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Zender One - Urban Chicano
My name
is John "Zender" Estrada, Zender One is my artist name, I've had that name since
1985, prior to that I wrote Phaze 52. Why I changed was that I felt that Phaze
52 was that graffiti kid that encountered Hip-Hop and graffiti from New York in
early 1982. I wanted to be a New Yorker hitting subways and mobbin' lines. After
my encounter with RadioTron and many of the early pioneers of Hip-Hop in 1984, I
evolved into what I would say a more serious artist. Zender was definitely
influenced by Zephyr and I interpreted the name to mean "The Rising Mountain".
I born and
raised in East Los Angeles and was heavily influenced by the Chicano / Cholo
culture, I had a chance to live and experience the Homeboy culture of the 1970�s
very similar to those characters in �Boulevard Nights� the Movie. At the age of
10 my family moved to South Central Los Angeles where I experience a form of
culture shock, I began to have friends of many nationalities and lifestyles. But
I leaned more towards the gang life. I remained in that lifestyle until 1982
when my father was murdered in those same streets. I relocated to Maywood to
live with an uncle; there I felt like I was looking at a blank canvas, I was
doing Homeboy graffiti since 1978 so graffiti was already a part of my life.
Television and media contributed to the influence of Hip-Hop in my life, videos
like "Buffalo Gals", breaking and popping also came into the scene in 1983. My
first Graffiti piece was done in Maywood, California I painted the word "Graff",
I used the L.A. River as my own personal studio.
Street Art has a lot of
perspectives and definitions, it depends on which view you want to look at it
from, some street cultures are Tattoo art, Skater, Gang, Punk, Rock, Graff,
Party, Hip-Hop, Low-Riders, Crime and many others. I take the ones that I have
experienced in my life and merge them in my art, I call it Urban Chicano. I
spent 10 years doing Graffiti art, 10 years doing Chicano art and murals and 10
years doing Abstract Art, Urban Chicano fuses these three styles. I work in
layers which helps me fuse the three and it�s also symbolic to the layers of
life experiences that I�ve been a part of. I work in all mediums from pencil to
oil and everything in between. If I had to choose a favorite medium it would be
oils, they have so much depth and I like the slow drying process, it lets me
slow down and do more reflecting on each piece.
People often ask
me who is my favorite artist and I have had several throughout my life. I will
try to mention them in chronological order, Futura 2000, Zephyr, Jean-Michel
Basquiat, Kandinsky, Gorky, Matta, Lam, and Jorge Gonzales Camarena. I also like
the work from some of the contemporaries such as Almaraz, Mear, Chaz Bojorquez,
Germs, Vincent Valdez. Hopefully I can continue to exhibit or paint with some of
theses artists. Or maybe some time in the future I would like to open a gallery
and exhibit some of these artists. Currently I spend most of my time working at
my shop MuteTheWorldShop.com and continue to exhibit where ever I can. I�m also
working with a friend on his magazine ArtTheMagazine.com, I usually post all my
events on facebook/zendersworld and for more info on my murals CreativeArtSolutions.com and www.JohnZender.com.
Mute Da
World Shop
John Zender
5615 N. Figueroa St.
Los Angeles CA,
90042
323 947-8016
mutedaworldshop.com
OFFICIAL WEBSITES:
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