Travis of Gym Class Heroes

By Aaris A. Schroeder
Editor-In-Chief
Oct. 22, 2007

Travis of Gym Class Heroes creates some of the hottest stencil, spray-can art. Check out some of his pieces below and for more information; check out the Gym Class Heroes website at www.gymclassheroes.com and www.myspace.com/gymclassheroes.

Stuart Walker

Stuart Walker is a painter, sculptor, and mixed media artist. He was born in Fremont, California in 1973, but at the age of eight, moved to the small mid-western town of Marietta, Ohio. Upon graduating high school, he enrolled at Washington State College in Southeastern Ohio, where it became evident that Stuart was more interested in creating art with his close friends than going to class. The group of childhood friends would hang out together on the banks of the Ohio River, fishing, painting and collecting objects to make sculptures. Stuart began painting murals for local businesses and he soon left college altogether to be an full-time artist. Stuart did not pursue a formal education in art, but he learned many advanced techniques from his brother and mentors. The camaraderie between the groups of friends created a unique and interactive environment where they could not only explore their own individual talents, but also learn from each other’s expertise. They discovered in this environment that when they collaborated on large scale paintings and found object sculptures, they were able to create in ways that combined the unique energy and talents of each individual, which produced intensely powerful results.

Essentially, the collective realized that by pooling their talents, the scope and beauty of their artistic creations expanded exponentially, so they formed an artist collective called Discovery Collaborative Arts. The collective decided to take their unique “blend” of creation on the road, selling their individual and collaborative creations at festivals across the East Coast, as well as painting together “live” at art shows and parties. No one had ever seen art being created in this fashion, and the group had a profound impact on everyone they came across. The Discovery group had a whole different message, one of synergy and interconnectedness, a message that rang true for buyers and audiences, many of whom participated in making collaborative pieces themselves.

By 1996, the Discovery group decided to make Atlanta their home. Shortly after making the transition to Atlanta, Stuart‘s mentor and co-collaborator Stanton Brock, a key member in the group, died tragically in an accident. This loss was devastating for everyone, but instead of giving up on the collaborative dream, Stuart and the other members became even more passionate about continuing to push the collaborative art movement. They proceeded to rent a 9,000 square foot warehouse in the middle of downtown Atlanta, and then transformed it into a bonified art factory; complete with a huge painting studio, wood and metal working shop, dark room, multi-media art gallery, live performance stage and DJ booth. The warehouse also had five bedrooms and was a fully functioning live/work space, a true artist haven.

The Discovery group flourished in this environment, and became well known throughout the city for their integrative approach to making art, as well as the beauty of their paintings. The group also produced large scale, multi-media art shows in a variety of venues, with Stuart spearheading the productions. Organizing and performing live collaborative workshops created a unique atmosphere for clubs, restaurants, and corporate galas, and the group was hired for these types of events regularly.

In 1998 Stuart tackled Atlanta’s largest underground art and music scene as the Director of Visual Arts for “Late Nite Sessions,” a well known hub of the underground art scene held in three different locations in Atlanta. For six years, he produced this event twice a month, along with other members of the Discovery Arts Collective. Stuart’s art, both individual and collaborative, has been shown in several well known galleries in Atlanta, as well as in art festivals throughout the East Coast. In 2005 the Discovery Art facility was acquired by the city of Atlanta, in order to build the Georgia Aquarium. It marked the end of an era, and Stuart decided to move his dream out West. He now resides in Oakland, ready to spark another fire.

Mike Echlin AKA SPAZZ

Bio of - Mike Echlin aka SPAZZ.


After getting kicked out of Fanshawe School of Design
for complaining about the lack of updated computers,
he moved to Toronto to work for a massive apparell
printing company, Actionware. There he designed
graphics for Molsons, Labatts, the Blue Jays, Maple
Leafs & many others.

Snowboarding hit & took SPAZZ by storm in '92. Mike
put together a line of gear called SPAZZ. T-shirts,
hoodies, hats,snowboard jackets & pants. After setting
up distirbution to approx. 40 stores across Canada,
Sweden, Japan & the US,he opened SPAZZ boutique, the
first Snowboard/skate shop in Toronto in 1993.

This ran successfully for seven years. Along with
designing, manufacturing, distributing & running the
shop, SPAZZ started to get design gigs from magazine &
record companies.

