By Veronica Christina

In an attempt to feel a little of the Burning Man magic I must sadly skip this year, I started searching the web for little snippets of BRC magic. Seeing the images of years past collected in one place, I became awestruck, as I have many times on the Playa. The loving act of creating these beautiful structures, many of which take months to build, for the enjoyment of your fellow man, only then to let them go at the end of a week, is a beautiful metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life. Welcome home.

By Veronica Christina

Sprawled out like Jesus on the neatly manicured lawn of someone’s suburban dream home he lay, pushed from a moving car, abandoned and left for dead. He’d been high for three days smoking meth in a dirty motel room in an even dirtier part of San Diego. First the pipe, then the needle. After that anything goes. More crank? Sure, if ya got it. Wanna try heroin? Fuck it, why not? “I died that night” he says. “All I saw was black.”

Artist Chor Boogie has been to hell and back – a fact he offers up almost proudly – a modern-day fairy tale of the street variety.  Drug overdoses, stints in jail, a shooting, a stabbing and you can see why he respects the journey.  Now 10 years sober and on track to become one of the preeminent urban artists of our time, Chor Boogie is an open book. He’s agreed to meet my partner and I for lunch and paces back and forth across the living room, only pausing for the occasional munch on chips and salsa. We talk for nearly three hours and I immediately regret not having a camera – the man has sex appeal.

He’s a guy’s guy in all sense of the phrase – worked out enough that you wouldn’t wanna mess with him, shaved Vin Diesel-like head, gray tee, new jeans and red sneakers – casual but in such a way that you know he’s thought about it. He’s gentle, well-spoken and, despite the intensity of our conversation, flashes his boyish smile often. I imagine women must love taking care of him. More salsa, hon?

S+D: So…why this life? Why art?

CB: I’ve been painting since I was five years old, just never stopped since the first time I was handed a brush. I even told my mom, “When I grow up I want to be an artist.” There was really no other choice for me.

S+D: You just always knew? Come on, it couldn’t have been that easy.

CB: Fuck no. Creating is what I am on this earth for but I didn’t always cherish it as a gift. There was a period in there for years where I didn’t do anything – just got high, stole, did some pretty fucked up shit. I couldn’t paint. Well, really I didn’t want to paint. Something inside me knew it was wrong to bring art into that world. I wasn’t going to disrespect it like that.

S+D: What pulled you out?

CB: Ha. My sister turned me in for violating parole. It was either go to rehab or go to jail. Jail is hell. You have all these guys fucking with each other for nothing – the color of their skin. I couldn’t go back. I went through the program and it changed everything. My spirit started healing and I began to see the beauty in everything – everyone. I’ve been sober ever since.

During a long volunteer stint at Writer’s Block in San Diego, a community-based organization that introduces art to high-school students, Chor’s talent and skill were getting noticed. He was asked to curate shows at the San Diego Museum of Modern Art and the Childrens’ Museum. At a live painting show he was introduced to Apex, a modern pioneer of the spray paint genre, who suggested he move to San Francisco.

CB: Apex knew this guy who was sponsoring artists to come to San Francisco, live and work. It was a sweet deal. Live for free, paint all day. I met artists like Vulcan and Phase2. We all really influenced each other, learned from each other.

Pieces So Bright You Gotta Wear Shades

Standing before one of Chor’s murals is an experience in longing. It’s all I can do not to walk right through the wall and into a whimsical world where color reigns. Without the use of a single brush, his work is amazingly precise – more fine art than street art. He uses no tools, no tape – just spray paint and skill. Color pops off his pieces in a seemingly random display while the geometrical patterns pull you right back in. I am confused. I am smiling.

S+D: You call your work “color therapy” – can you elaborate?

CB: My art is my soul. It’s my therapy. It’s a romantic, therapeutic blend of movement, emotion, colors and shapes all on one canvas. The color influences the space and they come together in creation.

S+D: You call your work romantic yet you still seem to keep the street edge?

CB: My work will always be street. It’s where I came from and what I can still relate to. But just ‘case it’s street doesn’t mean it’s not romantic. Everyday, I wake up and realize how big this life is and how lucky we are to be here – now. It’s all a perception. I want to think outside the box. I want people to look at my stuff and think that anything is possible. You are not stuck, you are beautiful.

