The Occupation X Eddie Colla

It would seem that something is happening… Occupy Wall St is in it’s 3rd week and collectively occupations have been sprouting up across the country. It doesn’t seem as though any of this is slowing down. Despite an overly aggressive NYPD and an absentee media, this is growing. Should be and interesting week.

Death Of a Wall

I haven’t driven to SF as of late and it’s been quite some time since I exited at Fremont St.  Today I did, as a passenger, but just the same, I did. The Fremont street exit was unique in one very significant way. At the bottom of the ramp directly in front of you was a large concrete pillar and you were forced to turn left. However, the view of the pillar was unavoidable and moreover the flow of traffic was constant for a good part of the day. For a street artist it represented a almost perfect surface.

That said, it is no longer there. I believe it was a remnant of the old embarcadero freeway and had outlived it’s usefulness by a good 20 years. Finally it has been completely razed.

I wouldn’t consider myself a particularly sentimental person. People often pass through my life, their absence noted and clinically attributed to the nature or cycles of human interaction. The emotional equivalent of a shrug.  Something about that wall not being there anymore, got me thinking…

About all the pieces I’d put there, and the people I was with, and the passing of time. It was one of the first spots I ever got up on. It was exactly 52 inches wide. That pillar was in books and newspapers during the Obama campaign. I had pieces that ran for 2 or 3 months on there. I have new pieces that were planned for that spot.

That’s life though. You find your little places in the world, that are your’s and that make sense. That pillar was one of those places.

Design for Obama

Design for Obama. Posters for Change: A Grassroots Anthology was released on Nov. 4th, one year after the election of Barrack Obama.
This collection was curated by Spike Lee and Aaron Perry-Zucker. I have 3 pieces in this one. Here’s One
Taschen published Design for Obama. Taschen is a class act, they even sent me a nice letter via luftpost and addressed to “Mr. Eddie”. There is some really good design work in the volume. Check it out.

Hope: A Collection of Obama Posters and Prints

This week Zenith Press Released “Hope: A Collection of Obama Posters and Prints” Edited by Hal Wert with a foreword by Ray Noland. I haven’t actually seen it yet, but I have at least 2 pieces in the collection that I did during the 2008 Campaign. Included in the book are over 170 posters by more than 100 artists. There is some really great Ray Noland stuff along with David Choe, Bask, Billi Kid and tons more. If you’re interested in poster art it’s a must have.
You can get it @ Amazon Here

Or better yet, get up, leave the house and go buy it from your local independent bookseller before they go out of business.

Art for Obama

The “Art for Obama” Book was released last week and I am honored to be included in it. It’s a really inspiring collection or pieces that were produced for the Manifest Hope shows, edited by Shepard Fairey and Jennifer Gross. There are amazing pieces by Shepard, Ron English, David Choe, and among some of my favs, are pieces by Stenzskull, Thomas Brodahl, Michael Murphy,and Tes one.
Below is a shot of the piece that’s included in the book p.138 in the gallery in D.C.

This is my favorite pic, with organizer Yosi Sergant

The Obama campaign was an amazing thing to be a part of and I think this book captures that sense.
Cheers