In 2000 he decided to close shop & move to LA to
pursue his illustration career. Within a month of
arriving, SPAZZ was asked to turn his illustrations
into paintings & go on a US tour with Ritual Events.
From there he was asked to paint at clubs for special
events consistently in LA. From that came work from
Island Records designing merch for Sum 41, Koch
records doing an e-card for KRS ONE, t-shirts designs
for Ben Sherman, & an animated music video for Auto
Pilot Off
& the Cato Salsa Exsperience. He worked along side the
editor of Stance Magazine, Ted Newsome contributing
illlustration to the mag every month, as well as
painting in their booth for Magic, Las Vegas two years
in a row. From his obsession with skateboarding, he
managed to design deck graphics for Pat Duff, Chad
Muska, Kris Markovitch & the whole Sugar team.

After being asked by Paris Hilton to paint her, SPAZZ
was asked to do his first solo show in Hollywood.
SPAZZ put the painting of Paris in the show .... she
missed a flight & the Jackass guys bought it. She was
pleasantly surprised. The Muska also came & bought a
painting of the "Donger".

SPAZZ was then asked to draw Andy Dick for "the
Assistant". Andy liked it so much, he commisioned it
as a painting, which can be seen behind him in the
movie, "the Artistocrats."

In the mean time, being a monthly contributor to Ramp
magazine, Vibe, Jointz, Shift & many others.

After painting a topless scuba diver at a Fantastic
Plastic Machine show, he was approached by Achy
Breacky Toys to do a
Scuba doll. Christmas 2005, Scuba Booty was released
to the public.

SPAZZ moved back to Toronto at the end of 2005. May
2006, Omy gallery boutique was born. After woring for
so many magazines, SPAZZ decided to create his own.
One year later Omy, minimag hit the streets running.

spazz

http://www.myspace.com/spazzart
http://www.myspace.com/omygallery
http://www.omyminimag.com

Omy, gallery/boutique
1140 queen street west toronto

“One of the 500 Best Gallerys in the World” Leisure Magazine, T + L 500 List 2006
“Most Popular Nightlife - Omy, Wednesdays” ZigZag Survey 2006.

San Francisco Urban Graffiti Art

By Aaris A. Schroeder
Editor-In-Chief
Oct. 22, 2007

Wandering around San Francisco, CA, one is bound to find some great pieces of art. These pictures were taken by myself, Lyn Younger, AKA SupaCMunky AKA Jinx of the City and a friend of Nomad from San Diego, CA. Enjoy!

Mark Garcia II

Not Only a Hot, Urban Artist; Mark Garcia is Quite the Comedian
Mark Garcia II Bio

Mark Garcia II
West Hollywood
MarkGarcia@gmail.com
http://www.warmtoastcafe.com/art/wrappedcherry/
http://blog.myspace.com/wrappedcherry

This mini-autobiography is for all my family and friends, of which I am deeply grateful for making me the person I am today -- for that I forgive all your loans and debts. You still have to pay the interest though, I’m not kidding.

I was born with a twin brother but enough about him. This is ‘me’ time. I was born in Manila and went to school at Colegio de San Juan de Letran from first through sixth grade – sounds expensive doesn’t it? Well it was.

After that I came over to Los Angeles, CA and resided at Hollywood, CA. Like any other immigrant before me I was excited and consumed with pride and joy for living in this country. Not only because I can brag living near “Melrose Place” but also living and breathing the air that gave life to such notable people as George Washington, Norman Rockwell, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Frank Sinatra and Paris Hilton…ok not so much of the latter. Although she’s a very good ‘sales thing.’

In high school I wasn’t a member of the “It” crowd. As a matter of fact, in my high school there was no “It” crowd. Everyone knew everyone; maybe that’s why everyone was nice to everyone.

When it comes to my art, I have to say it would not have gone this far if it wasn’t for the cartoon “Ghosbusters”. Yes, Ghostbusters. I remember when I was nine years old watching every Friday night; watching it and drawing every ghost that’s shown in that show. I didn’t know anything about copy written materials back then so back off! I drew and drew and drew until my pencil’s lead tip and eraser were half an inch from each other. Boy was I rolling.

After that I took a hiatus, about six years. Then high school started and my first drawing class was there to embrace me with open arms. I had fun at that class, more importantly I was the top of my class.

I have proof, the teacher wrote, “I was the best, if not the best that went through the program” in my yearbook.

You don’t believe me? Well suck a crayon. My teacher was very paranoid when it came to that class. We were never allowed to talk but we did anyway. I remember one time we were so bored we shot sharpened number two pencils up on the ceiling. And you know what? They do stick – most of the time. Those were the days.

