Eddie Colla X D Young V at The Cotton Mill Oakland

Our buddy Night Owl invited D Young V and I to do a piece for this project over by The Cottonmill Studios in Oakland back in July. It was a good Friday followed by a free barbecue Saturday. The City of Oakland even kicked in a few bucks on supplies for this project (I’m not sure who arranged that) and I will always take city money cuz they ALWAYS take mine.

D Young V X Eddie Colla “Memento Mori”

Art Works Downtown is excited to present: “Memento Mori” a unique two-man exhibition by Bay Area artists Eddie Colla & D Young V.

Memento Mori, a Latin term for ‘remember death’, is an artistic symbol for remembering the inevitability of death, and is a continuing theme throughout Eddie Colla’s and D Young V’s work. The artists’ installations depict the end of the world juxtaposed to the rising up of a new world from ashes, and a future reduced to the tasks of survival and memory.

The show opens Friday, August 30, 2013 and runs through Friday, October 11, 2013 in the Art Works Downtown main gallery located at 1337 Fourth Street, San Rafael, CA, 94901. An opening reception will be held on September 13, 2013 from 5-8 p.m. A closing reception will be held on October 11, 2013, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Art Works Downtown is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Included in this exhibit are the individual artists’ drawings and mixed media works on found objects. The gallery will also showcase a number of collaborative pieces designed specially for Art Works Downtown. These installations represent years of artistic collaboration, both on the street and in galleries, where their mutual styles, ideas, influences, and perceptions become clearly evident.

“Fruitvale Station”

A few months ago I was asked to do a mural for the film “Fruitvale Station” which is about the killing of Oscar Grant and was released this week.

I had done a few pieces regarding those events in the past which some of the people at Weinstein Co. had seen and liked.

I have some pretty strong feelings on this subject and it had a deep impact on the community I call home (East Oakland). I drafted several layouts of what I was going to do, all of which were very similar to the work the film makers had seen. We had a few debates about the appropriateness of merch (t-shirts, stickers etc.) and also hashtags being included in the mural. I also suggested that the mural be in Oakland and not San Francisco. I was told that they didn’t want to do it in Oakland because it may cause a situation and this was a very hot button issue in Oakland.

After a lot of back and forth, I received an email with a list of requirements that were apparently from the director Ryan Coogler and not from Weinstein Co.. Essentially, I was told that my image was too dark and negative and there was a concern about upsetting people, particularly in the bay area. In my opinion if you tell the story of an innocent, unarmed black man being shot in the back by a white police officer while restrained and people are not upset and outraged than you haven’t told the story correctly. People should be upset, very upset. There was also a list of “cannot’s”

It cannot

– show pictures of anyone but oscar

– have a gun

– focus the issue on the trial or his murder

At this point the mural could not in any way make reference to Oscar Grant’s murder or the police. The film (which I have seen) is about Oscar Grant’s death. Had Oscar Grant not been murdered, Mr. Coogler would not have made this film. Had Oscar Grant been murdered by another young man, a civilian, this film would not have been made. To my mind to exclude the murder and the police from my image would be dodging what is at the core of this issue.

There was also a list of objectives that were just ridiculous. “ The piece should come from a place of love”, “The piece could see to connect us all, and show how we should all care about each other”

I’m not sure where I was suppose to find love in this story. I didn’t know Oscar Grant, so I certainly could not have loved him and for me to somehow feign an affection that didn’t exist seems ingenuine and disrespectful. I am also not sure how Oscar Grant should be used to make us all feel connected and care for one another. There are a lot of deep seated reason that people of color are predominantly the victims of police brutality. There are also a lot of reasons that justice is rarely served in these circumstances. I feel pretty confident that those reasons are not a simple lack of care for one another. There didn’t seem to be any interest in confronting the issues or affecting the audience (of the murals) and I had no interest in doing what was starting to feel like a big elaborate inaffectual movie poster.

So I quit the project.

Primus Spring Poster Series and Eddie Colla

So I got a call from Zoltron, actually you don’t really get calls from Zoltron. So I get a call from a guy  who sounds like John Forsythe on Zoltron’s behalf. He asks me to be part of The Primus Spring Poster Series along with
Bask
Justin Hampton
123 Klan
Travis Louie
Reuben Rude
Todd Slater
Jeff Soto
Zoltron

And a whole bunch of other heavies.  They asked me to do the poster for the Missoula Montana Show At the Wilma theatre. I wanted to do something special that really expressed how I feel about Montana, so I did an image of Hong Kong.

