T
ALKING OFF THE WALL Your CommUNITY Street Artist’s Voice
FACEBOOK /talkingoffthewall INSTAGRAM @talkingoffthewall Editor in Chief: Pascal Doytier
Saturday, December 27th Fabulousity B/W Affair to Feature Palm Beach artist, James Rabidoux, and German Cultural Instigator, Uta Brauser
Managing Editor: Clara Vanessa
Rolando Chang Barrero Fine Art 711 Lucerne Ave, Lake Worth 6-9pm
Art Direction: Gabriel “GG” Gimenez
FAT Village Art Walk
Masthead/Logo: GG Artwork
North Andrews & NW 5th St, Fort Lauderdale 7-11pm
Cover Photo: Portrait of Luis Valle by Rodrigo Gaya
Flagler Village Art Walk
Graphic Design: Greg Gayle Centerfold Poster: “ROYAL CONDOR” by Luis Valle Photo by Sandro Abate Ads & Events due by the 10th of each month talkingoffthewall@gmail.com TOTW talented writers, amazing photographers, contributors, unconditional supporters, artists and friends:
Christy Thompson, Sandro Abate, Barbara de Varona, Sean R Sullivan, Craig Ledermann, Andrew Kaufman, Jonathan Delgado, Sunshyne Reels, Myra Wexler aka Yo Momma, Yuval & Lorie Ofir, Sookie & Maddie Endo, Danelle & Michele Pino, Zoel Zupstar, David McCauley, Renda Writer, TMNK aka Nobody, Luis Valle, Able Gw, Ivan Roque, Chy Tea Shoulin, Danny Ferrer, Kelo, Jorge Rodriguez, Subi Roberto, 2Square, Kazilla, The DOWW, Leza One, HecOne, Diana Contreras, Atomik, Jenny Perez, Evoca1, Trek6 & Lizzie Easton-Montes, Don Rimx, Nate Dee, Ruben Ubiera, Jay Bellicchi, Eduardo Mendieta, Yuhmi Collective, Aquarela Sabol & Sharif Salem, Douglas Hoekzema, Asek, Buddah Funk, Derek Wilson, Effis Art, Registered Artist, Rigo Leon, 8bitlexicon, Steven Reyes, Sergio Quinonez, Krave Art, Luis Berros, Tee Davis & Jessica Schnur, Abstrk, Astre74, Gons, Ernesto Kunde, Monique Lassooij, Eleazar Delgado, Joshua Kingston, Ramzi Adek, James Brutus, Rolando Chang Barrero, Jake Cordero, Craig O’Neil, Hector Garcia @ The Hangar, Gregg Shienbaum, Nadia Desjardins, Stefanie Caro, Tesoro Carolina, Justin Hamel, Yess Miakoda, Chor Boogie, Lee Hoechstetter and my children, Lucas, Maxence and Shayna. Kudos to John and his team at Artist & Craftsman Supply Store for your help and support with TOTW Art Basel ’14 project… Special thanks to Steev Rullman & PureHoney Magazine for believing in TOTW and making it possible. Peace
MAC Fine Art Gallery, 833 NE 4th Avenue, Ft Lauderdale
Thursday, January 1st HAPPY NEW YEAR Friday, January 2nd The Downtown Miami Art Walk
McCormick Place, 111 SW 3rd St, Miami 1st Friday of the month 6-10pm
Sunday, January 4th Average Joe Sale
Yo Space 294 NE 62nd St, Little Haiti 3-8pm
It’s a new year and we’re ready to put our money where our mouth is again. The whole idea behind these Average Joe sales was to make it possible for everyday people to be able to support their local artists by presenting art work in a laid back environment at affordable prices. In the interest of showing you how dedicated we are to supporting the local art scene, this month we’re donating a portion of all sales to an organization that has been doing just that for way longer than we have, @Life Is Art, Inc.
Wednesday, January 7th Gringo Bingo
Wood Tavern 2531 NW 2nd Ave, Wynwood Arts District 1st Wednesday of every month starting at 7pm
Thursday, January 8th Wynwood Arts District Collectors’ Night
Opening & Preview in most Art Galleries for Collectors & Media
Saturday,January 10th Wynwood Art Walk
Art Gallery, Public Art, and Event Space 7-11pm NW 2nd Ave (between NW 20th & NW 36th St), Wynwood Arts District
Talking Off The Wall Mag would like to take this opportunity to thank each and
First we would like to give a million thanks to Steve Rullman from PureHoney Magazine for bringin our vision.
