Defrag
2003

Justin Bua was born in New York in 1968, the same year in which Stanley Kubrick received an Oscar for his "2001: A Space Odyssey," Martin Luther King was killed in Memphis and Hendrix released his last album, "Electric Ladyland." Shortly after that period, an incredible outburst of energy, creativity and violence will make history in the United States. Justin starts drawing at five, encouraged by his mother and his maternal grandfather, both artists and admirers.

BUA: Growing up in the heart of the city the atmosphere was full of energy. I grew up next to a welfare hotel which was home for drug dealers, pimps and prostitutes, but at the same time down the block were m idle class intellectuals walking down the same streets. It was rough growing up there as a kid because I was always getting into trouble or more often trying to get out of trouble. It was a rough city so even the walk from school to home was dangerous. I had to take out-of-the-way streets in order to avoid the hoodlums and muggers and sometimes I got robbed or jumped for my jacket or my sneakers. I remember one time I was robbed for a chocolate bar! The funny thing about that scenario was that while I was getting robbed I remember two cops sitting in their police car laughing at me while my shit was getting vamped. Crazy childhood. NYC in the 70's was a real urban jungle.

What was vibrating in the air during those years? Which emotions, memories, colors and sounds?

BUA: The city undulated with greys of towering cement, while the traffic grumbled with its own beat. The streets seemed to have a life of their own. There was almost a rhythm of Hip Hop that echoed throughout the architecture. Goethe said that architecture is "frozen music." Well. If that's true then the city of New York in the 70's was defrosted because it seemed to move to its own funky beat. It had a musically and life of its own. I think that now, in retrospect, the birth of Hip Hop could be felt throughout the veins of the streets and in every crack of architecture.

Cultivating his passion for painting, Justin Bua lets himself get overwhelmed by this creative form of expression that was born along the routes of his childhood. He becomes completely absorbed by it.

BUA: I think that the media misinterprets what Hip Hop really is. Most people that think of Hip Hop think of rap music, whether it's Gansta Rap or it's Nelly. I think Hip Hop is a state of mind. It's a mindset that defines the movement. The media has always been about how much profit can we make from this movement. They like to define and categorize a true grass roots culture. That's why, for example, when an artist is popping or locking they'll say he's Breakdancing. Or when someone is breaking they'll say look he's Breakdancing. This word comes from the media. We were all B-boying or popping or breaking but we were never Breakdancing. The media defines our culture inappropriately and labels incorrectly.

SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL
FEBRUARY 2003

Hop to it
Music, dance reflected in work of artist
By Nancy Redwine

People are going to see stuff my mom has never even seen," said Justin Bua, the painter whose representations of urban life and hip hop archetypes have made him the No. 1 selling artist on college campuses in the United States.

Opening UC Santa Cruz's weekend of hip hop celebration at the Media Center tonight, Bua presents a collection of his most personal, never-before-seen-in-public work, focused on early character drawings.

"This is my raw stuff," he said. "Drawn on napkins, Post-It notes, and sketch books, this work represents who I am more than any other."

The first half of Bua's presentation centers on what he calls "the cast of characters inside my imagination." In the second half, he shares his process of becoming an artist, including thumbnail sketches, value and color keys, which he is in the process of organizing into two books.

Justin Bua burst onto the arts scene 10 years ago with his liquidly angular images of musicians, deejays and artists that drew life from the same rhythms and poses as the breaking, popping, and locking of break dance.

Born to a single mom - also a painter -in 1968, and raised as a latch-key kid in the Upper West Side, Bua was hanging out at Rock Steady Park when hip hop culture rose up as a peaceful response to the violent streets. Before he found his way as an artist, he traveled around the world with breaking crews, New York Express and Dynamic Breakers.

His current work-in-progress - "1981" - is about that time and its heroes.

"That time was the high renaissance of B-Boy (break boy) culture and the hip hop movement," Bua said.

"It was a time when people came together from all walks of life to dance and to be somebody in a nonviolent peaceful way. It was a time when hip hop was still owned by the kids."

Paying tribute to aspects of hip hop culture that continue to evolve and sometimes defy commercialization is what drives Bua to the drawing board.

