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Judith van Praag    

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Jennifer Paz Fairytale

Etsuko Ichikawa Surprises

Chinese Aerialists

Sex in Seattle

Broadway Star Michael K. Lee

Dinh Q. Le

ReAct's Wonder of the World

Common Language: Shenzhen/ Seattle

Sullivan Collection

Au Yong Follows Own Path

Juliet S. Kono - Storms of Life

Seattle Neighbors Talk Cool Tools

Cool Tools - Love Story

Bombay Dreams

Sikh Exhibit

ReAct with: To Gillian

Ivan Dinh in the Nerd

Degenerate Art Ensemble

Celebrate Khmer NY with Rajana Society

David Ishii: Bookseller

Chinese art exhibit opens with a bang

Chocolati in Seattle

Dai Family Chinese art exhibit coming

Okada: Lessons in Art History

Detective novelist Martin Limón

Sex in Seattle

Etsuko Ichikawa

Cathay: 3 tales of China

Aki Sogabi: kiri-e

King & I on 5th Avenue

Gruenewald tells the story

Small Houses, Big Ideas

Rene Yung Multimedia

"So-Ja" Library Opening

Alan Lau's art

Gu: Mother & Cellist

Kaiki Shoku (Eclipse)

Curato: Love Now

Liu on Leadership

Sightseeing with "A"

Multiethnic ReAct

Pork Filled Players

Beth Lo's Mahjong

Asian Adoptee
Experience


Jim Diers' Neighbor Power

Bryon Au Yong at Jack Straw

dk pan: bridging dichotomy

Luly Yang Design

Alan Shen and PSSO

David Kuraoka Treasure

Darvin Vida & Overstand

Sandy Lew-Hailer
s-m-l-xl


Minimalist Louise Kikuchi

Wing Luke: Beyond Talk

Chinese Master Printers

Shinkichi Tajiri's World


from the
Netherlands
Ouders Online


blogs
Hope Filled Jars

OMA Architecture Fan in Seattle


The Urban art of Darvin Vida

Pull out your calendar and make sure you save October 23 for ARTSetc, the exciting fall party that will take place at Pier 69, home of the Port of Seattle, at 2711 Alaskan Way. Yes, it's on the waterfront and an imaginative space to begin with. Like a ship's bough, the structure juts out over the water. Quite something in itself and already filled with art, the building will house even more creativity on Saturday October 23. Expect bands, nosh, fun and an auction to benefit the International Examiner.

Among the local artists and crafts people, the Vida Bros. will showcase their work. A great opportunity to "meet the artists". I already did, catching them in action at Wing Luke Asian Museum as they were getting ready to paint the town, eh, no, a couple of walls.

The name of Darvin & Hoven Vida's tee-shirt business is "OVERSTAND".

"As opposed to understand," Darvin said, his wife Tracy nodding in agreement.

The modern meaning of this old word: to interpret too much. Example: "Don't overstand me; I only mean what I said."

You'll find the "OVERSTAND" tees at Urban Outfitters, 1513 5th Avenue and at "GOODS" a shoe store at 1112 Pike on Capitol Hill.

Wordplay is understandably part of Darvin & Hoven's life. They're members of the Seattle Hip Hop scene; urban artists, painting murals, not in the street, but inside buildings. Their parents were inventive with names as well, that -V- in Darvin's name is no typo and thanks to ancestral names Honesto and Benito they came up with Hoven.

Right now you can check out the brothers' work at the Wing Luke Asian Museum, 407 Seventh Avenue South. The museum's curators erected walls especially for the latest adventure in their "New Dialogues" program. Starting with Darvin & Hoven and another crew member, break dancer Justin Fellores, the museum will be the home to three rotations of artists creating murals.

Until October 14, when the opening party takes place at the museum, you can admire the spray can compositions of these first three guys. After their work is taken down (or the boards painted white again) another team spray paints the wall, followed by a third group. The "New Dialogues" show will run into December.

Looking through Darvin's large black sketch books, filled with the exaggerated shapes of cartoon characters, I notice his clear understanding of anatomy, albeit often exaggerated; images of his wife make her blush. Early creations are pencil sketches traced by pen, the lead marks erased. Lately he's gone lazy, Darvin explained, drawing immediately in permanent ink.

If you ask me there's nothing lazy about this versatile guy. He holds an Interdisciplinary Visual Arts degree from UW and was responsible for lip syncing the French trailer version of "Rug Rats". Thinking of his affair with animation art, he chuckled, pursing his lips to mouth the French words he remembered from his college days.

Darvin's a perfectionist and likes clear black lines surrounding the color-fill of his images; if not satisfied, he'll mask sections to spray clearer lines. A style that could take too long for a graffiti artist working out in the street.

Darvin's tagging days are far behind him though (and besides he only tagged when he lived in California).

"I'm too old for that, that's for the younger guys."

Instead he spray paints murals on legal walls inside buildings and works in acrylics on canvas.

"I never had training in the fine art of painting," he said with an apologetic smile, "I paint the contours, then fill in the spaces with [acrylic] color, even when working on canvas."

At ARTSetc he may be showing those "smaller" works (he spread his arms wide to show their size) and the "OVERSTOOD" tees. And who knows, perhaps the whole crew will show and you'll get to see and hear some Hip Hop.



Previously published on 10/20/2004 in the International Examiner.
© 2004 Judith van Praag, All Rights Reserved


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