We start off exactly where we left off last time, in Long Beach, CA. I will admit that most of the artists below are new to me, but that is why events like Pow! Wow! Long Beach are so valuable to expand your horizon of artists that you were unfamiliar with prior.
Let’s start with Push’s mural since it’s kind of far out of the way relative to where all the other murals are. Push (@knowudont) is part of the MSK crew which is home to other well-known artistic dudes like Retna (@ironeyeretna), Saber (@saberawr), Risk (@riskrock), and Revok (@_revok_). His style is unique from the rest of the crew because instead of relying on handstyles it’s mostly geometric patterns. This wall is hidden behind another building so drive slowly near this area to find it
We return to DTLB to look for the others. Hmmm… Let’s start with Benjie Escobar (@benjieescobar)’s contribution. I have known of this man since back when he used to be a graphic designer for The Hundreds, but he’s since broken off and focusing on his own thing. Kudos to him. I like this one because it’s so fun: Pizza, flowers, and spam musubi! Some of you may have felt the sexual undertone behind this piece in the vaguely vaginal vestige* in the rose petals. Intentional? I really hope so.
*I know “vestige” doesn’t quite fit but I wanted to make an alliteration. :)
Jeff McMillan (@jeffmcmillanart)’s wall was a hard one to find and required some walking to get to unless I paid $10 for parking at the Long Beach Convention Center. This wall can be found right in between where the Convention Center and Hyatt Regency meets. These are some fierce looking birds.
I don’t get Madsteez (@madsteez). All his portraits end up looking like an asphyxiated, zombified version of the person he’s portraying. Regardless, here is a collaboration between Hueman (@hueman_) and Madsteez.
The last wall I visited was the French artist Fafi (@therealfafi)’s on 4th and Linden. The cool thing, or not so cool depending on how you look at it, is how faded the piece had become since it was painted. If you compare the pictures of the piece from 3 weeks ago and the picture below, which was taken just yesterday, you will notice how much color has weathered away. Hey, sanctioned walls can be ephemeral too! Her work reminds me a lot of Miss Van (@vanessa_alice)’s work in not only the style but also how strong femininity plays a role in their message.
So there’s another wall right in front of the Fafi piece that I completely forgot to photograph. It’s a piece by Bumblebeelovesyou (@bumblebeelovesyou). You can’t miss it.
***UPDATE: We recently revisited 4th and Linden to document the Bumblebeeloves you mural in front of the Fafi piece. Here’s what you have all been waiting for:
Parts Uno and Dos should cover 90% of the Pow! Wow! event that was held in Long Beach, CA. This was the first year that they organized this mural art event in the city and I hope they continue to bring it over to the Southern California area. Maybe next year it can be in Los Angeles where there’s many more open walls and visibility to the general crowd. Here’s hoping.