Art Official

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Vi fo sit r m fid or m. e ed in u fo rm at

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Editor’s Note..................................3 Droppin’ Knowledge............. 4-5 Creating His Own World.... 6-11 The Moving Art Show........ 12-15 Creating Success.....................16

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Publisher: Gavin Rochford Creative Director: Gavin Rochford Editor-In-Chief : Gavin Rochford

Created in 2012 at the Fashion Insitute of Design and Merchandising in San Francisco, California.

WWW.FIDM.EDU

I was infected with t h e creative virus at an early age. I’m not sure if my two older brothers gave me the disease or if I infected myself. I wasn’t born ar tistic or a talented ar tist like either of my brothers. Ar t and creativity came easily to them and you could see it through their work. Being the youngest, I always tagged along and wanted to do ever ything my older brother s did. They both used to create ar t all the t i me and they were ver y good at it. However, when I tr ied to be like them it never wor ked. Ar tistic talent never came easy t o m e . I though t I c o u ld o n l y c o n s i d e r my self a n ar tist if my ar twork l ooked l i ke ei t h er o f my b r other ’s wor k. Bu t af ter countless failures of trying to repl i cate w hat th ey did, I realized that ar t isn’t specific to one thing or one look. As long as I’m being c reative

an d p assio na t e about my work, ar t can be anything I want it to be .

I choose to poke f u n a t o u r so c iety ’s perception of what ar t is and is supposed to be. Ever yone wants to put a label on art or have a p rot o t y pe t h a t ar t i s supposed to look like; in reality ar t can really b e a n y t h i n g . N o t a l l ar t is su c c e ss f u l , bu t i t c a n b e w h a t e v e r yo u make it to be . The title Ar t Official , i s a p l a y o n the meaning of the word ar tificial and what real ar t is. It pu ts a r t i n p e r s p e c t i v e and asks what is real a r t ? Who gets to decide that? This magazine will present various styles, ar tists, and a r t w o r k to h elp rea de r s come up with their own answer. This magazine will help old, new, and aspiring ar tists find and embrace their creative virus.

Editor’s

Note

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Droppin’Knowledge We have already established that graffiti is generic and so is a container of varying forms, styles, uses and subsequently, their own names. Each of which are recognized in cities all over the world.

In the art world, those who appreciate art more than others are those who are educated enough to understand the art form, its artist and thus understand the art form in front of them. The same goes for graffiti, the ability to ident if y the graffiti style allows the viewer to understand the artist and their motivation in the creation scrawled, painted, etched or stenciled on/in the medium they have chosen.

Written by: Savva Pelou

Photos & Artwork : Unknown

What are the different types of graffiti?

Photos & Artwork : Unknown

Lesson #2 : Dos and don’ts in the Graffiti world

Getting Started

So, after seeing those murals /throw ups I’m sure your starting to get more excited about doing this? Not only is this a great place to learn new things and broaden your ideas and style, but there will also be a chance to request ar twork you’ve done to be placed on this page. Critique is one of the best ways to make sure that your actually getting somewhere with your art. When I say art, I mean art. I suppose now is the time to start with the lessons.

Lesson #1

Graffiti is an art! Don’t let anyone tell you that you are a vandal and your par t of the cause of all the graffiti vandalism around the world. Graffiti is a form of expression, and yes, part of that expression is possibly displaying it on the side of a building, or down an alleyway. The fact of the matter is, you are doing what you love to do. There are other ways that people express themselves but this is your niche.

Do not be a biter! A biter is someone who ste als ano ther ar t ist s st y le or even their whole p i e c e c l a i m i n g i t a s t h e i r o w n . T h e r e a r e numerous reasons why you would not want to do this. Even though Graffiti in society is considered vandalism, Graffiti artists will find a way to make sure yo u k now they are not happy with you stealing their artwork.

Lesson #3 : Do your research

I know that from time to time you are s i tting at home or maybe in class or at a fr iends house and you star t writing and drawing new ideas t h a t f l o u r i s h in y o u r m i n d . T h i s i s m o r e th an ok ay, b ut b e careful if you de c ide to use something y o u ’ v e been draw ing on the stre e t s or for publicity purposes. Hence the title; DO YOUR RESEARCH. Make sure before you commit to a certain name or design you are not running the risk of biting someones n ame or d e s i g n . I myself have run into this problem many times before and have drawn multiple designs and even gone as far a s u sing those designs for public arts u nt il I d id my research and dis covere d that there was an ar tist who had already beaten me to the p unch. T h e r e f o r, I had to respectfully change my name I was w r i t ing. T here are al way s dif ferent things you have to be aware of and look o ut for. Be respectful of ar tists who have been writing their specific name or design for a certain period of time.

Written by: Noah Breeze

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Sam Flores Art Work by: Sam Flores Written by: Alice from My Modern Met

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Creating his own world

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Some might say that Sam Flores was born an ar tist.

Painting and drawing since he was a little boy, Flores is always looking to develop his creative side, no matter how much success he’s achieved. He paints characters that are i m m e r s e d in tragic worlds, where beauty and darkness seem to be able to harmoniously coexist. Given their brightly colored surroundings, w hy are his ch arac ters ’ e yes almost always closed and their hands tightly clenched?

