Let’s conclude Cheech’s interview and exploration
of the roots of East L.A. graffiti and his conversation with another photographer… a Los Angeles native who came of age in the 1980s when New York graffiti entered the LA scene.
of the roots of East L.A. graffiti and his conversation with another photographer… a Los Angeles native who came of age in the 1980s when New York graffiti entered the LA scene.
ORIOL: “I was born in LA, I come from a Mexican family, so I grew up around Cholo graffiti. Then the new kind of graffiti came from New York—they started doing it out here in the 1980s.
I only started photographing in the early 1990s, but I was more into the old school, and I’m still that way.”
I only started photographing in the early 1990s, but I was more into the old school, and I’m still that way.”
ORIOL: “Cholo graffiti has other fonts in addition to Old English—there’s the western-looking, saloon-like letters; square letters; outlined block letters.
To me, they were more interesting than all the colors and the bubbles and the arrows and the stars and all that, which were common in East Coast graffiti. It was simpler, but I thought it was cooler, and it was bolder.”
To me, they were more interesting than all the colors and the bubbles and the arrows and the stars and all that, which were common in East Coast graffiti. It was simpler, but I thought it was cooler, and it was bolder.”
MARIN: “Is that a good thing? Are we supposed to think globally or should we cling to the specificity of our four blocks?”
ORIOL: “I think you keep the integrity of the four blocks and you hold on to that originality, that authenticity.”
ORIOL: “I think you keep the integrity of the four blocks and you hold on to that originality, that authenticity.”
Art in the Streets
Estevan Oriol pulls inspiration from the city and reflects its sensibilities in his work.
Southern California juxtaposes the glitzy and the gritty, and those extremes are visible both in Oriol’s choice of subject and execution. Whether he is photographing street life, fashion models, tattoos or lowrider culture, there is a voice in his work that is distinctly LA-bred.
Southern California juxtaposes the glitzy and the gritty, and those extremes are visible both in Oriol’s choice of subject and execution. Whether he is photographing street life, fashion models, tattoos or lowrider culture, there is a voice in his work that is distinctly LA-bred.
A native of Los Angeles’s Westside,
Estevan Oriol (b.1967, Los Angeles)
worked as a bouncer at several local hip-hop clubs in the late 1980s. After befriending rising local music stars Cypress Hill and House of Pain, he began traveling with the bands as tour manager in 1992 and documenting his experience in photographs.
About the same time, he met a fellow lowrider car aficionado who went by the name Mister Cartoon,
and by 1995 the two were business partners in the apparel line Joker Brand Clothing.
Estevan Oriol (b.1967, Los Angeles)
worked as a bouncer at several local hip-hop clubs in the late 1980s. After befriending rising local music stars Cypress Hill and House of Pain, he began traveling with the bands as tour manager in 1992 and documenting his experience in photographs.
About the same time, he met a fellow lowrider car aficionado who went by the name Mister Cartoon,
and by 1995 the two were business partners in the apparel line Joker Brand Clothing.
In 1995. Estevan Oriol (then known as DJ Scandalous)
and B-Real from Cypress Hill,
sat down with Mr. Cartoon to discuss a new venture,
Joker Brand Clothing.
As the line grew more successful. Oriol began to direct videos for musicians such as Cypress Hill, Xzibit, Eminem,
and Blink-182, working across a broad range of disciplines, including feature films, commercials, music,
fine art, and fashion.
Although Oriol has photographed many international subjects, such as Tokyo Bosozoku motorcycle gangs
and favela life in Brazil, he and his work are decidedly Angeleno, and his portraits of Los Angeles’s women, musicians, lowrider cars, Cholos, gang members, graffiti writers, and other characters provide a unique record of the city’s street culture over the past twenty years.
As a photographer, Oriol largely works with film and classic cameras, such as the Pentax 67, to create high-contrast black-and-white and color-saturated images.
and B-Real from Cypress Hill,
sat down with Mr. Cartoon to discuss a new venture,
Joker Brand Clothing.
As the line grew more successful. Oriol began to direct videos for musicians such as Cypress Hill, Xzibit, Eminem,
and Blink-182, working across a broad range of disciplines, including feature films, commercials, music,
fine art, and fashion.
Although Oriol has photographed many international subjects, such as Tokyo Bosozoku motorcycle gangs
and favela life in Brazil, he and his work are decidedly Angeleno, and his portraits of Los Angeles’s women, musicians, lowrider cars, Cholos, gang members, graffiti writers, and other characters provide a unique record of the city’s street culture over the past twenty years.
As a photographer, Oriol largely works with film and classic cameras, such as the Pentax 67, to create high-contrast black-and-white and color-saturated images.
Here’s a Tour de Force
of
“East Coast vs. West Coast Graffiti Yards”
by
'The Graffiti Wanderer'
“I like to share what I see in these places. I do not condone or encourage any illegal activity.
All content is for documentary purposes.” -TGW
of
“East Coast vs. West Coast Graffiti Yards”
by
'The Graffiti Wanderer'
“I like to share what I see in these places. I do not condone or encourage any illegal activity.
All content is for documentary purposes.” -TGW
Los Angelenos/Chicano Painters of L.A.: Selections from the Cheech Marin Collection
The Cheech Marin collection is notable for classic examples of Chicano art produced from the inception of the Chicano movement to the present, with a concentration in painting from the 1980s and 90s. This exhibition includes a number of widely exhibited works by such first-generation Chicano artists as Carlos Almaraz, Margaret Garcia, Gilbert “Magu” Luján, Frank Romero, John Valadez, and Patssi Valdez, whose artistic careers began during the Chicano civil rights movement in the mid-1960s to mid-1970s, as well as works by such younger artists as Vincent Valdez and David Flury. Los Angelenos/Chicano Painters of L.A. is a Los Angeles-focused selection of Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge, an exhibition of the Marin collection that toured nationally between 2001 and 2007.
The Cheech Marin collection is notable for classic examples of Chicano art produced from the inception of the Chicano movement to the present, with a concentration in painting from the 1980s and 90s. This exhibition includes a number of widely exhibited works by such first-generation Chicano artists as Carlos Almaraz, Margaret Garcia, Gilbert “Magu” Luján, Frank Romero, John Valadez, and Patssi Valdez, whose artistic careers began during the Chicano civil rights movement in the mid-1960s to mid-1970s, as well as works by such younger artists as Vincent Valdez and David Flury. Los Angelenos/Chicano Painters of L.A. is a Los Angeles-focused selection of Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge, an exhibition of the Marin collection that toured nationally between 2001 and 2007.
"Thanx, Cheech, for sharing your fantastic collection!
-and-
Congratulations on the success of your Art Museum,
'The Cheech'.
All my best to you, Homeboy!" -Roberto Quintana
-and-
Congratulations on the success of your Art Museum,
'The Cheech'.
All my best to you, Homeboy!" -Roberto Quintana
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