September 14, 2006
INTROSPECT
D Design
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
By ian hamilton/Daily Titan Assistant News Editor
skin art - Tim McAlary, art major, works on a tattoo on the leg of radio-TV-film major Brian Thomas. Both are CSUF students. This is the fifth tattoo McAlary has done for Thomas.
said McAlary’s skills are improving. Thomas is also a CSUF student and is wearing the second tattoo McAlary ever created. “Some he has done recently that I have seen are like top professionalquality tattoos,” said Thomas, a radio-TV-film major. He has come a long way since his second tattoo, which Thomas said, had several errors. Overall, Thomas doesn’t mind the mistakes. “It is just part of the game. It is better. I like imperfections in all forms of art,” he said. He recently performed his first walk-in. He said he was nervous because the tattoo was on the client’s forearm, which meant the customer was watching the procedure the entire time. “It was the most nerve-racking thing I have ever done. It was the first person who wasn’t one of my friends. He was stoked [with the finished tattoo], but I wasn’t. He gave me a good tip,” he said. Growing up, his mother always thought he would pursue a career in art. But with holes in his ears the size of dimes and images etched across his body, it is obvious to Diane McAlary that her son is drawn to the art of tattooing. She is now used to her son’s career and is proud of his accomplishments. “I think it is wonderful that he can do something with his talent. It maybe is not what I expected, but never the less, he is passionate about it and very professional,” Diane said. Although McAlary has asked his mother several times, she will not be getting a tattoo. “It has become more of a joke between us now,” she said.
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Pushing his lips tightly together, Tim McAlary leans down about five inches away from his canvas and begins tracing the lines of a vicious-looking wolf. He stretches the latex gloves over his fingers and prepares to do his fifth tattoo on Brian Thomas’ right leg. Between the moments of deep concentration, they find time to joke and laugh. Thomas pats his own stomach to the beat of the music playing in the studio. Neither of them appears nervous. McAlary has spent the last year and eight months as an apprentice at Classic Tattoo Studio in Fullerton. Since he was 15 years old, McAlary has dreamed of becoming a tattoo artist. He was drawn to the idea of being an independent contractor. He wants to travel and display his
art. With a developing portfolio, McAlary can promote himself in the company of other artists. He looks forward to a time when people will ask for him by name. “It is pretty cool to draw something that people will want to wear forever,” McAlary said. The Cal State Fullerton student took this semester off to complete his apprenticeship and is planning on finishing school in the spring. “This doesn’t distract me from school. I will finish my degree,” the art major said, adding that taking a semester off “is good because it is hard to designate enough time to this while going to school.” McAlary spends approximately 11 hours a day, six days a week at the shop. As part of his daily duties, he stocks working stations, sterilizes equipment and creates line drawings for future tattoos. He’s also had the chance to create approximately 25 tattoos. Thomas
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Of The Beholder
A tattoo artist looks at his art as a body of work BY JULIANNA CRISALLI
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Brick Mortar
Paint on walls. Some say it’s vandalism, others argue it’s high art
From gravity-defying styles to crazy colors, hair is art you can take with you
BY PAUL SAIEDI
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
Who can forget the “Rachel” haircut from “Friends” or the day that Felicity chopped her luscious locks? From the Midwestern mullet to the ’70s Afro, alternative hairstyles continue to shear their way to the cutting edge of current culture. Hairstyles, like fashion and art, change from generation to generation. Leaders like Julius Caesar and Hollywood starlets like Jean Harlow have inspired hairstyles since antiquity. In the 1920s the “flapper bob” deviated from past traditions –not just in style, but in attitude as it symbolized a change in notions of femininity, sexuality and womanhood, said Trista O’Connell, an American studies professor. Today, alternative trends in hair can be seen covering the heads of Cal State Fullerton students. Titans sport hairstyles that span from dyed dreadlocks and buzzed barbershop flat-tops to a full spectrum of vibrant hair colors. Hair hipsters who desire