YRB Magazine

After acquiring the proper materials, Meraz began to find inspiration in comic books and even created his own strip in junior high, before the height of his art experience in high school while attending the prestigious New School for the Arts in Arizona. “Going to that school really changed my life,” he says. “We were taught advanced art skills, which made me realize art was something I’d always want to do no matter what.” 

Learning lines and dimension from nude models and dissecting cadavers to document the body in its truest form, Meraz was more than mesmerized by art. In high school, he practiced techniques that were developed by fine artists from ages past and would spend his free time teaching art to youth at community centers and Native American reservations. “I’m all about giving back,” he explains. When asked what would be the epitome of his success in life and what he’d like to accomplish, he stated that opening up his own community center in Phoenix, Arizona would be a dream come true. “I’m sort of a product of community centers and things like that and would love to have my own center where I employ working artists to do workshops for inner city, minority kids. I know that will only come true if I’m successful as an actor. That would really be the pinnacle of my career.”

Even though he’s focused on building his acting resume (and just finished shooting a film in Peru titled The City of Gardens), Meraz will never shy away from his first love. To help ease the pressure of Hollywood and all the drama and chaos it entails, he enjoys honing his artistic talents. Everywhere he goes, his art supplies are right there beside him, ready to be used whenever a moment of inspiration strikes. Over the years, Meraz has discovered the meditative process of painting that allows him to get lost in his artwork and center his creative energy on one task at a time.

Although the painter’s always-evolving style usually blends fantasy, figurative and surrealist styles, with artistic influence from Salvador Dalí, Boris Vallejo and Gustav Klimt, he explains, “Right now, I’m working on my new series of oil paintings based on vivid dreams I’ve had in my childhood. I’ve always used acrylics, but have lately switched to oils since they force me to relax and take my time with what I’m working on. Using oils takes time since you need to let them dry before painting over them, and I have ADD and always want quick results. It’s teaching me patience. I guess you can say it’s sort of like a great life lesson in general. You don’t want piss-poor results with art, and the same applies to life.”

And while they may not seem relative to one another, Meraz can thank his passion for art for spurring his newfound acting success. While it wasn’t art that directly helped him land a role as one of ’s wolf pack cuties, it was art that prompted him to move to San Francisco after high school. Soon, he met a choreographer who was interested in yet another of his artistic abilities: dancing – ultimately leading him straight to the big screen. And now, audiences are more than happy to see the shirtless Meraz in the Twlight movies, something that might not have happened if Meraz didn’t land the role of Paul that would forever change his life.

By Kristie Bertucci

Mister Cartoon doesn’t need any introductions. Either you know of his amazing artistic skills or you don’t. However, many might not know how Mark Machado became the legendary Mister Cartoon, or even still, what makes the internationally renowned artist tick.

On the surface, Mister Cartoon is best known for his tattooing abilities and extensive resume of notable clients sporting his ink. But he’s also celebrated for his graffiti skills and numerous collaborations, making him one of the most sought after artists by just about every big time company. He’s done stuff with Nike, Vans, Stüssy and countless others, and the partnership requests keep coming in.

With success constantly building every year, Mister Cartoon has become a walking brand. But despite all the accolades, he is really a humble guy at heart, doing it all for the love and passion he has for creating art. Lacking any formal training, Cartoon cultivated an interest in art as a child, explaining that it made him feel good to make a new drawing. But his artistic story really begins when he was introduced to graffiti as a teenager.

“I got busted writing on walls, but still wanted that same rush I got whenever I’d do art, so I became a sign painter and would do the signs for a barber’s shop front window,” he explains. From there, he went on to airbrush cars at shows, soon immersing himself in the world of silk-screening by making his own shirts. Designing record covers came next, and Mister Cartoon eventually became a tattoo artist after linking up with Bob Roberts of Spotlight Tattoo. The flood gates of success were now open for a boy whose only aspirations were to “own an apartment, a ’64 Impala with a moonroof and hydraulics complete with a girl with hair down to her ankles.”

But beneath all the success and notoriety lies a man who still gets fazed by the presence of celebrities stopping by his tattoo shop; a graffiti artist who’ll bomb walls in every city he visits just to keep it real; and a mentor who is very involved with his community.

“I think that when Snoop Dogg walks in and you’ve been listening to his music all week, it blows your mind,” he reveals. “Then there are those that just visit the shop and don’t get tattoos that practically give me a heart attack. I almost fuckin’ hit the floor one day when I looked out the window of the shop to see Dr. Phil coming in. When you get used to that shit, you have to be too self-absorbed. It’s bullshit because no one gets used to that kind of shit.”

