Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Graffiti art as a thing of beauty

Trebor Kaneshiro has won awards for his work at the State Fair, shows

Julia M. Dendinger News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jdendinger@news-bulletin.com

Belen Trebor Kaneshiro doesn't look like your typical artist. The tattoos crawling up his neck, the four facial piercing and the expanders dangling in his earlobes belay the fact that Kaneshiro is passionate about his art and wants to bring that passion and creativity to Belen.

"What I am doing currently beautifies property," said the 28-year-old Belen native. "I don't go out and destroy property. I keep to legal walls and canvases.

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"It is hated, which is something of a stereotype. But I do agree, it can be the most destructive form of art, but when it's done correctly it is beautiful."

The talk of "legal walls" and destroying property should be a hint that Kaneshiro practices a rather unconventional form of art - graffiti art. "I know people don't think very highly of graffiti," he said. "But it really is a beautiful form of expression. It comes from inside you; from in your head. Every piece is different, and it's all you."

Growing up in Belen, Kaneshiro said, he couldn't wait to leave. "You know, when you're a kid it just seems so small and there is nothing here," he said. "I guess I was better than some — I didn't party or drink. I would go to Albuquerque on weekends and do my painting. That's how I relaxed."

When he was 16, Kaneshiro moved to Albuquerque and began traveling, doing graffiti art. "I got out and traveled, saw things, learned," he said.

And with all that traveling and learning, Kaneshiro has now become a well-known name within the graffiti artist community. Over a dozen pieces from a recent show are scattered around his living room. "I have to find places to hang these," he says, pointing around the freshly vacuumed room.

The show, Bomb Tha' Canvas, is a worldwide graffiti show in Albuquerque. Kaneshiro said last year was kind of a last minute thing so he only had two pieces in the show. "This year, I was a featured artist," he said. "I was invited, so I feel pretty accomplished."

At this year's State Fair, Kaneshiro took the crown and was named the state champion for graffiti art. Working with a partner, a four-by-eight piece of plywood and a spray paint, Kaneshiro captured the title.

Not all of Kaneshiro's pieces are done in spray paint. He uses everything from acrylic paint to markers. "There are different airbrushing tools with spray tips, and over the years, you learn how to use them to get the details you want with a spray can," he said.

"It's all about building your knowledge. An aerosol can is the most uncontrollable media out there. It's about learning to control it. You need a lot of space to get really detailed - bigger is better. You can only get so fine."

That's why Kaneshiro is looking for walls to paint on - the space. He has done a lot of walls in Albuquerque, painting outdoor customized murals.

A typical mural project starts with a consult with the person requesting the painting. "It's a custom piece, and it's a group effort," he said. "There are usually two to three people doing a mural project."

While doing lettering for a company or person's name takes about two or three hours, Kaneshiro said the time dedicated to a full mural is hard to calculate. "It depends on how much detail there is. My stuff is very realistic. If I have a reference image, I can draw anything with spray paint." At a customer's request, Kaneshiro painted a mural of photo realistic spiders.

But doing projects in Albuquerque, while it does pay the bills, isn't where Kaneshiro's heart is. He has come home to Belen with a dream and a plan.

"I want to be involved in the community," he said. "A lot of graffiti artists started as vandals, but they have evolved. I want to give back to the community. I've done a lot of walls and murals in Albuquerque. But I didn't grow up in Albuquerque. I don't live in Albuquerque."

While he does get paid for murals, Kaneshiro said any walls he would be allowed to do in Belen would be free of charge. "I want to do them in places people can see. It needs to be seen and appreciated," he said. "I know there are kids going the wrong direction. I am against vandalism. They need to find something to do that is supported by the community.

"Belen is where I come from. There are a lot of great graffiti artists from here. I want people to stop seeing this as a bad thing."

If there were a legal place, where people can paint, Kaneshiro says then there would like no reason for going out and defacing someone's property. "Why chance it? Like I tell my younger brother and nephew - there is good graffiti and there is bad graffiti. I do good graffiti," he said.

There are a lot of walls in town and a lot of abandoned buildings, Kaneshiro notes. His hope is that at least there could be art on them.

"All over the world, graffiti is an accepted art form. But it really still isn't widely accepted in America. When people go and see this stuff (tagging) on the streets, they say 'oh, that looks horrible' and it does," he said. "If I do get to do anything, it will be art. There won't be any lettering or names, because to most people a name equals graffiti."

Kaneshiro says he is here to help beautify the city. He willingly admits he did paint the "wrong way" when he was younger.

"Now I have evolved out of that. Graffiti is negative when it is done illegally," he said. "That is why it's important to get a legal place to paint. If there is a designated area and people know there will be painting there, it takes the edge off, makes it less risky. It really puts the fun back into it."

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