Everyone should 'Krave' Art

Professional Biography
Daniel Aaron Fila, 27, holds a B.F.A from Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio and a Masters in Street Art from the School of Hard Knocks. He has lived and worked in the Miami area for more than ten years. A graffiti and street artist with a particular interest in murals, Fila has also worked on projects for corporate entities including MTV, The Discovery Channel, Sprite, and Greyhound. In 2003, Fila gained notoriety for his provocative 2003 "Erin" mural, a 13-foot, posterior-view nude (an homage to the South Florida chica) that graced the east wall of Oppenheim Architecture and Design in the heart of Miami.

When I first met Krave he was in Chicago painting live with Funk Master Flex for an And 1 event with Grey Hound at the United Center. His style was classic. He was painting a scene of men playing the blues. The subject matter was very appropriate for a guest to the Windy City. He had no eisel and was crouched down close to the ground. I thought he was very uncomfortable, but the piece was smooth. I could tell he was a serious artist by the way he blended the colours and strayed from the typical exagerations and shortcuts many of his contemporary artists would have sufficed for. He did not appear to be content with the finished product although people gathered occaisionally to 'ooh and ahh'. The most cultured people were drawn to his work. Judging from the style he was producing I would have no idea he was a graph inspired artist. His range is wider than most would think. He holds technical skill as a classically trained artist. Funk Master Flex and company continued to give him props and direct more people to the art, but it seemed almost out of place in that environment. Almost...As he toiled under the sun. He was very humble and was open to comment, critique and questions from everyone. His brow would furrow after every comment. He seemed too absorbed in the painting to enjoy the weather or even notice the events around him. He was still painting when I went to watch the game.

We met briefly and exchanged names, remarking on how we both chose the same 'tag' and decided to link later on in Wicker Park where he began to explore Chicago looking for a wall to get on. Krave has a strong opinion of street art, music and culture. He is passionate about his craft and he works very hard. I tried to show Krave some of the highlights of Chicago. He took it all in like a pro. He got up right away without flinching. When I got to Miami he and his girlfriend introduced Estacio and I to a world of exclusive Miami artists that create the party life you see in videos. But at his studio (the Tree House) he is a work horse. He credits his girlfriend for managing his busy schedule. She was extremley organized and logistical. Her professional nature was all business in the studio. She didn't seem to let her hair down until she was off the clock and ready to party. This kind of relationship allowed him to focus on art and be 100% creative he later divulged. He showed Estacio Villa and I his latest work for Art Basel and then we collaborated on some projects outside. He even took us to a pennant. I began to notice Krave's work all over Miami. Besides street art he is immersed withcorporate projects that keep his bills paid. I soon realized this guy was a "monster". Krave's monkey is turning Miami into an urbane jungle. The monkey is his logo for a new line of clothing and generally precedes him everywhere he goes. He was recently featured on a pod for Current TV. So I had to ask him a couple questions before he gets too famous.


QJ- How much has your father influenced your style?

Krave: He hasn't really influenced my style, but needless to say, I wouldn't be an Artist if it wasn't because of him. And thats not just because he had me, or passed along good genes. It's because he believed in me, and in turn I believed in myself. He is the main reason I am an Artist today.

QJ-Is street art in Miami more dominant than other cities?

Krave: It is a less conservative city than say Boston or Chicago, but the movement is alive and well in all big cities that I know of. The word "dominance" to describe an Art scene turns me off really. I don't like thinking about any scene being better than the next. Some scenes are way more developed, and energetic. Miami Graffiti is thriving again like it hasn't since the mid 90's. We've got a good thing going. Since the advent of the internet, most writers get their influence via dope crews from other cities, but we def have something original down here. It's wild flavor, color and diversity down here. I personally try to embody that as an Artist. A majority of the residents here are Latin, so you can see the influence it has on the Graff and street Art. For example, latin folks are a very rhythmic bunch. If you look at pieces, you see that rhythm amidst the flow of letters.


QJ- What does Art Basel mean to you?

Krave: The Art business is alive and well. I still don't understand the gallery business, but Art Basel is putting us on the map. Most of the sales go to the non-local galleries that attend. It is def giving Miami a rep for the Arts. We need it. But most of the galleries and Artist's down here still live the hard knock life. I for one, invested a ton of money and time trying to cash in last year for Basel, and it didn't pan out. The show was a success, although I didn't see the money. Most of my peers share the same feelings about it. There is just too many other big acts that are exclusive to Basel. My paper still comes from private and commercial commissions. I'm not seeing that gallery money yet. My gallery success will likely happen out of Miami first. Miamian's don't have to look hard to find me. But if I showed in NYC for instance, it would be too brand new and rare for people not to appreciate the unequivocal quality.

QJ-When do you paint the most?

Krave: When I get knocked down. When life knocks me on my ass, and I have to fight for my due respect. I could say when I'm inspired, but what is more inspirational than that fire burning in your gut when you get backed into a wall?

QJ-Why a monkey?

Krave: Because they do less harm than people do to the planet.. ha' no.. The "Fresh Monkey" you speak of took a life of his own early on. It wasn't a conscious decision. It started as a joke, and just caught on.

Slang in the street: Featured Artist of June

Legend. I have to concur. You hear things about people that have paved the road for you while you are growing up. Sometimes you wonder how much of it is true and if you'll ever get a chance to meet them and tell for your self. Well Slang lives beyond the hype. Way beyond it.