In "1981," the characters are executing a break move called the continuous back spin, invented by hip hop pioneer "Crazy Legs" (Richie Colon). Since then, breakdancers have been influenced by the movement of yoga, capoeira and gymnastics.

"It has gone way beyond where anyone could have foreseen," Bua said. "It has entered another dimension of time and space."

JOINTZ MAGAZINE
AUGUST 2002

HIP-HOP & ART,
THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE

Justin Bua was in the middle of it all...the birth of hip-hop in NY. The bonafide bboy's experiences as a youth during the 80s uprise of hip-hop coupled with his classical education in drawing built the foundation of his urban steez.

Jointz: For those who don't know who you are, please introduce yourself.

BUA: My name is Justin Bua. I'm originally from NY City. But I've been on the West Coast for about 3 years. I'm a native New Yorker from uptown money-makin' Manhattan. I'm a New Yorker, born and raised.

Jointz: Did you go to school there?

BUA: Ya', I went to Music & Art High School which is a performing arts school. You know the movie Fame? That was my school.

Jointz: Leroy and Amatulo ever dropped by?

BUA: Never (everybody laughs). I've seen him around 'cuz when they weren't in school I used to go down there and breakdance. We would wanna battle them 'cuz we were like whatever...they can't dance

Jointz: So, you used to break?

BUA: Oh yeah, I was in dance for 10-12 years professionally. I toured Europe during the whole hip-hop renaissance days...the birth.

Jointz: Do you still teach?

BUA: I teach drawing for animation at USC. Basically, classical figure class, it's just fundamentals. I take it to different levels and talk about art, culture and different artists. I like to expose my kids to a lot of artists.

Jointz: Tell us about your style.

BUA: Art is something that has been consistent in my life. No matter what i departed into, what avenue or area I got involved with - whether it's bboying, poppin or graffiti - I always came back to my art. Drawing and painting to me is just another way of manifesting. There's the classical education that I have with drawing and because of the nature of where I was from during the hop-hop renaissance of the early 80s in New York City...it just came out in my work. So the rhythms and stylizations of boogying and breakin' are part of the composition on my canvas. If you look at my DJ piece I like to flatten graphic geometric shapes. But my handling and approach is very classical. Because I believe that in order to articulate myself as clearly as possible I have the tools to be able to do that. And so good drawing and painting along with fundamental skills gives me those tools. And my style is who I am and where I came from, which are the rhythms f breakin, graffiti and hip-hop influence...it's just in me.

USC DAILY TROJAN
SEPTEMBER 2002

Distorting Urban Realism
By ELIZABETH WAGNER

Sixteen Students work in silence as their teacher paces around the circle and peers over their shoulders, catching glimpses of their creations. The professor stops behind one students, nudges her out of the way, sits in her place and begins drawing. He mutters quiet phrases such as, "work on the initial action and energy of the pose ... Think of things sculpturally ... Feel the form ..." as he sketches lines and shapes on the paper in front of him. He talks passionately about figure drawing, noting the importance of spheres and cylinders that comprise shapes of human body.

He is 34-year-old artist Justin Bua, who is helping his students capture the likeness of the model in front of them.

Bua teaches Drawing for Animation at USC (FA207A), a class that focuses on the fundamental technical and classical techniques of drawing.

He is more than just an art teacher - he is an innovator in the artistic world.

Today, USC students have the opportunity to meet Bua and examine his artwork on campus. He will be in front of the USC bookstore from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. for a poster signing featuring his newly released works, "Como No?" and "The DJ." Special guest DJs include the Fantastik 4our, J.Rocc and Truly Odd.

Children and teenagers from all over Los Angeles will be based in to visit with Bua and the characters that act as role models for their urban generation.

A portion of the money raised at the USC poster signing will benefit the Los Angles-based charity, Hope and Hollywood.

By mingling with the streetwise characters in his artwork, passers-by will get acquainted with Bua's artistic odyssey.

Bua grew up in Manhattan during the so-called "hip-hop renaissance," where break-dancers, graffiti artists and poets were the most celebrated people on the streets.

