago to the south and Lac Du Flambeau Ojibwe Reservation in Northern Wisconsin(Check back for part III).

MKE has a contrast of newer starbucks gentrified areas such as the 3rd ward south of downtown, to old, dirty, grimey abandoned areas of an obsolete era of early to mid 1900's industrial warehouses made of "cream city brick". I personally dig the decay of past footsteps.(Cream City brick is a brick made from cream or light-yellow colored brick made from clay in the Menominee River Valley and the western shore of Lake Michigan.)

MKE night time tourism

2:30am site seeing. Some serious camera power going on.

Ghosts of the past

Light at the end of the tunnel(river)?

In the end Milwaukee shows its age and past. Green hills, trees, lakes...and a history of diverse architecture with everything from Victorian Gothic, Art Deco, Post Modernism and more. Not my choice in cold ass winter weather...nor mid summer humidity and heat. But not a bad first visit. And props to the Potawatomi tribe with their trust land Casino in the Menominee valley south of Downtown. Or at least I thought that was interesting?

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Chicago (Midwest part I)

Back in the desert after a few days in the midwest. Had a chance to paint a spot in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood of Nw Chicago. Thanks to Tony "Once" for the spot.

process

Downtown at night. Its been many years since my last visit. Good to see you again Chicago.

CTA outside Taco Chino in uptown.

This one's for you Daniel and Niba at Phxtaco.com. I hit up this joint Taco Chino with my friends Chris and Debra Pappan along with their daughter. Fusion place with Korean BBQ Tacos and 1 or 2 other fusion items. Pretty damn good I must say.

"Not For Tourists"-Taco Chino

How ironic...I fly half way across country......and there is a giant mural on the wall of some Saguaro Cactus. Felt right at home...but seriously..wtf?

And some good local mural works in the Belmont Cragin area.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Az Central Mural Tour

I haven't been able to work out why part of the screen is cut off when I post videos? Still working on it so you can see the whole thing. This video was posted by Azcentral.com in collaboration with Daniel Mills who runs the local Phoenix street art website www.phxtaco.com I believe this was back at the start of the year? Anyhow...you can follow the link to the actual page and view the whole video...OR just click the full screen icon in the bottom right hand corner of the vid..which is visible. sorry again. hopefully i can figure it out.

http://www.azcentral.com/video/1367191922001

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Apache Rez: Doug Miles, Thomas Greyeyes, Colton Brock.

Recently my long time friend Douglas Miles of Apache Skateboards brought up the idea that we should collaborate on a wall mural in San Carlos Az. (on the Apache Reservation). Along with Thomas Greyeyes and Doug… the 3 of us came up with a mural concept which each us would travel to each other’s communities/reservations etc…and create a collaborative piece of art in each of those areas. On this trip to SC, mutual friend, artist and all around good dude, Colton Brock joined the mix on the walls of the San Carlos Skate Park.

Upon arriving into San Carlos, one of the first things you notice is a Skate Park on the right hand side that is next to a community center. This would be our canvas for the next couple of warm sunny days. Less than an hour into starting on the first day, Tribal Police pull up and give us a hard time. With a bit of misunderstanding we had to postpone working on the wall for a couple hours. In the end we worked it out and were back to painting.

Doug Miles created a life size illustration with Colton creating a background based on the surrounding environment…such as the flat volcanic mesa tops, electrical poles and large amounts of bamboo bushes that seem to be everywhere. Of course the bamboo is not indigenous to the land, but today is a noticeable image around the community.

Tom Greyeyes produced a piece based off a photo of his girlfriend Grace kissing a sort of Halloween looking mask of a wolf. I can’t remember but I believe Tom is actually wearing the mask. My contribution to Doug and Colton’s piece was more decorative, and with Tom’s piece it was background and an interesting co-lab at that. I look forward to more.

In the end, countless paint cans were empted, gallons of water consumed with an equal of amount of sweat poured out. Young skateboarders who frequent the park, sat and watched while taking breaks from their own craft. Food shared, stories exchanged, honks from people passing by.

“I think this piece is not what people are used to seeing. Its ‘odd’…but this makes it good. It’s outside of Phx to so people look at it different..” -Douglas Miles

For me personally, San Carlos is familiar in more ways than one. I have memories as a kid of traveling to SC for sunrise ceremonies with my uncles. My stepdad who raised me is from San Carlos, and (his mother) my grandmother Cherry taught me a lot about Apache people as a child. SC holds many hints of similarities to that of my own communities of Salt River, Gila River and Sells Az. SC can be a difficult place to live, but its home for many, and I get that feeling of home and can relate even though I'm not from there. The community itself has its ups and downs. I know these struggles and triumphs very well, and I am thankful for being raised the way I have. Not everyone can comprehend what it’s like to live on a Reservation in the United States. Regardless, San Carlos is a place of people with a long history and legacy... its also a place of everyday people living and surviving with many stories to tell. The walls of the park are just a couple stories translated in paint.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

The Painted Desert Project (part 2)

Painted Desert Project (part 1 red lake)

If you're not familiar with Jetsonorama, he is a wheat paste artist based out of Shonto, Arizona on the Navajo Reservation. I collaborated with him on a billboard project here in Phoenix back in November. We also displayed work together at the show titled "Rezolution" which took place at The Hive, right below the billboard piece.

Recently Jetsonorama organized a project called "The Painted Desert Project". Here is a brief description from the project's fb page "The Painted Desert Project seeks to bring a diverse array of dynamic street art by artists from all over the world to roadside structures in western agency of the Navajo nation." The painted desert project has had heavy support from people such as the residents and businesses of the Navajo Nation(from Cameron to Kayenta and more), as well as people such as photographers Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant. Participating street artists from all over also include Thomas Greyeyes (Arizona),Labrona (Montreal), Gaia (Baltimore), Overunder (Nevada), and Doodles(Washington) with more to come.

These are some shots of Red Lake trading post in Tonalea, Arizona where I worked on a collaboration. Jetsonorama put up the image of a man who was known as "King" Fowler. King is one of the few remaining Navajo Code Talkers from WWII. Myself being raised heavily on respecting one's elders(no matter what tribe) and honoring our warriors(veterans etc)..I was extremely honored to participate in the tribute to this man as well as to bring art to the community of Tonalea, which is a beautiful area along with good hearted people. I felt right at home as if I were on my own tribal community lands.

As I was working my way up and down the ladder, I was surprised how busy this place was. Built in 1884, the Red Lake trading post has stood the test of time both business wise and structurally. The man who runs it now is named Lorenzo, and is actually the nephew of King Fowler(the man in the wheat paste image).

Before my trip up to the Northern Navajo reservation, I had only been to the southern and eastern parts of the land. This trip reminded why I love places that are isolated and away from all the chaos and bullshit that pecks away at our being when we are immersed into large metropolis cities and or are constantly being bombarded with society's hick ups and confrontations. I also recognize the hardships these people go through, as well as the efforts to fight and protect the land and culture... hell even just the right to exist as human beings.

In the words of The Impressions(Curtis Mayfield)..."Keep on pushin"

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