aking over the world one masterpiece at a time, Justin Bua’s art celebrates a living representation of the urban experience. A product of the streets of Harlem, this modern day artist generates elegant and provocative images of the crazy and decadent life from New York’s underworld. Bua describes growing up in the city as, “A very crazy time but it was beautiful because the city was alive and had a rhythm of its own. Colorful, rich, vibrant, and crazy.” From his Los Angeles studio, Bua keeps the beats of the streets alive through the New York inspired art he creates. Ranging from classical to commercial, Bua’s unique approach to the definition of creativity drives him to play with alternate mediums of art including video games, music videos, posters, sneakers, and the creation of a book, “The Beat of Urban Art”.
Preserving his passion for the city culture, Bua continues to honor his roots and is even considered as the revolutionary behind the birth of a pioneering genre in art- New Urban Realism. This groundbreaking style documents the birth of hip-hop and the true heroes of the era as seen through the distorted eyes of Bua. “All my characters are city dwellers who are influenced directly from hip-hop,” says Bua. “These are the people who I paint and who are important to me. People always paint bucolic landscapes and I was the first person to put out an urban landscape when I did, The Block. I paint the ghettos.”
Recognized as the contemporary father of urban art, this vivacious, and at times, sarcastic individual has remained driven by ambition since the onset of his career at the tender age of four. He has come a long way since his first creation of Coloring Machine Man by evolving and continuing to paint the world- omitting different hues into the universe.
“I have always been very motivated with a voice that needs to get out there in the world,” explains Mr. Bua. “I am an artist for the people, by the people and of the people and so I feel like it’s important for people to see my work and to share my work with the people. It’s not just my work; it belongs to a generation because it is something that speaks volumes to the people. I feel like I have been chosen to create art for everybody.”
But even so, the USC professor describes himself as the eternal student- “I’m always learning, always growing and always trying to get better. It feels good to give back and share my knowledge and experience.” Further advice that Bua offers not only to his students but also to aspiring young artist, is to maintain a high level of persistence, determination, perseverance, and to most of all, “Keep it real.”
Ten years from now we can expect to see this hero of the imagination hard at work stepping up his game bigger than ever imagined. “I hope to be known as the one who took our culture and celebrated it.”
For more information and photos by Justin Bua take a look at his official website, myspace, twitter and facebook.
By Lauren Mitcheom