The older kids that Bua admired in his youth are the basis for the characters in his artwork. And these characters featured in his artwork, represents this generation's urban population.

Bua describes himself as the voice for kids with the "In-N-Out Burger and In-N-Out culture mentality."

He believes that because today's children have grown up on fast food and MTV, they have become easily uninterested and detached from what art is and what art could mean to them.

Explaining that the unveiling of ancient art was like the movies, he now unfortunately sees art as disregarded and unimportant to kids.

BREAK'N GROUND
JULY / AUGUST 2003

For the last ten years, artist Justin Bua has been making a mark with his urban flavored paintings. His combination of graffiti-esque style distorted realism and urban themes has made his paintings some of the most popular art among young people today.

For all who don't know, could you please introduce yourself to our readers?

BUA: Wassup. My name is Justin Bua but most people know me as "Bua." I'm originally from NYC, uptown, the upper west side (or what we used to call the "upper best side.)"

What/who inspired you to paint?

I grew up in Harlem. I hung out a lot at the Rocksteady Park where I was privy enough to see the great legends of our time like Prince Ken Swift, Crazy Legs, and Mr. Wiggles. I also hung out a lot at the Douglas Projects and the Dykeman Projects where my friends lived. It was a flavorful world.

How has graffiti and graf-writers influenced your work?

Graffiti still influences my work today. Graffiti is a visual language of the counter culture and a voice of anti-establishment. Graffiti is about taking back public space, therefore the message of the graffiti writer and social significance is an inspiration to me. In addition, the rhythms of graffiti echo the rhythms of the street. That's what's so powerful about graffiti. It recognizes the inner city struggle in a beautiful way.

How do you go about creating your art? Do you have to map it out or does it flow freely?

Some pieces like "Piano Man", "Piano Man II", and "Saxophone" are just painted out of my head with no preliminary work whatsoever. However, a piece like "The DJ" I spent months researching the designs and rhythms of my compositional studies, but I also did value keys and color keys. In this respect, I work very classically. That's how the classical masters used their work. They did an immense amount of studies before they busted out a finished piece.

Will you ever stop painting?

Only if I'm crippled, then I'll paint with my foot. And if I break my foot, I'll paint with my teeth� I'll never stop painting.

What does Hip Hop mean to you?

Hip Hop is a way of life. Hip Hop is about love, unity, and transformation. Hip hop embodies the raw visceral street culture, whether it's DJ-ing, graff-writing, MC-ing, beat-boxing, or b-boying. It's a way of life. Unfortunately, mainstream does not really understand what hip hop is. Mainstream culture sees hip hop as violent and negative. Our mainstream culture sees hip hop sees hip hop as J-Lo and P Diddy.

