Chor Boogie
Encyclopedia
Chor Boogie is an American spray paint art
ist based in San Francisco, California
.
in 1979. He grew up in a military family there and in nearby Vista
. He was introduced to art in general at the age of five by a teacher in grade school, after which he decided he wanted to be an artist when he grew up. He first used spray paint at age 10, chose the name "Chore" for himself at age 11 (later dropped the "e") to describe his enjoyment of art from a professional standpoint. He dropped out of high school, and did not receive formal art training, because spray paint was discouraged as art
.
In his youth, he became addicted to heroin and other drugs, lived on the streets, went to jail, and went "to hell and back" a few times. He enrolled in a drug rehabilitation
program after which he has been sober ever since. He later began to volunteer as the director of mural projects for Writers Block, a San Diego group that created art with high school students. He curated shows at the San Diego Museum of Art
and the city's children's museum
.
At a live painting show he met Apex, an artist who introduced him to the spray paint art culture in San Francisco. He moved to San Francisco in 2007 to pursue a full-time art career, moving into Start Soma Studios with another artist, Vulcan. From there his career has been rising rapidly.
In October, 2010 Chor Boogie's “The Eyes of the Berlin Wall”, sold for 500,000 euro making history for the street art genre. The story was first published on Curbs & Stoops by artist/curator Jeffrey Pena who wrote "The piece is important as a social monument. Chor Boogie's cannon for making "The Eyes of the Berlin Wall." is comparable to the "eyes on the street" theories propagated by urbanist and writer Jane Jacobs. "The buildings on a street equipped to handle strangers and to insure the safety of both residents and strangers, must be oriented to the street. They cannot turn their backs or blank sides on it and leave it blind." writes Jacobs in "The Death and Life of Great American Cities". Its also important as a comparison of the value of art. That is, Chor's piece costed half the price of the price for the entire wall restoration in 2009, one million euro. It introduces the beautiful idea that in our social order, art is above preservation."
, Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Klimt, Van Gogh, and Salvador Dali
, along with spray paint "mentors" Phase2, Vulcan, Coma, Sake, Apex, and Pose2.
Chor Boogie paints exclusively with spray paint, in sizes ranging from miniatures (such as a 2010 range of 2-by-2-inch "boogie birds") to building-sized murals. He refers to his colorful style and its intended spiritual and emotional impact on viewers as "color therapy".
His first major commission was a rock wall he painted in his early teens for a series of motivational speeches by Anthony Robbins. He since had public art
projects commissioned in San Diego
(a mural at The New Children's Museum, as well as the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art), Beijing, China (for the 2008 Summer Olympics
) Vista, California
and Melbourne, Australia. He designed and worked with volunteers to paint "Edgewood at the Edge of the World", a 500 feet (152.4 m) mural in the Edgewood
neighborhood of Northeast, Washington, D.C.. He has held shows in Mexico City
, Brazil
, and Dubai
, traveled with musicians for live painting
, and has painted a number of spray paint portraits of celebrities including Hugh Hefner, Jay Z, ODB, and Rage Against the Machine. His works are in several corporate collections, including Google
and Zazzle
, and he is also sponsored by spray paint company Spanish Montana of North America.
Chor Boogie collaborated with three other internationally-known artists for the "Paint your Faith" project, a 60 feet (18.3 m) mural at the Metropolitan United Church
in Toronto, Ontario.
One of his more prominent works, "The Color Therapy of Perception", is a 100 feet (30.5 m) mural commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission
's "Arts in Storefronts" project to improve the city's blighted Tenderloin neighborhood. While painting that work he was stabbed by thieves trying to steal his tools of communication. Mayor Gavin Newsom
visited Chor Boogie in the hospital, and helped complete the painting.
He has designed pieces for display on mobile devices, and painted a room at the famous Hotel des Arts
in San Francisco. He has also used social media
to promote his art, and as of early 2010 had more than 8,000 "fans" on Facebook
.
Spray paint art
Spray paint art is an art form using spray paint, traditionally on posterboard, but can be done on any non-porous material, such as wood, metal, glass, ceramic or plastic...
ist based in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
.
Biography
Chor Boogie was born Jason Lamar Hailey in Oceanside, CaliforniaOceanside, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Oceanside had a population of 167,086. The population density was 3,961.8 people per square mile...
in 1979. He grew up in a military family there and in nearby Vista
Vista, California
Vista is a city in north San Diego County, California. It was incorporated January 28, 1963 and became a charter city on June 13, 2007. Located just seven miles inland from the Pacific Ocean in northern San Diego County, the City of Vista has a Mediterranean climate...
. He was introduced to art in general at the age of five by a teacher in grade school, after which he decided he wanted to be an artist when he grew up. He first used spray paint at age 10, chose the name "Chore" for himself at age 11 (later dropped the "e") to describe his enjoyment of art from a professional standpoint. He dropped out of high school, and did not receive formal art training, because spray paint was discouraged as art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
.
In his youth, he became addicted to heroin and other drugs, lived on the streets, went to jail, and went "to hell and back" a few times. He enrolled in a drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines...
program after which he has been sober ever since. He later began to volunteer as the director of mural projects for Writers Block, a San Diego group that created art with high school students. He curated shows at the San Diego Museum of Art
San Diego Museum of Art
The San Diego Museum of Art is a fine arts museum located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California that houses a broad collection with particular strength in Spanish art. The San Diego Museum of Art opened as The Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego on February 28, 1926, and changed its name to the San...
and the city's children's museum
Children's museum
Children's museums are institutions that provide exhibits and programs to stimulate informal learning experiences for children. In contrast with traditional museums that typically have a hands-off policy regarding exhibits, children's museums feature interactive exhibits that are designed to be...
