ALVIN AILEY RETURNS

JUSTIN BUA THE ART OF IMMORTALITY

BUA jokes about how the school housed him in a dorm with the only other Puerto Rican student who hadn’t yet mastered English; citing the obvious ignorance of the times. BUA turns to a more serious page of his college education - a time that pit student against student in a rigorous, overly competitive program taught at one of the most renowned art schools in the world by some of the most brilliant art professors that valued draftsmanship over creativity. BUA sharpened iron with iron.

“It [Art Center] was good because it developed my killer instinct - some people have it and some people don’t. I did and I definitely refined it at Art Center.”

The Art of an Age. BUA shares that his first paying gigs began with artwork on skateboards, CD album covers, and on apparel. Growing in popularity, he was pulled into the vortex of mainstream-commercial art by an A-List of who’s who in advertising. Eventually BUA was able to make his art into posters of work that were reflective of his life experiences.

“I could be me. I started painting people from the hood - people I grew up around. My culture. People of color - and at that time, no one was doing that.”

Those looking for visual concepts best suited for major brands and celebrities in the entertainment world sought BUA to capture the attention of an ever growing urban market.

BUA’s list included the likes of MTV, EA Sports, Microsoft, Comedy Central, Oxygen, Toyota, and so on, and continued into the here and now, with his upcoming album cover with singer-songwriter Ne-Yo and a full list of newly commissioned works for major VIP clients.

However, with such a massive list of lifetime achievements BUA brings up the limited time we all have here on earth. Yet, at the same time he’s speaking of his own mortality he seems to miss the obvious - That he himself will, undoubtedly, when the time comes be listed and revered as one of the world’s greats. No different in legendary status then the artists who came before him, together, because of their works, living on for generations to come.

The Art of Immortality To pinpoint an understanding of the work of BUA in the time space continuum one may wish to distinguish between the points upon which it exist.

In one space some may want to pin BUA as a graffiti artist who works with oils and acrylics on canvas instead of the obvious - spray paint on concrete. What other style would dare showcase a world so drenched in urban culture? Right? Wrong.

At another point. Because of his many paintings of iconic figures, some may even try to reduce him to a caricature artist with a signature style. Right? Wrong.

BUA’s pieces find their place inside the distorted realty of a culture that didn’t always have value or intelligence. Yet, this realm did exist and very much reflected the realities of an unfamiliar urban America. The initiated musician, the Breakdancer, the innovative jazz player, the solitary baller; those playing without boundaries or outside the confinements of what was considered normal are perhaps the reason why they have been portrayed in such a way by the artist.

Look twice and think again. BUA’s paintings may just embody all that is unfamiliar, yet that which is forced upon his subjects by the effects of their existence. CONTINUED ON PAGE 10