MIXER
FEBRUARY 2004

Artist Justin Bua visite ECU
By Kelley Kirk-Swindell

Justin Bua is a top selling poster artist in the United States and Canada with his urban, graffiti-esque style. He has worked commercially with Atlantic Records, New Deal skateboards, Sony Music and The Nike Corporation.
These days he's concentrating on commercial work with New Balance Shoes and EA Sports. Bua teaches drawing at the University of Southern California and has even acted in a skateboard-break-dancing video.
In the midst of his world tour for New Balance PF Flyers, Bua will visit Greenville at 7 p.m. Feb 3 in the Mendenhall Student Center Hendrix Theater. He then travels to London, Paris, Miami and Los Angeles to show off his new shoes.
On Jan. 7 Mixer called Bua at his Southern California studio. He answered (while taking bites of his lunch).
MIXER: Do you go by Justin or by Bua?
BUA: I go by either.
MIXER: Now, you just got back from Japan, I understand.
BUA: Couldn't go to Japan because of the tour launch. On the launch, I am going to show a work I have never shown before. Drawings and paintings that I have never shown before. In addition, it is the first time that the media is gonna be introduced to the shoe from the collaboration between New Balance and myself.
MIXER: What can we expect Feb 3?
BUA: We intend these to be the most amazing events on the planet. I know that I am going to be doing a drawing demo and hopefully, if I have the materials, a painting demo because painting is a little more entertaining. A lecture which will take you through my own particular journey growing up in New York and how I got to be where I am now � wherever that is � and I am going to talk about my involvement with the different commercial work that I've had recently; particularly EA (Sports) and the New Balance shoes. Then I am going to do a Q & A. And then I am going to do a signing. So it's going to be a demonstration, a lecture, a Q & A and a signing.
Its gonna be a whole full day of insanity and greatness. I just want to meet all the people from East Carolina. There's been a lot of cool supporters over the years there. It will be cool to get there. I haven't been to the Carolinas since I danced with the Spoleto. I danced in 1984 in Greenville, South Carolina. Isn't that crazy?
MIXER: Tell me about your work for EA sports.
BUA: I am the visual spokesperson for the new game (NFL Street). But basically they hired me to paint a mural for the intro sequence of the game that they are printing out. I was on MTV's "Making the Game" where I talked about my work with EA Sports. I also got the opportunity to hire 10 other young, up-and coming urban artists. So it was a really good opportunity for kids to work in the commercial world.
MIXER: Tell me about New Balance and the Bua shoe.
BUA: I am working with New Balance who owns a company called PF Flyers. We are doing the BUA PF Flyers shoe, which is the first-ever shoe done in the history of art where we are actually taking my paintings and drawings and putting them on the shoe. I am designing the whole shoe. It's really cool. It's one of my favorite projects. And it looks like if everything goes well that it will be a consistent shoe line. Those will be available early to mid-May. But people have to e-mail me like if they want the special "in" because they are gonna go definitely before they hit the stand. We are doing a limited run of a Bowler shoe, a DJ shoe and Boombox shoe. It's a limited edition PF Flyer. We are doing a 1008 of each on its first run. It's gonna be an art piece.
MIXER: Is there anything pivotal in your life that put you on the direction you are
they want the special "in" because they are gonna go definitely before they hit the stand. We are doing a limited run of a Bowler shoe, a DJ shoe and Boombox shoe. It's a limited edition PF Flyer. We are doing a 1008 of each on its first run. It's gonna be an art piece.
MIXER: Is there anything pivotal in your life that put you on the direction you are now?
BUA: I think that there were a couple of moments, One is definitely going to the School of Art. Having that energy around me of all those talented people in my world. Another one was being able to have the opportunity to go to Europe as a young person on tour with the break dancing team and being able to be exposed to all that art that city kids aren't really exposed to. So I think those two events and definitely a lot of negative events actually fueled me. A lost of teachers who said, "You're never going to amount to anything." That kind of thing really pushed me and added fuel to the fire that I had burning through my Aries body.
MIXER: Do you have plans to do any acting?
BUA: Well, I just did the video called "Skate Break," which is the first-ever hybridized skating-breaking video. I am the main actor and I am starring as the leading role named Dr. Miclo who is trying to rid the world of skating and breaking. It's a hilarious character, and it's a really well put together video. It's got some of the best skaters and breakers in the world. I really support it because it's underground, and I love the B-boy, skate culture. So, I'm doing a little acting.
I'm an entertainer. I enjoy performing for sure. I like doing my show and everything. I enjoy speaking an lecturing. I have dun in front of a crowd. I have a good time. Teaching, I think, helps me be comfortable with it because I am always speaking to a lot of students. And, you know, I have been dancing my whole life. I have always performed in front of a large audience, and when you perform in front of a large audience as a young person you just get acclimated to that world.
Mixer: Did performing professionally at such a young age teach you confidence?
BUA: I think it did. I think that battling and doing that kind of thing did as well. You know, just going in and going for it. Not being scared to put yourself out there. Now, of course you were, but you did, you put yourself out there anyway. I think a lot of that, getting over that initial fear. You always a little frightened. But you know, I know a lot of people, a lot of professional, very famous actors who don't even like performing in front of crowds or speaking in front of crowds.
MIXER: Are you enjoying life now?
BUA: I am definitely overworked and I haven't taken a vacation in over three years but I am definitely enjoying life, absolutely. I work hard. I wish I could say I play as hard, but I don't.
MIXER: Did you play hard when you were younger?
BUA: Yeah definitely. I think I played hard enough that I don't have to play hard anymore. (laughs)
MIXER: Are we going to see you break-dance while you are here?
BUA: I have to follow the rules, and I don't want to break my back. Just got over from doing that exact thing. I don't know if it was from dancing or from running down the side of a mountain at full speed but I go full board. I don't hold back. I really hate sitting, and I am flying so much so often that I can't really (afford to get hurt). I might do a little something, but I can't really get down as much as I would like to. I think there will be plenty of kids there who can break and get down.

