Graffiti Battle to see which artist is best

In the slang of the street, there are “toys” and there are “writers.”

Toys are the spray-can painters who are just starting out, fumbling around with a can of paint and oblivious to the difference between standing 2 inches from a wall and working from a foot away. Then there are the writers, those artists who have learned the tricks of the trade, picking up different nozzles for different effects, knowing to work fast on lettering so it doesn’t drip and keeping the can upright while maintaining the same distance from the wall. On Saturday, top aerosol artists selected from across the country will gather in Oakland for a Graffiti Battle, to anoint the nation’s top writer and bring attention to the art form. Canvases 8 feet tall and 10 feet wide will be set up throughout deFremery Park, and writers will have five hours to create a work, with judging set to begin at around 3:30 p.m.

This underground street art with distorted letters and bright colors – dismissed by many as vandalism – has been making a move toward the mainstream. Major museums, including the Smithsonian, have held graffiti art exhibits. “Graffiti has long been a dirty word,” said Estria Miyashiro, a San Francisco graffiti artist who runs the Graffiti Battle. “It has not lost its edge, but this sort of contest is one of the things going on to help people see it as a legitimate art form.” For the contest, Estria – he goes by his first name – has traveled to Harlem, Chicago and Hawaii to judge works of artists in each city. The judges look at lettering style, concept, composition, color and originality. In Harlem, there were 16 contestants. The winner, named Doves, did a “beautifully balanced piece with what we call classical style letters: the thickness of the letters was perfectly even,” Estria said.

Graffiti Battle:

What is billed as the nation’s first graffiti contest will be held 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at deFremery Park, 1651 Adeline St. in Oakland. It is a free family event and will feature 24 of the most talented graffiti artists in the country in a live painting battle. It is part of the Living Word Festival, a gathering of artists and educators, and founded by Youth Speaks. For information on the graffiti battle, go to www. estriabattle. com.

VIA:  www.sfgate.com