S+D: So are you insulted when people see your stuff on the street and refer to you as a “graffiti artist”?

CB: I don’t consider graffiti art. Trust me, I did my fair share of bombing but I grew up. I learned and I learned about art and what that really means. I don’t want to destroy. I want to create.

What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Famous

He’s told the story hundreds of times. Yeah, he was stabbed. Yada, yada, yada. They never caught the guys. Yada, yada, yada. Afterwards, his work tripled in price. Yada, yada – oh shit, really?

Seemingly overnight Chor’s already rising star was skyrocketing. Everyone wanted to know about the “graffiti” artist who was brave enough to go up against thugs. ABC came calling, art blogs were ablaze, local press went nuts.

S+D: So..what happened?

CB: I was painting a huge City Sponsored mural at 6th and Market. It was a huge PR deal – even Gavin Newsom came to see us painting. I was at one end and my paint was on the other and it was huge – like 100 feet long. I usually try and keep an eye one my stuff ’cause it’s too much trouble to move it back and forth. Out of the corner of my eye I saw some chick run up and grab a can.

S+D: You chased after her?

CB: Fuck yeah I did! Caught up to her too. She denied it and I reached into her bag and grabbed the paint. All of the sudden 3 guys came out of nowhere and started punching me. Everything happened so fast. I was just swinging. I don’t remember being hit but I remember landing a few on those cats. They all ran and I followed them until they got on a bus and someone let them out the emergency exit.

When I got back to the mural some dude yelled, “Man, I think they stabbed you!” I didn’t feel anything but I looked down and saw blood and a hole in my t-shirt. It wasn’t until I was in the ambulance that it started hurting.

S+D: Was the pain bad?

CB: Shit yes. I’ve never felt anything close to that much pain. It was horrible. But I still had my eye on the game. On my way to get x-rays I told my girlfriend “Call the newspapers.”

S+D: You received quite a bit of notoriety from the whole thing – was it worth it?

CB: (laughs) Well, I wouldn’t do it again. I mean, I almost died. If the blade had been half an inch over it could have punctured my stomach. But I guess, in a way, it made me appreciate life and that every moment is precious.

Sorry folks, he’s taken.

He met Elizabeth back stage at San Diego’s Rock the Bells concert and asked if he could walk her home. Quite the big gesture for a man with an all-access pass to hang with artists like Wu-Tang clan and Rage Against the Machine.

S+D: When’s the big day?

CB: We’ll definitely do it but there’s no hurry really. No rush. In a sense we’re already married.

S+D: She’s a tantric sex teacher?

CB: (Smiles) She is. It’s all about connection. It’s fun.

S+D: Wow, you’re a lucky guy. Any Sting-like 24 hour marathon sex session?

CB: Well, you could do that. I don’t know if you’d want to. Sometimes it’s the best. Seriously, the best and sometimes you just want a quickie, ya know. But she’s definitely taught me some things.

He shows me the ring tattoo on his wedding finger, a show of commitment to the woman he calls his “queen,” and in the same breath shows me the ring he has tattooed on his right pointer finger – his painting finger. “I’m married to her and I’m married to my art. Married to the can, ya know?”

Something about him makes me feel like I’ve been to a motivational seminar. Suddenly, the world has fewer obstacles. I say goodbye with a greater appreciation for time, this life and maybe, a little bit of a crush.

More of Chor’s work can be seen on his website. Stay tuned for Spray Paint: The Fine Art of Chor Boogie, a documentary on the life and work of the artist. In theaters 2012.

By Veronica Christina

There’s not a whole lot to say once you lay eyes on the incredibly realistic sculptures of Ron Mueck. I was lucky enough to see his show once in London and silence was pretty much the name of the game, followed by the need to get up close and personal. Despite the very strict “look but don’t touch” policy, I think most people got in a jab or two. You had to. His work is so incredibly precise, so intricate the pieces beg to be touched. A quick glance below and you can see why he’s known as one of the pioneers of hyper-realism. (Via Life Magazine)

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Color and design forecasting site, COLOURlovers recently looked at the web’s most successful 100 companies to see which colors were dominating our internet lives.  And the winner is…..blue! Blue? Yes, despite what we’ve thought for ages about red and orange rocking our graphic world, blue, in it’s various shades, has become the most popular color used for company branding on the web.  For the complete breakdown visit their site. (via Your Digital Space)

I spied this jewelry on the web awhile ago and have been chomping at the bit to have a piece of my very own. A clever take on American pill-popping excess, Canadian designers Stern Lab can’t seem to keep these little devils in stock. Hmmm….