the latest in alternative hair travel to Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Melrose, offering an abundant mix of Gothic and alternative hair salons, is where trendsetters converge. The sidewalks of Melrose are dotted with an eclectic mix of music stores, vintage clothing shops, international cafes and hair salons. Cutting at the Royal Salon, sandwiched between a punk record store and a dry cleaner, is one of the driving forces in alternative hair. Simply known as Atila, the 61-yearold salon owner has cut everyone from Dee Dee Ramon, a founding member of the Ramones, to poppunk diva Pink. In his modern minimalistic salon, Atila eagerly relates his philosophy on alternative hair trends while sharing stacks of client photos from the past 25 years. “If you want to understand alternative hair then you have to understand Elvis,” Atila said, pointing to a drawing of the king. “He was the original rebel. Try to picture that thick chunk of sexy hair
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There’s more to art than meets the eye. It’s off the canvas and on our streets, our bodies and even on top of our heads
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INTROSPECT
September 14, 2006
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swinging around his face when he sang, that’s punk, that’s alternative.” On the cutting edge of hair today there are wild extensions, waxy dreadlocks, fluorescent colors and even battery-operated moving hairpieces, Atila said. Edgy hair comes from subcultures in dark little bars in big cities like New York, Los Angeles and London. “I’ll tell students what I told Pink when I dyed her hair for the first time,” Atila said. “Take a chance and do something that really says who you are. Hair is not the most important impression that we make, but it is the truest.” All haircuts, especially alternative haircuts, express how we feel about ourselves and how much we care for ourselves, Atila said. Most alternative cuts today are governed by simple rules, Atila said. “Keep the front and top longer, think of the sexy bangs that Paris Hilton peeks through, and keep the cuts sharp and strong.” One block down from Atila’s salon is Vous Hair equally known for its creative hair concepts. James Boring, currently cutting at Vous Hair, specializes in using unorthodox coloring combinations and short wild cuts. His own hair is
dyed jet black and tied into a long ponytail almost reaching his butt. “What’s wild in hair is the trying to blur the line between men and women’s cuts,” Boring said. “There is this whole sort of androgynous movement that is on the fringes of being accepted.” It is sad how there is a total lack of originality in hair. We are just redoing what has been done or interpreting what a stuck-up hair guru from London says is trendy, Boring said. “Right now the most current cuts are cleaned up ‘80s looks with shaved designs,” Boring said. “If you have seen a hairstyle on a TV show then forget about it, it’s already mainstream.” Back at the Royal Salon Atila continues talking about where he sees the future of alternative hair heading. “I think that we will see hair like we have never seen before,” Atila said. “A mixture of shaved lines and either painted designs or tattooed drawings intermixed with hair.” Alternative hair to one person can be dull to another. Anyone can have alternative hair, they just need to step out of their comfort zone and try something new, Atila said.
BY PAUL SAEIDI/Daily Titan Staff Writer
mowhawk - Punk rock music store owner, and one of Atila’s regular clients, leaves the salon fashioned with a new Mohawk.
BY HARMONY TREVINO
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
Up-and-coming artist Chris Allen has found his niche. At 17 years old, he started to take notice of the graffiti art sprawled across the city of Anaheim. Already into sketch art, he grabbed some markers and ventured out to create his own voice through a medium he had never used before. Allen, always thinking outside the box, never wanted to be told how to create his art. “I got into graffiti ‘cause I realize that there are some people in the same shoes,” Allen said. “They can’t paint what people want them to paint, but they can do their own thing.” Now the 20-year-old, currently an employee in the paint department of a hardware store –a deliberate move– thrives on the adrenaline rush of being a graffiti artist. As he sat in his chair with a calm intensity, talking about graffiti and his art, the blood pumping through his veins could almost be seen. His medium for artistic expression has led him to have some close calls with authorities while out on his excursions, but he said that it is all part of being a graffiti artist.
