Chaz Bojorquez

Biography

Chaz Bojorquez believes that true self-expression comes from the soul. At an early age, in the 1950’s he experienced the graffiti tradition of the East Los Angeles Mexican-Americans. Los Angeles ‘Cholo’ style graffiti was dictated by an honored code of writing. Allegiance to that code of traditional writing brought you respect.

In 1968, out of high school with a liberal arts/mathematics diploma, and one year of state college, Chaz enrolled into Chouinard art school (known today as Cal Arts). He also studied Asian calligraphy from Master Yun Chung Chiang ( Master Chiang studied under Pu Ju, brother of the last Emperor of China). From all of these experiences, in 1969 he combined the tradition and honor from Cholo gang graffiti and the educational knowledge from art school, and with the spiritual skills of Asian calligraphy. Chaz was one of the first graffiti writers from Los Angeles, with his own style. After more than a decade of tagging in the streets in the 1970’s and early 1980’s, came a deeper need to understand, why do we do graffiti?

In 1975 Italian photographer Gusmano Cesaretti interviewed Chaz for Street Writers, a transcribed audio tour of East Los Angeles graffiti in the early 1970’s. A pioneer book in the Chicano and Graffiti culture. In 1979 he embarked on a three year round-the-world experience, visiting and living in 35 countries, studying how graphics and letters describes culture and national pride.

The graffiti art that Chaz Bojorquez paints today, ask even deeper questions of himself. Does graffiti have intent, purpose, cultural identity, history and create unity? Who owns the public space and who has the right to speak and be heard?

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Graffiti Mandala

Graffiti Mandala is a painting that materialized out of a community event that happened in 1995 here in Highland Park ( my home district of Los Angeles). We were experiencing a large increase in gang violence and murders. Our street gangs started in the 1940’s and are generational, where gang members’ sons and their sons stay in the gangs. In 1995 our Los Angeles city council had invited six Tibetan Buddhists Monks from India. In previous years the Monks had traveled to many troubled spots in the world ( Russia, South Africa, Chicago etc.) to worked with city youths. They would make large round 10 ft. colored sand ‘Mandala’ paintings ( Buddhists symbols of compassion). Here in Los Angeles they worked with two gangs, the ‘Avenues’ and ‘C.P. Boys’ for two months.

I had volunteered to drive the Monks and help the gang members to participate. We were not trying to teach religion, but to offer something to do with art that uses street symbols that they use in their graffiti. We asked the gang members to make a list of ‘Who were their friends’? (traditional gang rollcalls). ‘Who are their influences’? (Latino heros like Cesar Chavez, Selina, etc.) and ‘Who protects them from harm’? ( God, guns). The sand paintings took one month long and there were no deaths that summer in my neighborhood, but once the Monks left, the killings started again.

The Graffiti Mandala painting is my attempt to find ‘My friends, My influences and who protects Me?’ The painting took about two years to complete. I did not have or want a complete image when I started, I just followed my heart and instincts and most importantly ‘listened’ to the painting and respected the painting as a ‘teacher’. I had no preconception of what the visual composition the painting would form, my only motivation was to illustrate a visual ‘truth’. I built that ‘truth’ with my long experience in L.A. graffiti.

The original painting is very large and can never be truly represented by a print. I had used gold paint and the white color in the print is really white pearlescence paint creating a warm glow over the entire surface, it should be seen in person.

Chaz Bojorquez The Graffiti Mandala Dissected

Diologue In The Ivory Tower

The painting took two and a half years to complete. It was intended as a work in progress, without a compositional look, The painting is a gathering of specific groups of names and places.

I used a ‘Cholo’ graffiti style typeface to describe the identity of other persons who have contributed to the graffiti art movement. They are not graffiti writers themselves but instead; art dealers, art collectors, curators and galleries. They contribute to the diologue of “what is graffiti, and who are the players?"

We all contribute to a form of graffiti in our lives. By either getting it up on a wall or adding to the scholarship on graffiti as an artform. It’s america’s newest art movement.

1996
60“ x 60” x 3”
Mixed media on canvas

Eddie’s Lament

Eddie’s Lament is from the text of a poem written in a letter to me from prison by Playboy Eddie. He was sentenced to five years for car jacking in 1993.

Who was I…. how does it end?
    Fresh out of juvenile hall, gun in your hand,
    ready for anything. What’s up Ese?

Pick the life of violence, greed is your downfall,
    you’re on the road to death.

From juvenile hall, to the county,
    and finally the state penn.

For every brick he has on his face,
    is for every year he has been in solitary confinement.

And you ask yourself…. and what have I become?

Words That Cut