Curated by Marco Klefisch and Alberto Scabbia, "THE ART AND LIFE OF CHAZ BOJÓRQUEZ" is the first monograph about Chaz Bojórquez, the artist that has influenced whole generations of street artists, writers and tattooists.
His symbol or “tag”, created in 1969, a stylised skull called Senor Suerte inspired by Mexican folklore and especially by the cult of Holy Death, it is one of the first examples of stencil art applied to the street and it subsequently became an image for protection against death among the street gangs. Bojórquez was one of the first writers to employ special typographical characters, creating an original synthesis of psychedelic style, Fraktur and Chinese calligraphy. Bojórquez was also one of the first to pass successfully from street art to the galleries: today his works are in the permanent collections of American museums such as the National Museum of American Art and the Orange County Museum of Art, inasmuch as they are considered expressions of South Californian Latino culture.
The book is in three sections: the first opens with introductory texts by Greg Escalante, François Chastanet and the editors, followed by an interview in which Chaz Bojórquez goes back over the milestones in his artistic formation. The second part deals with Bojórquez’s drawings and works in black and white, while the third is dedicated to his paintings. The editors have also included several photographs that document certain crucial moments in the artist’s life.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Contributors: Greg Escalante, François Chastanet, Usugrow, Flycat
Technical notes: Size cm 24 x 28. Hard cover. 192 full color pages.
Over 200 images. English language.
Release: March 2010
Retail price: € 39 | USD 50
ISBN: 978 88 6208 121 4
Produced and printed in Italy
Worldwide distribution
CREDITS
Curated by: Marco Klefisch & Alberto Scabbia
Art Direction: Marco Klefisch
Graphic design: Elena Mora, Silvia Montanari, Luca Riva
Supervision and consulting: Greta Heartfelt
Text editing and translation: Beniamino Rolando Ambrosi
Usugrow's translation: Junko Hanzawa
Composed with: Electra designed by William Addison Dwiggins.
Akzident Grotesque produced by H. Berthold
Printed in Italy during December 2009 at Damiani | Bologna.