To all of our sponsors who have supported and believed in us and in this exciting project, without incredible journey. To the Florida House Experience who has been a key supporter and has held taurant joined in with Pride & Joy BBQ, WYN 317, Brisky Gallery, The Miami Sign Shop, Gully Art, W introduced May 2014.
Later this year other sponsors, who believed in TOTW, joined us in this amazing journey. Undergrou Company, The Hangar Gallery, Rated Art Print & Design Studio, Artist & Craftsman Supply Store, M Design, Wynwood Mural Tours, Sean Was Here, Wynwood Embassy, Lemoni Café, Friends of the M
To all the Artists who have trusted us with their work, their Art. Thank you for believing in us and be
“I Am The Street Art Voice and #IAMWYNWOOD” Thanks a million Barbara De Varona for your vi
To all of our volunteers, our writers, our photographers, who have shared your experience, your o port and your selfless ways TOTW could not exist. Thank you all and we wish you all a Happy and Talking Off The Wall ~ TOTW | Pascal Doytier & Clara Vanessa
Saturday, January 17th Art Walk on Wilton Drive
The Art Walk is held on the 3rd Saturday of each month, Nov. 15, 2014, thru Apr. 18, 2015, along the 1.1 mile Wilton Drive, in the Wilton Manors Art & Entertainment District. 7-10pm
Downtown Hollywood Art Walk
Hollywood Blvd. /Harrison St. & Tyler St. 7-10pm
Bird Road Art Walk
Experience Miami’s Art Scene Conveniently Located Just East of the Palmetto Expressway (SR 826) & South of Bird Rd (SW 40th St), The Majority of the Studios Are Located off of SW 74 & SW 75 Ave, Miami
Friday, January 16th thru Sunday, January 18th Art Deco Weekend Festival
OCEAN DRIVE (between 5th & 13th) Art Deco Weekend 2015 celebrates 100 years of history, architecture and people!
Saturday, January 17th & Sunday, January 18th The 2015 Beaux Arts Annual Festival of Art
Join us for the 64th Annual Beaux Arts Festival of Art - Miami on the beautiful grounds of the University of Miami Lowe Art Museum. Over 230 artists, vendors and entertainers. 1301 Stanford Dr, Coral Gables
Thursday, January 22nd thru Sunday, January 25th Art Palm Beach 2015
ArtPalmBeach celebrates its 18th anniversary at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. 650 Okeechobee Blvd. WPB
Saturday, January 24th Art Synergy Art Week 2015: The Art Walk at Boynton Beach In conjunction with Art Palm Beach 2015 422 W Industrial Ave, Boynton Beach
d every one of you who have made 2014 a Fantastic year for us!
ng Talking Off The Wall project live to its printed form. Thank you for the support and for sharing
t you we would not exist. To Ocean Grown Glass Gallery who were the first to sign up in this our hand every step of the way. Along with these two amazing supporters, the R House ResWynwood Tour Guide and the Bakehouse Art Complex. With all this support our first issue was
und Color Studio, The Wynwood Brewing Company, State Pride Roofing, Alltech Environmental Miam CafĂŠ & Boutique, Havana Coffee & Tea Company, Virtue Vape, Rik De La Valetta Interior Miami Marine Stadium, Ronik Seecharan D.M.D., P.A. and Whole Foods Market.
elieving that our vision comes purely from the love that we share for Urban Art.
ision.
opinions, your skills and your desire to help without asking for anything in return. Without your supd Prosperous Year.
