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ABOUT JUSTIN BUA
(Courtesy of Bua Studios)
For
over a decade, artist BUA has been making a mark on popular culture with his
unique style of Distorted Urban Realism, single-handedly spearheading a new
genre of art. Born and raised by a single-mom in NYC’s untamed Upper West Side,
BUA was fascinated by the raw, visceral Manhattan street life and found himself
absorbing the essence of the burgeoning culture at places like Rock Steady Park
and the Douglas Projects. BUA studied visual art at the High School of Music and
Performing Arts (“Fame”) and complemented his education on the streets by
writing graffiti and performing worldwide with breakdancing crews such as The
New York Express and The Dynamic Breakers. At 16, BUA performed with The New
York Express in a show created by famous choreographer Julie Arenal (“Hair”).
The show toured all over the world including the Spoleto Festivals in
Charleston, South Carolina and Spoleto, Italy where he performed with Rudolf
Nureyev. After high school, BUA went on to the Art Center College of Design in
Pasadena, California where he earned a B.F.A in Illustration. There, BUA learned
the technical skills that allowed him to unleash his creativity.
BUA
started his career doing slick bottom paintings for the skateboard industry. He
came out with a line of fine art posters and quickly made his way into the
commercial freelance world. He created numerous CD covers for companies such as
Warner Bros., Atlantic Records, Sony Music and BMG Music, as well as advertising
work for clients like Weiden and Kennedy and The Nike Corporation. In 1999, BUA
animated the opening title sequence for MTV's “The Lyricist Lounge Show”. Then,
in a process that took over two years, BUA conceived, created and wrote “Urbania”,
an animation series for Comedy Central.
BUA
went on to develop the characters and backgrounds for the EA Sports video game,
“NBA Street.” He then created the world for Slum Village’s award winning music
video, “Tainted”. BUA recently teamed up with EA Sports again as the visual
consultant for their new best-selling game, “NFL Street”. BUA’s latest
collaboration with PF Flyers brought art onto the streets with his limited
edition shoe line released in May 2004. The shoe line sold out within hours of
its release and BUA will release his second shoe line and his first apparel line
in 2005. BUA’s book, tentatively entitled BUA: The Beat of Urban Art is
currently in production. BUA also teaches Figure Drawing in the Fine Arts
Department at the University of Southern California (USC).
Hip-Hop has clearly become one of the most prevalent cultural movements of our
ear as it permeates all facets of global culture from media, music, and fashion
to the language we use. BUA’s understanding of the origin and evolution of
Hip-Hop makes him the urban art icon he has become. As Crazy Legs says: “BUA’s
art is representative of today’s ethnically diverse urban culture. He has a
complete grasp of all the elements of Hip-Hop and the inner feeling of its
music. BUA truly represents the Hip-Hop movement: the most popular culture of
our era.”
BUA’s
audience is a diverse group that ranges from street kids to former US
Presidents, graffiti writers to fine art connoisseurs, rap fans to jazz
aficionados. His line of poster is a best-seller in the US and Canadian college
markets.
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