Surf

I volunteer for an organization called STOKED. They empower inner city youth to achieve success in life and academia via skateboarding, surfing, and snowboarding. You can read more about them here. Life is full of irony. I’m a Los Angeles native living in New York City, but just started surfing one year ago here through my volunteer work with STOKED. Ces’t la vie!

Surfing is now a passion of mine (more of an obsession actually). I truly admire the athleticism and mental determination required of the sport (which translates very well off the water and into day-to-day life).

I will begin posting more surf related items in the near future. So this is my introduction to surfing on my blog. It’s a short film I saw at a surf bar in Rockaway Beach, Queens during a screening of women surf short films in 2014.

Surf’s up!

Graffiti Art

As graffiti art becomes more mainstream and is thrust into the orbit of public acceptance it’s perceived classification of what constitutes “art” becomes muddied. Meaning, the real intricate and painstakingly laborious pieces are deemed meaningful while simple and quick markings are disregarded and seen as less artful, creative, or innovative. I don’t agree. I love all graffiti. I don’t see the distinctions between legitimate vs non-legitimate (aesthetically speaking) graffiti.

I created this piece to highlight this. “Tags” and “throw-ups” are simple designs within modern graffiti. Beauty in graffiti art doesn’t have to be complex, it can be a group of simple but beautifully placed lines and markings.