Vicodin Ring Directions:

1. Stick finger in mouth.
2. Suck.
3. Ahhhhhh.

Finally, instructions we can all get on board with.

By Jane Parton

Last night I had a few separate conversations involving the phenomenon known as “floor drugs” – you know, the lucky moment where you spot a lost bag of some unfortunate soul’s drugs lying unclaimed on the floor. One of my friends recently dared to try his found drugs and this morning told me he was feeling pretty shitty as a result. I, on the other hand, have had a few floor drug experiences in my day, all of which were actually pretty decent.

So this is the conundrum – you’re in a bar and you’ve found some drugs. How do you decide if the obvious sketchiness outweighs the potential fun? And, if moments like these make you all warm inside, are you willing to risk experiencing the major shame attack sure to follow a night of doing what will most likely be shitty drugs in an even shittier setting? From my experience, a lot of it has to do with where you are. From this you can make educated guesses as to the source of the lost drugs, which give insight into the quality and potential shady factors. To help you answer these all-important questions here is my personal cost vs. benefit commentary.

COST VS. BENEFIT ANALYSIS

18 and Over Clubs – It depends on the night, but I’d say for the most part that floor drugs found here either belong to over-privileged suburban 18-year-olds or to weird, yuppie sex predators planning to offer them to said suburban 18-year-olds. Either way, cut as a motherfucker, but probably not with anything too shady.

Dudebro/Dirty Hipster Bars – You get the satisfaction of knowing that these drugs belonged to one of those lame dudebros who you hate for “ruining the Mission” on weekends. This dudebro is (or will be in 20 minutes when he goes to do a bump and can’t find his drugs) hella bummed, and you helped make that happen! But let’s be honest, this shit will be total garbage and if you’re over 21 you will hate yourself for doing anything you picked up off the floor at a one of these places.

Trendy Hipster Bars – Keep the following in mind – the nights one is likely to find floor drugs at trendy hipster bars are weekends, the same nights bridge & tunnel douche-bags are drawn to these spots like R. Kelly to pre-teens. As you’re considering floor drugs, evaluate your fellow patrons. See that pudgy Middle Eastern computer programmer guy in the sand-washed True Religion jeans and bejeweled Bret Michaels-esque cowboy hat? Yeah, that guy over there with his Bluetooth still in his ear. Those drugs could be HIS DRUGS. Do you really want to get high off of what that guy gets high off of? I think I’ve made my point.

Hole-in-the-Wall Bars – Most of these are so mellow and cozy I find it hard to believe that people would even do drugs in them … until I started doing drugs in them. If I actually paid for my own stuff, I’d save it and do it somewhere the setting would be more enjoyable, ie. do you really want to be high on stimulants listening to songs off of Neil Young’s “Prairie Wind” album? But if it’s free, why not? I will say though, that overall, I think finding floor drugs in these spots is pretty unlikely.

Music Venues – I would imagine that the floor drugs you find in clubs like these will typically be pretty speedy. People want $40 grams but are unwilling to sacrifice on potency, so shitty amphetamines are substituted to close the gap. If you just want to get fucked up and are on board with it regardless, I’m not judging you for it. Just take it slow …and be prepared to spend the next day or two feeling dehydrated and inconsolably depressed.

College Bars – If you find floor drugs here I’d say you kind of came up. They probably belong to someone you “kind of” know. 15 minutes after you’ve found a baggie, you’ll bump into this person in the smoking room. You’ll ask how their night’s going, they’ll say, “Good, except I just lost a big bag of drugs!” (sad face) at which point you’ll get to hug them and be like, “Bummer! Well, hey, want to come do a bump with me?” and now you’re the hero and everyone’s happy.

Bike Messenger Bars – The fact that there even are floor drugs to be found at places where people exercise for a living is kind of ridiculous, but I can vouch because last summer I definitely found some. I didn’t do them because it was like 6pm, still light outside, and even I have to draw the line somewhere. As far as sketchiness goes, they’re probably fine. Anyone who brings stimulants to a bar that only serves fancy beer and sausages is kind of winning at life.