F l o re s t e l l u s t h a t t h e y a re “hiding from the viewer, blind to their surroundings. They are withdrawn and self-involved. To see into their eyes means that you can see into their souls.”

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The artist was born in New Mexico where he lived for the first twenty years of his life until he packed up and moved to San Francisco in 1995. His paintings take inspiration from his years as a graffiti artist but also have elements of fine art in them. He has a keen eye for color and contrast, creating spellbinding stories that make y o u fe e l a s t h o u g h y o u ’ v e fallen down a rabbit hole.

We were able to get in touch with Sam to ask him more about his work. Read that interview, b e l o w, a f t e r e n j o y i n g h i s stunningly surreal paintings.

Sam Flores, the artist:

You started with graffiti i n 1 9 9 2 a nd h ave since moved to more fine art. How has your style evolved?

I was a product of the ‘80s and ‘90s; growing up skating, listening to punk and hip-hop, reading comic books and watching Japanimation.

Since I grew up with Mike Giant and Agree, I got a lot of inspiration from them and other graffiti writers from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

You’re a self-taught artist.

How long did it take you before you found your style?

I’m still tr ying to develop myself every day. The stuff I’ve been doing so far has just been the tip of the iceberg in the sense of what I’d like to do. It’s time

to develop more. Things tend to get stale with everyone so it’s always good to keep evolving and changing. We all have so much to learn...constantly.

How have you seen the street art movement change over the years? In your opinion, who are the ones leading

I’ve seen graffiti go f r o m underground, hated and misunderstood, to becoming mainstream and “in.” Now, a lot of OG writers have used the level of popularity to their benefit and do really cool projects in the cities. I really like what Espo h a s b e e n u p to, his city mural projects are killin’ it. Bansky, of course, is still doing cutting-edge shit. I like BLU and all those new stop-

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motion giant mural cats. There’s a lot of really great mural artists these days.

Os Gemeos are, hands down, the kings!

How does living in San Francisco influence your style?

I really like the eclectic melting pot of like and unlike-minded weirdos, wackos and artists and everything in between.

They all come to San Francisco in hopes of finding themselves or people like themselves. I get a lot of inspiration from the people as well as the city itself.

It’s constantly changing and evolving.

What’s the best part of your job, as an artist, and what’s the worst?

Best part is to do what I love every day. I’m constantly learning, teaching myself and finding myself. It’s great to be your own boss but it can also be very hard to balance your work with your personal life. You need to treat it like a job everyday and not just you sit around doing a little art every once in awhile.

But just being able to create for a living is indescribable, it’s been my dream.

What’s a typical day for you like?

Waking up around 8;30-9:00am, go over morning emails, then checking my

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daily list. I like to have my studio set up - paint ready on pallet, music playing Nagchampa. Then, I get a shower so when I’m ready I come downstairs and the studio is ready for a day of “studio time.” At night, I get on my computer, work on design work and check more emails. Then, I’m asleep around 2am. I like to work late into the morning usually, it’s calming and quiet and I find a lot of inspiration and ideas deep in the morning.

What’s your favorite piece and why?

My favorite stuff I haven’t created yet, everything I’ve done has just been learning exercises and tests. I liked this show I did at Joshua Liner’s old gallery called Lineage Gallery in Old Philly. I painted a lot of samurai, I like painting samurai.

You’ve worked with corporate sponsors and brand s . W hat ’s c o l l a b o r a t i n g with these companies like? How much artistic freedom do they give you?

It’s been good. Of course, different companies, different projects, different artistic freedoms, but all and all i can’t complain about anyone not letting me do what I’ve wanted.

Sam Flores ArtDesigns & 1. Shopping http://shop.upperplayground. com/s/artist/sam-flores

2. Official Website http://www.samflores.com

3. Official Blog What’s next for you?

I want to star t finishing some of my s t o r i e s and work on some animation projects. It’s a plan I’ve had since i first saw Ralph Bakshi’s animations Coonskin and American Pop and Fire and Ice.

What’s some advice you could give to aspiring artists?

To keep on creating and practicing. We will always be learning till the end. A n d d o n ’ t b e i n a n y h u r r y to get somewhere. Enjoy and concentrate o n t h e i n - b e t w e e n . T h a t ’s w h e r e all your personal development and skill comes in. Slow and steady...

Thank you so much for the interview, Sam. I can’t tell you how much we love and appreciate your work.

http://samflores-12grain. blogspot.com/

“We will always be learning tillthe end”

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LAFAYETTE

The Moving Art Show Photos by: Gavin Rochford & Unknown

ORINDA

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MACARTHUR

ROCKRIDGE

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19th ST/OAKLAND

12th ST/OAKLAND CITY CENTER

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WEST OAKLAND

EMBARCADERO

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Creating success....

Where Will You Succeed?

RISK

thinker

just talk

CREATIVITY

CEO

just talk

just talk

just talk hustler

designer

just talk

ACTUALLY DOING THE THING (Courage)

Written by: Anna Vital

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LOCATION: SAN FRANCISCO, CA 220 Fillmore Street, San Francisco CA 94117 [415] 861-1960 Everyday: 12 pm – 7 pm

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ART OFFICIAL COPYRIGHT 2012