LUIS VALLE How did you get started in the art world? I always knew I would be an artist or an athlete ever since I was a little kid. When I was a kid I loved NFL Football, and that is what I used to play. Then after time I knew I wasn’t going to grow any bigger so I started working on the other thing, art. I was always the best artist in Luis Valle | Photo by Rodrigo Gaya elementary school and then in high school, I got into graffiti and stuff; which was a lot of fun and a way for me to express myself. I’d go out onto the streets with a friend of mine, Heist, we go roll out together. We would paint the streets in Miami and we used to go to Malibu a lot and practice painting out there. We’d watch the older guys do their thing, and learn from them. Once I was getting into college, I stayed away from doing the graffiti and got more into the fine art thing. I had a great professor in high school that taught me a lot and showed me a lot of amazing artists. I really started to enjoy all kinds of aspects with art, not just the graffiti; which is a lot of fun, but I started to gravitate more toward doing canvases and learning what it was that fine artists and professional artists from around the world were doing for many, many years. You are originally from where and where were you raised? I am from Nicaragua, Managua and was raised in Miami. My family came here when the war happened in 79’ and we were split. I grew up here in the US, mainly Miami, but I went to school in Tallahassee, attending Florida State. Then I got my Master’s at NYU in NY. Luis, how would you describe your “style” these days? My style is a blend of indigenous cultures. I blend aboriginal cultures with preColumbian, African, Polynesian…just anything that is native and indigenous. I try to portray that into my own work, because I feel that in the western world, what art is all about is kind of lost. In the eastern world, art was part of the spirituality, is part of the religion, is part of the person making the art; was the shaman, priest, chief; and was an important part of society. The art was made for a spiritual purpose for some sort of divination. Whereas in the western world; art is for fashion, for putting it behind your couch, for putting art in galleries and that kind of thing. So there is a certain aspect that’s lost with art here in the western world. Who is “El Chan Guri”? Chan Guri is a nickname my grandmother gave me when I was really young, since I was like 5 years old, she gave me that name. It was always like a funny name and my uncles, aunts, and cousins would call me, El Chan Guri, which is like a lovable nickname that I really never knew what it meant. It is what I use when I put my stuff out there. There are a lot of meanings in many cultures, so I am not sure of the true meaning. When you are in NY, do you get a different feel versus painting in Florida? Oh, yeah, definitely. In New York, when you look at the work I did over there and also the stuff I was going thru was a lot different. It was more surrealistic, a little bit darker, a lil bit more seedy. Here in Miami, I always use a lot of colors in my work. But here in Miami it has gotten a little more graphic, a blend of poppy-ness with a mystical feeling to it. Seeing what people like down here and what they gravitate to, in a way forced me to rediscover what I was doing and change it up a bit. Just do some new things, because what people are responding to in NY vs. Miami, everything is different depending on where you are. As a gallery director and art curator, how do you position yourself when you are doing a mural on the street? When I am on the street and doing my stuff, that is when I am no longer director or curator, I am Luis the artist. So I don’t even look at it like that. I am doing what I do as an artist. Have you done any graffiti or tagging? Yes, of course. Like I said in High School, I did lots of graffiti. My Character, El Shamansito, is what I use if I am doing any kind of street work; which is something that I invented when I was 17 years old and was doing graffiti. So that is what I refer to when I am doing more graffiti kind of work. I still use cans a lot in my work on the street. But I am not necessarily using it to, let’s say, lettering with my name or to use on my character. I may use cans to express a different shading and what-not in my paintings. So the can for me is a tool that I would use, like a brush. It is just a way to get paint down faster, get down certain lines, and to essentially use it for what it is for. I love using spray cans; they are a lot of fun. Are you more of an eclectic artist? Yeah, I do a little bit of everything. I like to consider myself as a well-rounded artist; I don’t just do one thing. Even if you look at things from my past, you would think I was 7 different artists. It is because I have many different styles that I do and I like to dabble. Some people may know me as a body painter, know me as the guy that make the real crazy surrealistic pieces, some folks know me for the mystical stuff that I am doing now, some people know me from my shaman characters. I’ve done a lot of spiritual work and I have a large body of video work. I actually used to work in metal too. So I do a lot. If you could own ANY piece of art, whether historical, local, etc; what would it be? The Jungle, by Wifredo Lam, is probably my favorite painting of all time. He is an amazing artist that encompasses what I want to do in expressing my culture and heritage, my indigenous background and doing it in a fine art way. What does street art mean to you these days? Street art these days means when you are expressing yourself out there in a public place, where the public are going to see it out there and it is out there in your face. It is out there, it is an expression; it can be a mural, it can be a getup, it can be a tag, stencil; there are many different ways that street art can be expressed. Yeah, so it is whatever is out there on the street.