Let me highlight some of my time with him, because it was too overwhelming to record or even speak at some points.
First of all, Slang has a strong work ethic. He is not content with the accolades and where he is currently. (Although I don't know many artists that don't envy him.) The picture of Slang painted by some of the young guys is he is on top and chill'n. He left the Chi and he is milking up his rep in NY and at ease. Far from it. Slang is a hustler. He is hungry and he wants the world. The Art world that is...He is constantly working! He stopped to talk a couple minutes in the interview, but mostly he is reworking two or three peices at a time. In his head he must be refining at least seven or eight.

The work in his studio is ground breaking and thought provoking. Full of political and sexual content. But his work is detailed and full of perfection. It's not over the top and abstracted out of recognition. It's subtle and strong like him. He has his own style dress, talk, and walk. He is a true individual. Legends don't try to emulate anyone else and his persona shows in his painting as well.
He puts in time to support his friends art and he finds time to go to shows. He is very aware of all the art coming out and he takes it all in. He is even more focused on his family. His children are his biggest motivation and sense of being. They take priority over other phone calls, interviews, the countless people that stop him in the street; all have to get put on hold for a phone call from his daughter. He talks about his paintings like they are people too. Each piece has a special meaning, story and personality and life of it's own for him. I think he might actually talk to the work when no is around. (I do.)
He reminds me of Common Sense and Phil Jackson mixed with Quincy Jones and Picasso. He is part of the earliest sign of the Hip-Hop culture/movement in Chicago. He is not just a graph artist though. He is an artist that changed and contributed to graph since it came to the Chi. He is very Zen and meditates on life while creating it in his own imagery. He is in tune with music, musicians and can work a crowd into a frenzy with a brush. This dude has so much style and flair...
A walk with Slang is food for your brain too. Knowledge gets dropped on you in every sentence and he listens intentively. I truly see how his work can reach so many people, because he listens to so many people. I could not show you a lot of his work due to copy rights and because I don't want to. Biters- You have to see it for yourself.

Many big names have contracted Slang for work and related projects, it is almost insulting to just list some, but I 'll throw the monsters out: Disney, Marvel, Ecko and what else do you need to hear? I saw a painting of Beyonce (it used to hang in the walls of Mtv) that Jay-Z would never let out of his sight if he ever saw it in person. I saw a sketch for a gym shoe design that would have Jordan paying top dollar for.
His mastery of lines is so seductive your eyes seem to reveal in his sketches. He enjoys it I think. He is too busy to notice anyhow. To him, that's just his soul manifesting. He is working on his own animation project after collaborating with Disney. He is designing a Hulk* with a twist for some clothing label. He has posters out and he wants to get his suitcase full of sketch books out of his head and on to canvas/wood what-ever asap! He is in a group show here, there, everywhere. Slang is taking Chicago by storm, now that he's back.

The most surprising thing about Slang's genius to me is how humble he is. I think he is really shy or just really comfortable being modest. He lets his work speak for him. It screams out "I Am Legend!"

Featured Artist of the Month: Slang

Being born into a world of intrigue for an array of color and undying lines from the heart of Chicago's West Side in 1969 came Tyrue J Jones. With the nation's loss of the nations great leaders such as Malcom X, JFK and Dr. King left hardening impressions that dwelled within many of our counties black communities.

With the earliest life memory of being surrounded by what seemed to be creamy colors and painted wooden bars… not yet able to walk –yet able to visualize the ability to stand. As if the arms of color, with fingers of hues, tones and rendering lifted him, soon after would come the bright burning light followed by the familiar voices. Tyrue felt there was a need to tell a story that could not be expressed in words, but by color and well-defined lines

The sense of urgency grew stronger as there was a lack of necessities to feed this hunger. As a young child at the tender age of 4 and not yet able to read, Tyrue began to create a story that books had yet to tell him. This hunger soon grew became more of an obsession.

Tyrue "Slang" Jones is a natural talent, turned graffiti artist who's gift has evolved from the influences of early morning cartoons and soulful 70's feel-good music,to the likes of John Byrns, Neal Adams, Michelangelo and Da Vinci. Receiving his first commission at the age of 8 for a Sears Tower drawing from memory, it is a testament that he is noted as being one of Chicago's most influential graffiti artists of the Midwest . Contributing his dynamic and expressive illustration and structured stylize lettering helped to pave the way creating an identity in Chicago's early 80's artistic movement. By bending reality with his signature style of "Figurative Graffiti"which is Figurative painting, animation and abstractions of Typography (known to the world as the art of graffiti), Slang continues his gift as a Professional Artist/Illustrator/Painter/Animation Director/Graphic Designer with clients from the likes of Viacom, Warner Bros., General Mills, Glasco Smith & Kline, Disney, Verizon Wireless, Coca-Cola, Chicago's Museum of Science & Industry, Universal Music, Sony Music, NHL, Chicago Public School System, Urban Gateways, Flatfile Galleries-Chicago, and Corridor Gallery-N.Y etc.

From the iron subway cars that grace the urbanized landscapes throughout the Windy City ,to bringing life to some your favorite cartoons on-- early morning television, paintings that have veiled the walls of the Viacom Corp., residing within wardrobes and circulating on over 10 million albums sold, Slang is a true credit for creative inspiration and influence.

-AP



Mecceba Jones