Deep down, there’s Mister Cartoon “the artist,” who everyday tries to bring something new to the table with each and every artistic endeavor he takes on. There are many different hats he has to wear, and he’s perfected the art of time management. “You make the commitment and do what you do,” he says. “Once you start a project, it will get done. You just need to put that first line down on paper, which is the hardest part.” From there, Cartoon figures out what approach to take on each particular art project.

“You’re doing something that a lot of people are going to see, and you always think about how you appeal to a lot of people, yet remain hardcore,” he explains. “You don’t want to give a fuck about what they think, yet you want them to like it—all those things run in your head.”

Getting in the artistic mode by putting on some “old Public Enemy or Ice Cube,” Cartoon likes to envision everything he does from the viewpoint of what would make him “go crazy” if he saw it on the street. When doing a painting, he takes into consideration what he thinks would look “dope sitting over a nice couch in the living room.” Putting all these things into perspective, he always strives for originality.

Having done several collaborations over the years, Cartoon now thinks the words “collabo” and “limited edition” are played out and is getting pickier with everything he lends his name to. “You have to protect your brand,” he says. “Some people’s collabos just don’t make sense or don’t fit. Man, I get tons, but I can’t do all of them, obviously. You always have to be thinking about and doing something different. You need to think with the other side of your brain because that’s what makes good stuff come.”

Out of his many “duets,” as Cartoon jokingly calls them, notables include the Nike Air Force 1 Livestrong sneaker he designed with Lance Armstrong; the Vans “The Simpsons” shoe; and, most recently, hooking up with NY’s Hotel Marcel to become its first artist-in-residence, with his YRB cover made especially for the instillation. He was even allowed to create and design a whole suite to do tattooing and painting.

Though he can’t exactly talk about everything else he’s currently working on, Cartoon did mention that he will be dropping another Vans project soon. “What’s dope about companies like this is that they let you do what you want to do and don’t try to art-direct you or anything,” he says. “They know when to step back and let you do what you do.”

Like every creative type, Cartoon admits he still has those days where inspiration doesn’t always flow as easily as he’d like, but he refuses to call it a creative block. “They’re old school, negative words that people get stuck in. I replace ‘blocked’ with ‘challenge’ because with challenge, there is a good ending to the story. I refuse to get blocked. I might not know what I want to put on there, but it’s going to get done. I think ‘I’m going to murder that shit,’ even though inside I’m like, ‘I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to do.’” He also mentions he has no time to feel creatively blocked because he has so much going on that he has no other choice but to tackle the situation or project head on.

“I’m constantly getting challenged to do shit I’ve never done before. It’s just about having the confidence to know that you’re going to do it and, usually, if you’re blocked, you’re talking to yourself in the wrong way. You’re saying you can’t do it and start doubting yourself. If you talk to yourself different and say, ‘What would blow my mind if I saw it,’ then you’ll be able to answer those questions and your creativity will flow.” 

Despite taking his work extremely seriously and passionately, Cartoon still struggles with his art everyday like any regular artist. He cares about the type of legacy he leaves behind, but a part of him doesn’t want to give a shit because he can’t take his work to the grave. All he wants to be known for is what he gave away, like taking time out of his crazy schedule to walk into a youth authority prison and provide the kids with an art class.

“In the end, it’s not going to matter how much shit I accumulated, and I’m not really going to care about any criticism,” he says. “People die everyday and the world keeps on rocking. All that matters is that if you like your own shit, and you felt your formula was right, then who gives a fuck if no one likes it. I always say, ‘Most artists are fuckin’ nuts anyways.’ And if you’re the crazy fucker looking in the mirror, then fuck it. All you need to do is move forward with your artwork and keep up the hard work for yourself.”

By Geo Hagan
Photography by Ricky Middlesworth

Shepard Fairey took street art to new heights when his portrait of President Obama became the symbol of American hope during the 2008 election, but that was only the beginning for this burgeoning artist.

As a journalist, getting yourself ready for an interview with Shepard Fairey is a rare and fulfilling experience. After all, this is a supremely versatile individual who’s been immensely successful and hugely influential in so many areas: popular culture, social awareness, advertising, music, fashion and art. And, of course, you can’t forget the importance of his iconic Obama “Hope” poster, which played such an integral role in galvanizing young voters behind the first ever black president of the United States. In theory, with someone as open-minded and socially aware as Fairey, you could probably pick any topic out of a hat and he would most likely be able to give you a nuanced, sensible and well thought-out response. As we all know, sometimes expectations turn out to be very different from reality – but, thankfully, with Fairey, there were no such surprises. The hour-plus conversation steered clear of ideological dogma, mindless rhetoric and pre-orchestrated sound bites – making it a highly cerebral and engaging affair.