Marcus Antonius Jansen

‘Urban Expressionism’
Marcus Antonius Jansen Bio

Marcus Antonius Jansen Gallery
Modern Urban-Expressionism
Ft. Myers Florida (U.S.A)
info@marcusjansen.com
www.marcusjansen.com

European Studio:
Jansen Collection
American Art Gallery
Modern Urban-Expressionism
14 Rue des Jardins St. Paul
75004 PARIS (France)

Marcus Antonius Jansen, a contemporary painter noted for his unique portrayal of urban city ‘scapes, depicted by vague abstractions, rugged old photo look-a-like images combined with forgotten Graffiti elements, refers to his paintings as "Modern Urban Expressionism." His work is typical for thick and chopped layers of crudely applied paint, bold colors and brushstrokes. Jansen sees his paintings as a tool for communication to bridge the gaps between modern and antique, contemporary and traditional, young and old, poor and rich, etc. all the while addressing and resolving pre-existing obstacles in the minds of our modern society.

Jansen's work is as diverse as his background. Being born in New York City and partly raised in Germany, he was greatly influenced by both cultures. He uses this unique experience to break traditional doctrines of painting by crossing different art movements and bringing together parts of the Old and the New World – Europe and America. Jansen's art reflects elements of German Expressionism as known since the early 1900s, American Abstract Expressionism from the 1950s as well as the strong and controversial
Graffiti art movement of New York City in the 1970s.

"It wasn't until I returned from the Gulf War in ‘91 after operation Desert Storm that I started having a more distorted perception on life and things around me. I was determined then to express this in what I do best... in art. I believe the lessons and experiences in a
combat zone were a great part of what has lead me to a heightened sense of awareness with things in the world. It forced me to question more. Before I knew it, out of chaos came creativity,” says this 37-year-old Gulf War Veteran, who studied the craft of painting in Europe.

Jansen has hit a nerve with private collectors and museums. He was commissioned and is collected by the Ford Motor Company and the Southwest Florida Museum of History as well as the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit. He received top honors at the New York City ORB.E Art Competition in ‘99 with his painting "Subway82" sponsored by Russel Simmons and was awarded the Angels of the Arts Award New Artist of the Year of Lee County, Florida in ‘05. Jansen has recently shown alongside Robert Rauschenberg and other world-renowned artists residing in SW Florida at the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery in Fort Myers. The solely committed Jansen gallery is the American Art Gallery in Paris, France located in the famous Le Marais art district of the city, where the Galleries primary mission is to make a name for Jansen in Paris.

This first comprehensive Jansen book catalogues his most significant works over the past five years. It is an educational introduction of Jansen's modern urban version of expressionism to his growing global audience, who is diverse in age, culture and origin, ethnicity, as well as its economic background. This book is an enlightening tool, which helps bring sub-cultural and the often times neglected areas of our urban communities as well as their inhabitants closer to the public's eye and heart. The book is to be
released in ‘06.

The uniqueness of this catalogue is defined by the inimitability of Jansen's style and theme of work. "Many painters remove the imperfections in their works. I use them to reveal what we don't know or see. It's through imperfections that we learn." [Marcus Antonius Jansen, ’05.]

Jansen since then has appeared in numerous publications and media outlets, such as: Fox - 4 News. WINK TV, ABC 7, World of Arts Magazine, Art World News, Art Business News, NY Arts Magazine, China Arts and on the Cover of: Expressionism Magazine, Lifescapes Magazine, Sanibel Sun, River Weekly, WGCU Radio, The Source, Paint Magazine,The Florida Journal, Famous 100 Contemporary Artist's book, Best of Art and Artisians Book in the state of Florida ‘06, Atlanta Goodlife Magazine. Just to name a few.

Gulf Shorelife Magazine just named him one of twelve most important people to watch in SW Florida. His paintings are now in prestigious Galleries and Museums in New York, Paris, Los Angeles and more.

His work is available as original paintings as well as special limited editions at: www.marcusjansen.com.

BenHa Xodust: Scarification

By Aaris A. Schroeder
Editor-In-Chief
Oct. 22, 2007

BenHa Xodust, whose real name, Mandell Davis, resides in Davis, CA. This guy is probably, by far one of the most down-to-earth individuals you may meet. He is also covered in tattoos from his legs to his mid-section, arms, neck and head.

Spring '07, Xodust received scarification at Nomads in San Francisco, CA to welcome his new child into the world. I was able to photograph the images of him right after he received the 'wounds' and once the scarification took affect. This was a new project for me but worth the while. If anyone is interested in scarification, tattoos visit Xodust's website at www.unifiedtrinityproject.com