EYEONE ON GUERILLA ONE

Guerilla One just ran a lengthy interview with the very talentedEyeone. You can read the entire interview here. If you have not seen Eyeone's current show with Patrick Martinez at Tradition I suggest you do so as soon as possible.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BECOME AN ARTIST?
It has been a life-long process of inspiration and motivation for me. In the beginning, I was surrounded by art at home; both of my parents are highly creative. My dad is an amazing photographer, as is my mom. My mom also paints and sculpts also. My folks would also take me to museums and galleries since I was a baby. They also have a huge collection of books on art and photography that I read over and over.
As a kid I consumed large amounts of anything visual I could lay my eyes (and hands) on: comics, anime, cartoons, old and new movies, book and album covers, toys, gig flyers, ‘zines, video games, signage, porn, packaging… Pretty much the things that most kids growing up in the US are bombarded with.
When my family moved to the US (I was 6), gang writing both scared me and impressed me. Seeing Beat Street when it came out at a downtown theatre got me onto a form of graffiti I found more positive (although later on I found out the writing in the movie was mostly faked.) My grandma would take me around the city on the bus and walking, and I began to discern a few names that finally made me want to start writing: Mando and Neo MAK and Krenz aka Yem AM7. Linking up with two kids in my neighborhood, Gloze 54 OTR and Modem SH, encouraged me even further. We started linking up with cats from LOD, OTR, and SH; I eventually became a member of Seeking Heaven. Everyone in my crew continues to teach and inspire me.
A family friend, artist and musician, Leon Chavez Teixeiro, particularly inspired and influenced me through his art, which often consist of stark images of urban environments, often in bold black and white with minimal color. He also taught me many techniques that I have incorporated into my fine art and print work. His political activism and its relationship to art is also a big inspiration.