“If you
want to achieve greatness, stop asking for permission,” painted stencil artist
Eddie Colla, alongside a girl with a bandana tied, a spray can in hand, and a
pair of eyes staring with a commanding presence on the wall to address
onlookers. From a swift illegal act to
commissioned murals, tags have evolved into more than just a name and a
number. Until recent years, Hawaii’s urban art scene
has been among the shadows, quietly lurking within the background, simply
waiting for its opportunity to explode.
This chance first arrived in 2012, when the event of Pow! Wow! Hawaii had brought over 100 urban artists, locally and
internationally, together and transformed the once particularly dull Kaka’ako
of muted tones into a vibrant, bustling area full of eye-catching murals - to
even make the most stubborn mindset of “graffiti is vandalism” reconsider their
thinking.
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| 123klan working on their Pow! Wow! Hawaii 2014 piece. Left: Scien| Right: Klor |
Pow! Wow! Hawaii is an annual week-long festival,
showcasing artists of only the utmost creatively skilled.
With such diversity and styles of numerous
artists from all walks of life, as usual, this year’s event surely did not
disappoint.
As the years slowly
progress, it appears that more women have become actively involved in the
scene. 123klan, a French-Canadian graffiti crew originally founded by married
couple Scien and Klor, helps to illustrate that women are just as capable of
writing as men are. Furthermore, styles can complement each other to make
collaborating look easy.
As opposed to
two artists creating different pieces, the duo works as one.
In their latest piece at
Pow Wow, they exhibit their mechanical flair on wildstyle.
An average passerby would likely make the
mistake of assuming that it had been entirely done solely by a man, as no
"feminine" qualities appear, such as omitting colors, objects, or
characters often viewed as "girly" (i.e. pink, flowers, fluffy
animals). Instead, they utilized the grey backdrop with bright shades of
turquoise to paradoxically blend in while standing out.
This can be likened to the handful of writers
who are female.
At the surface, it seems
there are not many; if you take gender away as a factor, you would still have a
skilled writer, blending in with the rest of the greys.
Simultaneously, there are the prominent
standouts due to their distinct styles as the "pop" of the turquoise,
who would still receive the same attention as if the artwork was instead done
by a man.
The flow of the piece can also
be seen as a ruptured power shift.
As Scien's side of the piece transitions right to Klor's side, the robot acts as a
divider, demonstrating that regardless of more women finding a passion in
writing, there appears to be obstacles in achieving the same level of
recognition.
Graffiti art remains to be
a predominantly male culture.
With the
multiple layers of underlying patterns, there is certainly more than meets the
eye, showing that attention to detail is just as important as the whole
picture.
A single female writer may not
seem like much, but she has the potential to be greatly influential in the scene.
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| Their piece in its entirety, located near Fisher Hawaii. |
On the
other hand, the sharp edges, protruding arrows, and skull figure can be seen as
how our culture as a whole has transformed toward technology and machine
reliance, from the long gone plantation days.
Color may play a role once more.
As greys represent the corporate influence, the calm, serene blues
remind us that the laid-back lifestyle is still there and that “beach therapy”
of blue skies and ocean is only a short drive away. In addition, the robot is seen giving a
shaka, the universal hand gesture of the aloha spirit. Although Hawaii has undergone great physical changes
over time from urbanization, another aspect remains constant: the kind spirit
of its people.
Pow! Wow! Hawaii is more than just an art
festival. As amazing as each piece looks
aesthetically, they serve an even greater purpose of conveying a meaningful message
to the public. At times, it is more
difficult to articulate what one truly wants to say. If it is as the saying goes, “a picture is worth a
thousand words,” then the value of the walls of Kaka'ako must be immeasurable.
-S.B.
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