Blank walls beware: Estria's Graffiti Battle Invitational brings the bombersBy Caitlin Donohue
Too legit: Street artist Estria (second from right) and the Together With Style crew in 1987
Where would we be without graffiti? The debate over vandalism and aesthetics rages ad infinitum in the larger world but let’s be real- street art has made urban living what it is today. No doubt, its creators should be celebrated- not harassed by law enforcement art critics. We’ve got a unique opportunity to do just that (celebrate, not harass) coming up with the Third Annual Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle, part of the “Life Is Living” park day of the Oakland literary celebration, Living Word Festival. The battle’s creator, Estria Miyashiro, is a cause for celebration in his own right. The former street bomber has been making walls beautiful in the Bay Area for decades, and now teaches graffiti and mural classes around the country… in addition to running his own silk screening operation in San Leandro. The man is busy. Luckily, we manage to snag him for a few questions on the upcoming Invitational, women in graf and walking that tricky line between staying real and getting paid.
San Francisco Bay Guardian: You started throwing pieces up in the 80s and created some epic works before being arrested in 1994 for vandalism. Did the arrest change your mindset on “illegal” pieces?
Estria: The arrest in ’92 didn’t change my mindset on graffiti, but it made me understand and appreciate other people’s views on it. Of course I miss the thrill of bombing, but I am grateful to not be spending my days in jail. Were I a bomber now, I would not hit private property or places of worship. At this point I am interested in the creation side of graffiti, rather than the destruction. Getting up is exciting and I still love seeing it. [But] my time for that has passed and now I have found other ways for me to contribute to graffiti culture.
“Samurai Girl” (2008) mural by Estria and Bounce, two time champion of Estria’s graffiti battles
SFBG: I've seen graffiti and other street art described in academic texts as a "reverse colonization"; the act by the underprivileged in our society of taking back the institutions that try to dominate them. Do you see any truth in that idea?
E: There is an aspect of graffiti that is reverse colonization. I look at it as the people’s media. The average person cannot afford a billboard or a commercial, but we can put words on walls. It is the first and last form of free speech. For me it is critical to paint the people and cultures I see in my communities, because I do not see them much on TV or in movies. I use my murals to culturally level the media playing field.
SFBG: You traveled everywhere from Harlem and Chicago to Honolulu to find the finalists for the Living World Battle. How did you get the idea for a nationwide graffiti showdown?
E: The Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle started off in 2007 with Jason Mateo and I building a Bay Area battle. We figured we’d get some of the best to show up if I personally invited them to battle me. It worked, and it has continued to grow ever since. The support we’ve gotten from artists, activists and graffiti writers has been phenomenal. We began to realize every city has the same hunger for events like this.
A graf legend then…B-boy self portrait (1989)
SFBG: Your Web site encourages women to participate in the graffiti scene. How inclusive is this kind of art? Do you see a lot of females contributing to graffiti?
E: Graffiti is a male-dominated contact sport. Men more so than women tend to like things like fighting, getting dirty, climbing rooftops and freeways [and] stealing paint. Perhaps we have more fragile egos and like seeing our names on billboards and stuff. I dunno, I’m not the sociologist. There are few women in graffiti. They usually have a female dynamic to their letters and characters. Dudes like aggressive shapes and many pieces by men look like weapons. I support women in graffiti, and champion for them to have their fair share. Quite a few women are not into the competitive aspect of the battle.
… and now. Self portrait at the Oakland Museum (2008)
SFBG: You've done work with McDonald's, MTV, Toyota and the Mills Corporation. I'm a little confused. What does corporate America have to do with graffiti? Isn't their co-optation of the style kind of a downer?
E: Graffiti, like the other elements of hip-hop that came after it, came from oppression and hardship. In New York [the arguable birthplace of hip-hop], there was nothing wrong with making some money off the thing you loved to do. When I’m doing commissioned work for a corporate client, it isn’t graffiti. It’s spray can art, like airbrush art or oil painting. The defining line for me is if I feel I’m compromising my values to give away a piece of my culture. In Hawaii the white men would ‘buy’ land from the Hawaiians with metal or nails. Not a fair exchange at all. I often think of this when I am offered a job, and it helps me decide which jobs to accept.
Living Word Festival “Life Is Living” Celebration
Sat/10 11 a.m.- 5 p.m., free
DeFremery Park
1651 Adeline Street, Oakland
(415) 615-2735, www.youthspeaks.org
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