GOOD TIMES
SEPTEMER 2002

BUA CONSTRUCTOR
By Kevin Burns

If you look at Justin Bua maybe there's a familiarity. Maybe there's something in his face that looks quiet and mysterious. Maybe he looks a little magician David Blaine. He could, however, just be another guy you wouldn't stop twice to look at or even really think about.
And maybe if you see him in Santa Cruz on Sept 7, you will walk right past him and remember that you need to pick up some hand lotion at Longs Drugs or an album at Streetlight Records. Maybe, But if you stop by Picture Appeal, (between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.), and go inside, you'll see much more than an average guy who looks little like David Blaine. You'll see one of the most talented artists in the country. You'll see the delicate detail of his paintings - reminiscent of Dali � and stare in childlike awe, perhaps, pf the time and place he's recreated with such vivid freshness. A fan from Philadelphia once told him that he "made he ghetto look pretty."
Justin Bua paints from experience and from his heart. His paintings are nothing less than inspiration. When Bua signs a poser you buy at his show or unveils one of his latest paintings, like "BUA 420," you will remember him.
He calls his style "Distorted Urban Realism." It's a style, he says, "that was born out of my experience from growing up during the birth of the hip-hop renaissance in he early �80s. It's basically my perception of how I see the world with my work."
He's from the era that birthed the heroes of hip-hop like DJ Cool Herc and Curtis Blow. It's the era perhaps spirited by Hanes Brown's "King Heroin" and the Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight." His influence, he'll tell you is "real hip-hop. I'm not talking about the Puff Daddy's of the world. The commercialized version, I'm talking about the DJs and the graffiti writers and the break-dancers and he MCs and the street poets."
He's portraying a group of people , a group of "characters who are not really recognized by the general public in a certain respect," Bua says. "we don't really give break-dancers credibility or graffiti writers artistic status or street poets status of justifiable poets, and I'm saying these characters are icons in my mind and the rock stars of today."
He concedes that there has, of late, been a growing appreciation of DJs in America and he mentions an appearance of Mixmaster Mike recently on VH1. But then he asks, "Is there a growing acceptance of break-dancers? Absolutely not. Break dancers are light-years behind DJs at this particular point."
"Hopefully through my are and through the message of my art these things will change," Bua says/
You may notice too , when you see his paintings, what everybody else has noticed and commented on � a conscious rhythm, like a fourth dimension our senses can only detect through his art. If you ask him, he may tell you the rhythm comes from having grown up in Manhattan and break-dancing professionally for 12 years.
"My stuff is kind of break-dancing and graffiti hybridized and comes out on canvas in a very traditional, classical way," he says.
When you look at his paintings, particularly "Como No?" you might even see his face. That's because he paints himself into all of his work. Like Rembrandt, he doesn't have many models to paint so he usually just looks in the mirror to find inspiration. Another reason, Bua says, is "because I want to be my characters in a certain way � they're cool. I'm not as cool as they are and I think I'd like to be. They're my projection of what I believe cool to be and I think �how can I attain that?' and I can't so I might as well live vicariously through my characters. They reflect the kids I grew up with, always looking up to the kid who was the DJ or break-dancer or graffiti artist who was just cool and you just wanted to be them."
And there's also an ethnic quality to his paintings, but it's hard to pin down.
"With respect to the ethnic ambiguity in my paintings, I grew up post melting pot," he says, "I grew up in an era which was a melting pot already melted � in a time when you couldn't tell if a kid was Puerto Rican, Jewish, Italian, Irish, or Black because they were all the ethnicities wrapped up into one."
If you ask him if he's African American, he'll tell you he's urban. If you force the subject asking him if he's Jewish or Latino, he'll say, "I'm so ethnically diverse myself � if I'm anything I'm a New Yorker. I'm trying to see beyond that, no color lines � why even go there?"
His paintings hold this "urbanity" as the color lines have vanished. And his audience is similarly as diverse.
"I've had 80-year old Romanian woman show up and say, �I've been a fan of yours for 10 years,' he says. "That's kinda weird, but totally cool. Then I have 7-year-old kids who say, �I love your DJ, I've got all your work.'"
He says college kids are the most vocal and correspond with him the most. And it was the college kids who bought thousands of prints of his painting "Green St." after years of nobody wanting to purchase the original.