.
At a live painting show he met Apex, an artist who introduced him to the spray paint art culture in San Francisco. He moved to San Francisco in 2007 to pursue a full-time art career, moving into Start Soma Studios with another artist, Vulcan. From there his career has been rising rapidly.
In October, 2010 Chor Boogie's “The Eyes of the Berlin Wall”, sold for 500,000 euro making history for the street art genre. The story was first published on Curbs & Stoops by artist/curator Jeffrey Pena who wrote "The piece is important as a social monument. Chor Boogie's cannon for making "The Eyes of the Berlin Wall." is comparable to the "eyes on the street" theories propagated by urbanist and writer Jane Jacobs. "The buildings on a street equipped to handle strangers and to insure the safety of both residents and strangers, must be oriented to the street. They cannot turn their backs or blank sides on it and leave it blind." writes Jacobs in "The Death and Life of Great American Cities". Its also important as a comparison of the value of art. That is, Chor's piece costed half the price of the price for the entire wall restoration in 2009, one million euro. It introduces the beautiful idea that in our social order, art is above preservation."
Works and style
Chor Boogie lists as influences MichelangeloMichelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
, Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Klimt, Van Gogh, and Salvador Dali
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
, along with spray paint "mentors" Phase2, Vulcan, Coma, Sake, Apex, and Pose2.
Chor Boogie paints exclusively with spray paint, in sizes ranging from miniatures (such as a 2010 range of 2-by-2-inch "boogie birds") to building-sized murals. He refers to his colorful style and its intended spiritual and emotional impact on viewers as "color therapy".
His first major commission was a rock wall he painted in his early teens for a series of motivational speeches by Anthony Robbins. He since had public art
Public art
The term public art properly refers to works of art in any media that have been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all...
projects commissioned in San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
(a mural at The New Children's Museum, as well as the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art), Beijing, China (for the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
) Vista, California
Vista, California
Vista is a city in north San Diego County, California. It was incorporated January 28, 1963 and became a charter city on June 13, 2007. Located just seven miles inland from the Pacific Ocean in northern San Diego County, the City of Vista has a Mediterranean climate...
and Melbourne, Australia. He designed and worked with volunteers to paint "Edgewood at the Edge of the World", a 500 feet (152.4 m) mural in the Edgewood
Edgewood, Washington, D.C.
Edgewood is a neighborhood in Northeast Washington, D.C Edgewood is bounded by Lincoln Road and Glenwood Cemetery to the west; the tracks for the Red Line of the Washington Metro to the east; Rhode Island Avenue NE to the south; and the combination of Irving Street, Michigan Avenue, and Monroe...
neighborhood of Northeast, Washington, D.C.. He has held shows in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, and Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, traveled with musicians for live painting
Live painting
Live painting is a form of improvisational performance art, in which artists complete a visual art piece in a public performance, often at a bar, music concert, or public event, accompanied by a DJ or live music...
, and has painted a number of spray paint portraits of celebrities including Hugh Hefner, Jay Z, ODB, and Rage Against the Machine. His works are in several corporate collections, including Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
and Zazzle
Zazzle
Zazzle is an online retailer that allows users to upload images and create their own merchandise , or buy merchandise created by other users, as well as use images from participating companies...
, and he is also sponsored by spray paint company Spanish Montana of North America.
Chor Boogie collaborated with three other internationally-known artists for the "Paint your Faith" project, a 60 feet (18.3 m) mural at the Metropolitan United Church
Metropolitan United Church
Metropolitan United Church is a large neo-Gothic church in downtown Toronto, Canada. It is one of the largest and most prominent churches of the United Church of Canada. It is located on Queen Street East at the corner of Church Street in Toronto's Garden District.-History:The congregation,...
in Toronto, Ontario.
One of his more prominent works, "The Color Therapy of Perception", is a 100 feet (30.5 m) mural commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission
San Francisco Arts Commission
The San Francisco Arts Commission is the official San Francisco County, USA arts council.The San Francisco Arts Commission It was established in 1932 and runs under the California state arts council, the California Arts Council . The commission is appointed by the major...
's "Arts in Storefronts" project to improve the city's blighted Tenderloin neighborhood. While painting that work he was stabbed by thieves trying to steal his tools of communication. Mayor Gavin Newsom
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom is an American politician who is the 49th and current Lieutenant Governor of California. Previously, he was the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco, and was elected in 2003 to succeed Willie Brown, becoming San Francisco's youngest mayor in 100 years. Newsom was re-elected in 2007...
visited Chor Boogie in the hospital, and helped complete the painting.
He has designed pieces for display on mobile devices, and painted a room at the famous Hotel des Arts
Hotel des Arts
Hotel des Arts is a boutique hotel in San Francisco, California. When it opened in 2005, 16 of its 51 rooms were painted by local artists–today 38 rooms are. Materials used include wall-mounted vinyl records, plastic bags, graffiti, fabrics, three dimensional art work, and even...
in San Francisco. He has also used social media
Social media
The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,...
to promote his art, and as of early 2010 had more than 8,000 "fans" on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
.
External links
- chorboogie.com - official site
- http://www.vimby.com/video/art/us/all/detail/8013/Graffiti/Chor_Boogie/ chorboogie explains color therapy