“It’s a thrill,” he said. “Some people they get that thrill from drinking and partying, mine is just from doing graffiti.” Allen defends the integrity of the craft by adding that not just anyone can just pick up a spray can and call themselves a graffiti artist. “Most people pick one up and think that they are a tagger, but they don’t know where it originates from,” he said. “Their style usually never progresses because they are so concentrated on being badass that they are not looking at the art side.” Allen wants people to see the skill involved in creating these art pieces, and go past labeling all of it vandalism and gang tagging. “A lot of people call it vandalism… but if you actually look at the art ones, [they] are really good, and yes, it may be a freeway, but the time and the skill that actually goes into it is remarkable,” he said. Allen calls Los Angeles the top city for exceptional graffiti art and it is there where he finds most of his inspiration. He looks up to famous graffiti crews like AWR, or Angels Will Rise, who have made the largest illegal graffiti piece in Los Angeles, which took 300 gallons of paint to complete. His girlfriend of two years, Victoria Tobin, admires his work and
has some of his paintings hanging in her room. But she disagrees with the way he expresses himself. “I always try to be supportive of Chris and his hobbies,” she said. “Unfortunately, this hobby includes destroying others’ property and putting himself in dangerous situations. I feel that it belongs on a canvas and not on a freeway. I don’t agree with destroying peoples’ property that they have worked hard for.” In the beginning of the relationship, she had no idea how serious Allen was about graffiti. “I thought graffiti was a phase that he would eventually grow out of, but now, I see no end in sight,” she said. Tobin also worries about his safety when he takes his art to the streets late at night. “I’m scared that I’ll get a phone call one night saying he was hit by a train,” she said. “If I asked him to stop, I know he would out of respect for me, but that would break his heart. I keep my mouth shut, and I hope that eventually he decides the consequences aren’t worth the thrill.” Paul Racs, the director of the Office of Community Beautification in Los Angeles, said in the fiscal year of 2005 to 2006 there were 53, 367 call-in requests from Los Angeles residents for graffiti removal. He said the total amount of graffiti removed from the city streets and freeways covered an area of 25 million square feet. The program spent $7 million last year on Los Angeles street clean up alone. Only a small portion are reports of more artistic pieces like the ones Chris creates, Racs said. He even added that he admires their artistic ability. “I certainly think that many of these guys are very talented,” Racs said. “But if they do something without the permission of the property owner then it’s vandalism whether it’s artful or not.”
Photos By Leslie umali/For the Daily Titan
Spray paint- Anthony “Cowboy” Rico (above) adds dimension to his piece for the Focus Ministries Youth Outreach event at Venice Beach last Saturday. Graffiti Artists like Rico were there to inspire youth to appreciate graffiti as an artform. Joe Jimenez (left) wears a gas mask while he paints on the provided wall.
To serve as an outlet for local graffiti artists, some cities have set up areas where artists are free to tag without worrying about police officers stopping them. Companies, like Red Bull, also sponsor “graffiti jams” where graffiti artists can unleash their talent. “Sometimes you don’t want to have the thrill, you just want to show people what you can really do,” Allen said. For now Allen mostly tags his
name, but he’s still trying to improve his skill of painting murals. He wouldn’t even mind being paid for his work. “I do a lot of sketches. I don’t want to be one of those people who, yes, get up a lot, but it looks like crap,” he said. “Once I feel I’ve reached that point I want to go all out. It just takes time.” He has turned down multiple opportunities to paint murals, recognizing that he still has a way to go.
“My lack of self-confidence, because I haven’t done enough [paintings], has caused me to turn a lot of jobs down for that exact reason I don’t want to look like an idiot…I don’t want my name to go down like that,” he said. When finally asked the million dollar question as to how graffiti artists get their work on freeway overpasses, he sat back and smiled. “A lot of cajones.”