BIG SHOT
APRIL 2004

URBAN WARRIOR

Growing from an uptown breakdancer and graffiti artist to acclaimed painter, LA-based artist Justin Bua has been tapped by EA sports, Nike and PF Flyers. Here, he explains what inspires his urban-flavored paintings.

KRS-One always says, "What does it mean to be underground? / You have to be free to be underground." There is a certain truth to that. I want to do what I want to do, and now I feel that I finally have the luxury to do that. I pick and choose [my projects] as carefully as I can and creating the intro sequence to NFL Street was really cool for me.

My inspiration comes from street culture, which is what I grew up on in New York. I grew up during the inception of hip-hop and the birth of the hip-hop renaissance-I like to call it a new cultural revolution. I'm influenced by the heroes of my time: the Djs, breakers, Mcs, street balers � everything before the bling bling, girls, money and fame, when people were doing it for the love of it, not for the money of it. Those are the characters that I paint. It's like any artist: you had [Francisco] Goya painting the Pope and [Diego] Velasquez painting the figures and heroes of their timel Well, I'm painting the heroes of my time.

Right now, I work for myself, and I've been doing posters for 12 years, but I've been in the industry for 15. I've done magazine design, posters, CD covers, portraits, advertisements- whatever I needed to do to get by. I've always gotten by through hustling up money. Success always happens in waves and you're never successful enough. But then again, the more money you make, as Biggie Smalls says, the more problems you have.

The nice thing now is that there's a selection of things coming into the pipeline, and I get to say yes to something that I think is cool and no to something where I want to keep my integrity and not sell-out by doing that McDonald's project. I won't work with certain corporations if I find [them] disgusting or offensive. I try to do the projects that are really fun and creative and where I can be free. And besides, I've a vegan.