At the still young age of 40, one would be hard-pressed to find anyone with more accolades, completed creative projects and artistic credibility than Shepard Fairey. To give you an idea of how much work this guy puts out, take into consideration all the things he had going at the beginning of this summer alone. He opened a pop-up shop for his Obey fashion brand at the Reed Space on NYC’s Lower East Side; he pulled off a successful “May Day” exhibition at the Deitch Gallery in SoHo; he’s working on a book covering the aforementioned show; he’s constantly churning out new limited edition prints from his L.A.-based art studio; he runs an advertising and graphic design shop named Studio Number One; and the Fall 2010 collection from the highly popular Obey apparel line has already started to flow into stores nationwide. The obvious question is: Where does he find the inspiration for all this work, and more importantly, how does he physically get it all done?

“A lot of people think that art is about having inspiration hit you like a bolt of lightning,” Fairey explains. “People think you have a dream and wake up in the middle of the night to write it down, but it rarely happens like that. Once I became a graphic designer and people started asking me for stuff on deadline, I had to learn how to find inspiration somehow. The way I do it is [by] trying to stay inspired by all things around me, and also pay attention to historical things that may have contemporary contexts. One of the ways I stay really inspired and prolific is to always have a lot of projects going on at the same time, so if I have a creative road block on one project I put that down and pick up something else, and frequently an idea for the other project will come to mind.”

Fairey also maintains a clear head by keeping abreast of current events, speaking candidly of the British Petroleum Gulf spill. Shepard takes a few odd seconds to collect his thoughts before giving his full assessment of the environmental calamity. “It’s a disaster that’s probably beyond our comprehension at this point,” Fairey says, “and it’s a result of big businesses having too much latitude and not enough oversight. I think this is a big wake-up call to all the parties involved about getting oil from certain regions – it is too difficult and just not safe, and we really have to spend more research and development dollars towards producing cleaner energy.”

It’s surprising to think that someone whose artistic output is at an overwhelming rate can keep up with the world around him. With regards to the sheer manpower and work hours it takes to produce so much work, the Rhode Island School of Design-trained artist offers the following. “I’m really lucky that at Studio Number One I have five great designers that help me out with t-shirt graphics and other design projects. When I need stuff scanned or I have to scour through newspaper clippings or install exhibitions, I have assistants that help me so I don’t have to do everything myself. With Obey clothing, I have two great designers; Mike Ternovsky, who designs menswear, and Erin Wignall for women’s wear, and they totally get where I’m coming from and they’re both really great and talented. So at this point, I have cultivated a circle of people around me that I consider friends and family as much as creative collaborators, and that’s how it all gets done.”

Different artists go by various paths to find their aesthetic voices and define their distinct styles, and one of the greatest mysteries of Fairey’s work is determining how he developed his unmistakable style. One can actually argue that it’s his unique typography, red-black-white color schematics, severely precise lines and superior screen-printing skills that have made his work stand out and made him the art world superstar he is today. When asked about his creative process, he spins an interesting yarn about how he found himself artistically.

“For me, it was an evolution – my biggest breakthrough was in the mid-‘90s when I got into Russian Constructivist visuals, the art Jamie Reid did for the Sex Pistols, artists like Barbara Kruger, skateboard graphics and screen-printing stuff. So a lot of that was already there, but then I also knew how to illustrate, do photography and do collages as well. I really wanted to make posters for the street, but I was poor so I found a solution in Xeroxing. The Kinko’s at Providence in Rhode Island had a red toner cartridge and a black toner cartridge, so by letting the paper run through twice and using a paper clip to rig the copier, I was able to run hundreds of 11-inch by 17-inch color posters of my stuff for free. But whether it was Cuban, Russian or Chinese propaganda influences or even American advertising like the Marlboro ads, there was always that red, black and white color theme and that was really the genesis of my style.”

To seal off proceedings, he ruminates on the bigger picture issue of legacy and posterity and how he wants to be remembered decades down the line for his contribution to the world of art.

“The way I look at myself as an artist is that I’m a communicator with visuals,” Fairey states. “My approach to art is that I want to make things that speak to people, whether it’s in fashion, art or graphic design. I’m a populist, and I’m trying to reach out to a broad audience and not just pander to the art world. Hopefully, my legacy will be one of bringing art to the masses and enforcing the idea that art can be used to make statements about social issues and politics, too. But the quality of the image always comes first and that image has the ability to make people take their minds off their problems momentarily. And if the art excites or inspires them, they can then re-engage and look at their problems in a different light. If I can achieve that with my art, then I’ve pretty much achieved all I’ve set out to do.”

So there you have it. It’s a complex manifesto and agenda, but if there’s anyone that can pull it off, it’s the unstoppable Mr. Fairey.