If you like what I'm doing with the Neighbors project, you're welcome to support my work by contributing through my GoFundMe campaign. Depending on your level of support you'll receive either a magazine, a print or both. This is a perfect way to receive some great work at a very reasonable price. Once I start showing the work, it's not going to be cheap - so don't wait! To learn more, click here.
Hey Pachuco! Portrait from Chicano Park Day in San Diego
When you see Chuco walking down the street, he projects a “don’t mess with me” toughness that extends beyond the tattoos that cover his body. It’s in his walk and even the glare that’s fierce enough to project through his darkened sunglasses. But once you speak with him, you become aware of a calmness, almost peacefulness, to the man. It’s a rare dichotomy that immediately draws one in.
Chuco, short for Pachuco (which is slang for a Zoot Suiter, the Chicanos with the baggy pants and chain from the 40’s), was born and raised in Lockeford, a small town in the agricultural central valley of California. Though he grew up in the 70’s when tattoos were much less common, he always felt that tattoos were something of a birthright and that he’d be putting them on someday since his father was a tattoo artist.
Tattoos were just one part of growing up. Crime and gang banging were the principle elements of his youth. As a result, he “dusted off the ’90’s incarcerated.” His most aggressive tattoo, the “FTW” (for Fuck the World) came about during his teens when he was angry at the world and filled with disfunction from his upbringing. Back then tattoos were rare so putting it on his face was one “helluva statement.”
The gang life lost its importance however, once he began to raise a family. His wife and kids - he has four now - became the focus of his life and he took to it with all the seriousness with which he formerly administered his gang life. Though his priorities changed, leaving the gang was not easy. Traditionally, to exit the gang is an “impossibility that’s sometimes fatal.” Because of his family ties however and his previous unswerving commitment to the gang’s principles, he walked out the same way he walked in, with respect.
Since he had a criminal record and no shortage of formidable tattoos, reentering society was not easy. He worked in a variety of jobs, from working machinery to digging ditches to delivering pizza. Going from a position of respect and authority to handing out pizzas with a goofy uniform was humbling - but it helped him to shed his negativity and stand up on his own two feet without the support of the gang and his homies.
Today, he’s an internationally traveled tattoo artist whose client base includes soccer moms and people from all walks of life. He’s a happy go lucky guy who feels blessed and grateful for everything that’s happened in his life, including his tough criminal past. His experiences have shaped him into the thriving man that he is today, tattoos and all.
Street Portraits from Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland
I dropped in on Washington DC for my latest round of Neighbors portraits. If you were among those who I photographed, you may find your portrait here.
Currently on Instagram
Pacific Magazine Covers Neighbors Project
Read all about it here.
Dispatch from Berlin
I've been in Berlin now for five days. What a great city. It's has a the feel of a new city - it's vibrant, young, growing, accepting and creative. In many ways it is new since much of the city really came into existence after the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989.
Having just come from London, I can say that the mood is much much different here. London is posh. Well dressed. Mature. Conservative. It's a clean city with the rough edges smoothed over.
Berlin is still rough on the edges but that's what makes it so fun to be in. It's still discovering itself. As a center for art, I've never been in a city like it. So many young people here and they all seem hopeful. Because the city is relatively inexpensive compared to the rest of Europe, artists have flocked here to create work and form collectives.
The gallery scene is second to none. Touring the galleries is an education in contemporary art. It's all here: installation work, painting, photography, mixed media, film - you name it. The galleries come in all shapes and sizes too. From the massive white cathedrals to back-alley hidden gems. The art is accessible and the gallery inhabitants friendly.
That's not to say that the art is always friendly in the decorative sense. I'm guessing most people who have no art background wouldn't find much of it terribly interesting. This is art for astute collectors and people who live and breath art. For every Anton Corbin pop show for the masses, there's ten featuring something like the video I saw today at the Daimler Collection - a tight shot of a speed skater's feet wearing skates being dragged behind a car on a city street and hearing the sound of the screeching skates on asphalt. Oh yeah, and it was from China. What the hell?
But that's art - pushing the boundaries and keeping us guessing.
I came to Berlin because my focus has shifted from commercial work to contemporary art - and not the pretty picture kind of art. I don't come from the art world so I'm immersing myself in it to experience it and better understand it. As a primer for art, I can't imagine a better place to be than Berlin.
Got Spanish?
Hone up on your Spanish skills with this latest bit of press on my Neighbors installation that appeared in the UT San Diego's Vida Latino section.
Neighbors Documentary
Proud to share this short documentary that filmmaker Scott Lundergan made about my Neighbors photo project. Hope you enjoy!