USC DAILY TROJAN
APRIL 2004

Justin Bua bridges art and hip hop at SC.
by Zachary Franklin

From getting his start as a b-boy (break dancing boy) in the rugged streets of New York to becoming a renowned artist and USC art teacher, Justin Bua has made his style known to the world, using urban elements and blunt realism to reveal a unique, multicultural interpretation of life.
Born in 1968, Bua grew up in the bowels of New York's Upper West Side. While he was being raised by his mother, Bua became a true friend for hip-hop, before it was even called hip-hop, spending most of his time out in the streets.
"People have a nostalgic feeling of growing up in the city, but in all reality, it was pretty harsh," he begins. "There were a lot of homeless people." But Bua still found enjoyment despite the unpleasantness of the city. "It was incredibly exciting in a moment when I was bored. I could walk down the street and be entertained."
Bua's first artwork began with the encouragement of his mother and grandfather.
"My grandfather and mom were artists, so it is kind of in my family." His love for art eventually landed him in the High School of Music and Performing Arts at the age of 13. The private institution allowed Bua to begin honing his art skills. "In New York, if you have to go through the public school, it's pretty bad," he states, looking back at his childhood.
But Bua still had his first love, b-boying, and the school was just another way for Bua to show off his breakin' moves. "At the time, (hip-hop artist) Slick Rick was in my school. So he rapped and I popped in the lunchroom."
With hip-hop literally in its baby stages, Bua witnessed firsthand the development of the culture. "I remember when everyone used to do all the elements," he states. Bua himself was dabbling in graffiti at the time as well. He says,
"I was more of a b-boy than a graffiti artist. Art was my steez (style), and graffiti was an element that I wanted to be good at, but I just wasn't."
B-boying led Bua to The New York Express, a professional breakin' crew that was hitting up world tours. But his love for the dance aesthetic in hip-hop was slowing down. "After I stopped touring with my crew," he says, "I decided to stop breaking."
Bua went back to the drawing board, getting accepted to Hampshire College in Massachusetts. But Bua didn't find what he was looking for at Hampshire. "It was this real hippie college that just wasn't a comfortable place."
Things changed when Bua transferred to the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif. There, Bua found peace and ease as he was given the freedom to experiment and develop his artistic and intellectual sides. "I was still doing a lot of fundamentals, trying to find my style," he says, "But it was a time to search and play around with stuff."
Once college ended, Bua began examining himself, searching for what would become "the style" that has made him so popular. "I didn't initially find my style.
It wasn't until about six months after finishing college that I started doing my first pieces that were considered 'my style,'" he reminisces, "I thought, 'Wow, I'm painting this weird way, and I kinda like it.'"
Bua didn't see an instant reaction to his initial work, however.
"I was doing posters in '93, but I didn't know people were checking my style till (about) '98." "That's a long time." But once he got his Web site going (www.justinbua.com) around 2000, people really began checking Bua's work.
His art drew the attention of MTV, which had Bua design the opening title sequence for "The Lyricist Lounge Show." Most recently, Detroit rap group Slum Village enlisted the help of Bua for the animation for their music video "Tainted." Bua even got the attention of Comedy Central, conceiving, creating and writing what would become the animated series "Urbania." But things didn't pan out with Bua's TV series. "It was (a) different agenda for Comedy Central. The new head who just came in cleared house. And unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, my show got cut."
There is no bitterness in Bua's voice when he thinks about it. "It helped me in a way," he begins. "I just learned so much. The reflection is a learning journey. At the time it was horrible, but in retrospect it was amazing."
Three years ago, Bua became a teacher at USC, which has been a revolutionary experience for him. "Teaching is incredibly rewarding. It is such a dichotomy of emotions for me. But while I get to take a journey with my students, and it makes me feel better as an artist, it is really more about them than about me."
This brings us to the present-day Justin Bua. His artwork has amazed crowds, especially college kids. Bua adds, "I think that no one speaks to the youth so much, and I think my work does. I'm relatively young. I think people feel it- and, I can paint. I have skills. I think there is a kind of respect there."
And for all the college kids out there, Bua has something special planned. He will be releasing a limited edition P.F. Flyer shoe that he has customized in three different styles: "The Baller," "The Boombox" and "The DJ." There are only 1,000 in existence, all of which Bua is extremely proud of.
"I think the whole process was real inspirational. I feel kind of restricted sometimes on the canvas, but this is a shoe. It's a whole new design."
The P.F. Flyer shoes will only be sold on select days. The shoes can be bought at Sportie LA on Melrose Avenue on May 27 from 8 p.m. to midnight. On May 28, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. the sneakers can be found at Fred Segal in Santa Monica.
But for fans who can't wait that long to holla at Bua, on April 28, in conjunction with Hip-Hop Congress at USC, Bua will be giving a special talk in Taper Hall room 208 from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Bua will be answering questions and unveiling a new surprise collection of his work. Bua is also working on a book, which will be available in the near future, and there is also talk of a movie.
"There are a lot of things going on right now," Bua says, "and I am definitely enjoying it."

METRO SANTA CRUZ
SEPTEMBER 2002

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From breakdancer and graffiti artist to acclaimed painter, Justin Bua is a master of urban art
By Mike Connor

If Michaelangelo were alive today his Sistine Chapel might be a bomb-ass mural on the side of a subway car. The Ninja Turtle's namesake is probably rolling in his grave right now, antsy for Judgement Day to come so he can rise from the dead and try his hand with this stuff we call "spray paint." I'm sure he'd welcome the technology - frescoes had to be such a pain in the ass, what with all that wet plaster and gooey natural pigment.

But even Michelangelo would have trouble getting the art world to take his bomb graffiti seriously. That's the kind of attitude Justin Bua is up against - a veritable master of modern style, he's struggled throughout his career to win some respect for the graffiti form.