Here’s the poster, Which goes on sale HERE at 9am on May 14th

 

There’s also a Hand embellished variant of 5 available HERE

 

 

Another brilliant project from the darkness of Zoltron’s mind.

Follow the whole poster series  On Zoltron’s Blog

Eddie Colla x D Young V – 69 El Camino

David Young  and I painted this 69 El Camino last january, we finally had a chance  to get some footage together of this beast in action. A little inspirational driving Video…..

Air Kowloon Limited edition wood boxes and prints

 

I have new “Air Kowloon” multiples dropping on monday March 25th @ 1xrun.com. There are 2 editions available, A hand embellished, collaged and distressed wooden box and a limited edition Print.

The boxes are birch wooden boxes 12×18 x 1.75 deep. They are all unique. Individually collaged and embellished there are 25 available. These were pretty time consuming to make. Each box is collaged with an archival glue and sealed with acrylic. The base is then painted with a shellac based paint and the image is sealed face down onto the box. The next step is to remove all of the paper from the original prints until the only thing remaining is the pigment. The bowes are then embellished again with an amber shellac and sanded and distressed and finally sealed with acrylic.

 

Epilogue prints release

D Young V, Hugh Leeman and myself are  preparing up for our opening of Epilogue at Hold Up Art Sept. 8th. On Sept, 4th our first collaborative work will drop at 1xrun.com. It’s a limited edition (30) print hand embellished by all the artists. Each print is unique and the edition number is incorporated into the design of each image. Get it here

 

There will also be a 2nd color way available opening night at the gallery. A super limited edition of 10

 

“Radio Yau Ma Tei” Print release @ 1xrun.com

Radio Yau Ma Tei is my newest that I created specifically for release at 1xrun. After talking with Jesse at 1xrun we decide we wanted to do something different from a typical limited edition. These print started out as giclees on 300lb acid free water color paper. After that there were really embellished in a lot of different ways. Every print was drawn on with pencils, markers and mop pens and part of the image were overpainted with acrylics. They were then tea stained and airbrushed in 6 different colors. At this point the prints were distressed using sandpaper and steel wool and the text was screen printed onto the image. The test roughly translates as “I have a name but it doesn’t matter”

In addition to the 20 embellished prints there were an additional 3 prints made with the text gold leafed in 22kt gold. This print will be released on 1xrun.com on April 25th. You can see it here

Pow Wow Hawai’i 2012

POW WOW IS A GATHERING OF CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS THAT ENGAGES WITH THE BROADER COMMUNITY IN THE PROCESS AND CREATION OF ART.

From February 13 to 18, 2012, Honolulu will host over thirty artists from around the world. Opening and closing events will be held at Loft in Space, with the production of art being done all over the streets of Kaka’ako. During Pow Wow, the communityis encouraged to interact with visiting artists in a creative environment.

The beauty of art is most commonly enjoyed during its final stage. All the blood, sweat and tears happen behind closed doors. However, that is where the real grandeur lies. The process. Imagine for a moment a gathering of internationally renowned artists in one place. A place that will allow them to do what they do best: be creative. We give them the tools, the space and the freedom to paint for one week. We make that process open to the public, allowing them full engagement and interaction between the artists and their audience. They witness the creativity in its entirety and become an essential part of the artists’ process. It’s about the breaking down of those closed doors and making art accessible. Now take a step further and imagine transforming a whole neighborhood with art within a week. Seeing creativity happen all around you from beginning to end and bringing people together through art. A POW WOW.

Website: www.powwowhawaii.com

The opening night of “POW WOW Hawai’i 2012” will take place on Saturday, January 18th, 2012 at Loft in Space from 6:00pmto 10:00pm. Before the opening night, the visiting artists will be painting all over the streets of Kaka’ako from January 13th to the 17th. Additionally, Eugene Kan of Hypebeast has curated a photography exhibition titled “Day Job?” and Arktip magazine has created a pop up shop. These events all open at the same time as POW WOW Hawai’i and are also held at Loft in Space

Eddie Colla X Sierra Magazine

Last month I did the artwork for the cover of this Month’s Sierra Magazine. This was really an ideal situation. It’s a rare opportunity to get to work with a group as important as the Sierra Club. I also had the freedom to simply take this project and do what I do. Really, it was an ideal working environment. It’s always satisfying to be able to do your art while contributing to something you truly support. Some of you from San Francisco’s art community may recognize the model I used for the cover.

Here are the links to Sierra
About the Cover
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