By Veronica Christina

I’ve known and been a fan of artist Tracey Emin for quite some time as, in my opinion, she’s one of the most prolific and brave artists working within the modern-day, societal constraints of sexuality. Her prolific work Everyone I Have Ever Slept With goes beyond just the physical by lovingly displaying hand-stitched names of those Emin felt had nurtured and loved her. Among the 102 sweetly, patch-worked names are former lovers, her grandmother, mother and numbers representing her two aborted children.

“Some I’d had a shag with in bed or against a wall, some I had just slept with, like my grandma. I used to lay in her bed and hold her hand. We used to listen to the radio together and nod off to sleep. You don’t do that with someone you don’t love and don’t care about,” said Ermin.

This logic got me thinking about my own tent and who I’d include; lovers, family members, friends and how ephemeral most of those moments were. Like time itself, the tent was lost forever in a 2004 warehouse fire. Emin has decided not to recreate it.

By Veronica Christina

Traveling is awesome. Traveling to the world’s destination cities is even better. Traveling to awesome cities and having to dip into your child’s college fund for a hotel room you only sleep in, not so much. In an effort to save our cash and provide us with the oh-so-photographic novelty of touching all four sides of our hotel room at once, The Arch Group has designed Sleep Box. A mobile cube (2m (l) x 1.4m (w) x 2.3m (h)) made of wood and MDF,  SleepBox was designed to “allow very efficient use of available space and, if necessary, a quick change of layout”, making it perfect for places where demand dictates need. The hostel-specific SleepBox features bunk beds, flip-out tables and sockets for computers or phone chargers and not much else.

These tiny cubicles are already gracing the airports and train stations of Europe allowing for a safe and cheap alternative to the big city hotels. They’ve become such a hit that Japanese government officials are in talks to provide all public train stations in Tokyo with a few – proving once again that size doesn’t matter.

(via Kickstarter)

Tony TEMPT1 is an artist, publisher and social-activist based in Los Angeles, California. He was a pioneering artist in the California graffiti scene in the 1980′s and 90′s and influenced a younger generation of graffiti writers with his vision to build community through art.

Sadly, in 2003, TEMPT1 was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ( also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease), a degenerative neuromuscular disorder that causes paralysis and ultimately death. Over the course of 5 years, he lost the ability to move his arms and legs, speak, eat and even breathe without life-support systems. But, the disease has left his mind alert, and his creative spirit and drive to make art completely intact.
One year ago, TEMPT1 teamed up with a group of artists and hackers from the Graffiti Research Lab, OpenFrameworks and Free Art and Technology communities to develop free and open source eye tracking and drawing software that has helped him make art again for the first time since being hospitalized. Not only is he drawing again, but he’s creating new and complex letter forms, designing font libraries and evolving a brand new style using new and old technology in ways no one could have imagined. After seven years of paralysis, TEMPT1 has again become a pioneer in a new community of creative individuals who refuse to let neuromuscular diseases stop them from expressing themselves through art.

This Kickstarter campaign is an attempt to raise the money TEMPT1 needs to create a new collection of original TEMPT1 artwork and merchandise using the EyeWriter 2.0 software, robotic technology, traditional print-making techniques, as well as his community of friends, fans and peers. Supporting this campaign will not only allow TEMPT1 to continue to make art and express his ideas, but it will give him a chance to again become a professional artist, independently support himself and his family, pay for his medical bills, and make a contribution to the contemporary art world.

If you’d like to donate or get more information about the TEMPTONE ALS FOUNDATION, go to: temptone.wordpress.com

To peep Tempt’s graffiti art, go to: temptone.com or: myspace.com/temptone
For more information about the software Tempt draws with, go to: fffff.at/eyewriter
To learn more about Graffiti Research Labs, go to: graffitiresearchlab.com

Miranda July and Mike Mills’ work could be considered avant garde, though it occasionally ventures into the “weirdo art project” category. Case in point: their collaboration for Blonde Redhead’s video “Top Ranking”. Over 300, one-second frames of July looking cute, if somewhat angsty, in her hipster get up, could bore you after a minute but her interesting poses and occasional soul-searching eye contact compel us to keep watching.