Born in 1968 and raised in New York City's Upper West Side, Bua, a former professional breakdancer and graffiti writer, has developed his artistic sills into a style he calls Distorted Urban Realism, which blends elements of graffiti art and caricature stylization with a distinctly urban, hip-hop flavor. In anticipation of his upcoming trip to Santa Cruz for a signing at Picture Appeal on Sept. 7, Metro Santa Cruz caught up with Bua to talk about the state of his art.

Metro Santa Cruz: You're having a lot of success in the more mainstream circles of the art world now. Do you still believe in graffiti as an outlaw art form?

BUA: I'm doing a piece right now entitled THE ARTIST. I thought of other names for it: Sneaking in the yards, Bombing the One Lines, New Lots Avenue - I used to write graffiti back in the days. But i just called it THE ARTIST. I'm talking about somebody who does burners. By doing the piece and by validating this character as an artist, I think that says it all. I think that graffiti is definitely a form of art. You have Michaelangelo representing Adam and Eve and all these biblical references in classical art, and I'm documenting the graffiti writer. I'm saying that he's just as much a rock star as any rock star. I'm just representing these kind of characters from the hip-hop world who I consider celebrities. Some people may not consider breakdancers celebrities, but I do. I'm working on this piece where I got this guy doing a windmill and he's front and center, and he's a celebrity to me.

MSC: What do you think of the proliferation of so-called 'corporate graffiti?'

BUA: I've done Nike campaigns, I've done billboard campaigns, but I refuse to do anything like that anymore. I have no belief in the value system of that. You see Mickey D's ads in the ghettos next to the liquor store. It's all economics and capitalism just trying to soften the people, in my mind. Those billboards, the fast food chains and that kind of stuff. Most advertisements are about the dollar bill. I won't do it anymore, wouldn't do it for a million dollars. I don't have any corporate branding either. I keep it all real, keep it all raw. And something's right, because I sell more posters than anybody in America and Canada.

THE DAILY REFLECTOR
FEBRUARY 3, 2004

Poster artist Justin BUA visits ECU today
by Kelley Kirk-Swindell: The Daily Reflector

Some things - like peanut butter and jelly - just go tegether. But what's the result of combining a street kid with raw, artistic talent and classical techniques in drawing and oainting? Popular poster artist, Justin BUA. East Carolina University Student Union visual chair Napolean Wright's single biggest goal this year was to bring BUA to ECU. "I really wanted to bring him her," Wright said. BUA will make an appearance at 7 pm today at Hendrix Theater in Mendenhall Student Center. The event will include drawing and painting demonstrations, a lecture and the release of his latest poster. It's gonna be a whole full day of insanity and greatness. I just want to meet all the people from East Carolina. There's been a lot of cool supporters over the years there,"BUA said from his studio in Los Angeles. BUA, who grew up a latch-key kid in New York City, is influenced by street culture. His art is best described as graffiti-esque realism. Companies like Nike, EA Sports and Comedy central have employed him to infuse his artistic perspective into their products. New Balance's PF Flyer line of footwear incorporated images of his art on the shoes. he is the visual spokesperson for EA Sports' NFL Street, a video game for Playstation and Xbox, in which he also designed the opening mural. Justin BUA talked to The Daily Reflector by phone from his studio:

DR: Do you see your style as a new form of art?

BUA: My education started off more on the streets. I was a graffiti writer. I wasn't a very good one. But I really admired graffiti and I did graffiti with some of the best guys out there ... And you know, I really love the energy of that culture.

DR: Your color palette is dark, however there seems to be a distinct source of light in every work.

BUA: Yeah, because I think I have a fascination with deception, you know, the extra sense of super drama. Like, I am working on the painting right now called "The Artist" in which the painter is sneaking into the train yard and irreverently kind of looking back at the viewer like, you know, I am going to do this no matter what. If you have one light source on him or direct light with that really strong cast-shadow, it's a very theatrical place.

DR: Are the people in your work caricatures of people you know?

BUA: I think they are more people that exist ... in this urban place that I have created in my imagination ... Although you could argue that some of them look like me but that's because, like Rembrandt (van Rijn), I don't have models all the time so I have to look in the mirror for hands or for expression.