Encinitas - Street Art

Found: PCH, Wall of East Village Asian Diner, Encinitas

Covered behind a layer of trees growing over the wall, P. Daniel 

Aguilar's piece is hiden on the side of an Asian restaurant in downtown Encinitas . Notably
different from the other works seen around San diego, this seems to be more a work with a
contemporary street art feel, rather than a random act of bombing or
tagging graffiti. Within this piece, we're viewing a pieces with a focus: there's
composition and character, the work is much softer than the downtown pieces.

Based off the area alone, this work is what is to be expected from a more
art-centric location such as Encinitas, a town of artists and embracing of a "laid-back"
lifestyle. Where the tags and bombs downtown were done across walls of
abandoned buildings, this work is painted on a white wall on the side of a
thriving establishment. This piece is meant to be looked at and noticed (well, prior to the tree overgrowth, that is).
It reflects the culture of the type of art that is popular within the
area, and displaying the work of an artist, meant to be there for an audience
that likely is drawn to similar style in art.

Upon viewing this piece originally, I was drawn to the fact that the face,
the movement, and the emotion seemed similar to that of some of the
artists featured in the "Beautiful Losers" crew, specifically Margaret
Kilgallen and Barry McGee, and their character works that that became / are notorious for. The body in both their works, as well as
Aguilar's seem to have this similar curvature, softness even, as well as
the skewed and vibrant facial features. The piece seems more involved in
creating a character of emotional appeal rather than creating a 'namesake'
for the artist, in my opinion.

Additionally, this piece is painted, rather than tagged with marker or
aerosol. Though the artist is not female, I was reminded of one aspect of
the "Street Girls" article that denotes the mediums of expression. Aguilar
is working with a medium that is maybe more comfortable with him, an
"ongoing trend in the development of urban street art". By using a medium
that the artist is more well-versed in, a more versatile range of artwork
can be created by the artist. Thus, there is no definitive medium, nor
subject matter for street art.


My overall thoughts on this piece is that out of all of the works I
found, I enjoyed this one the most because it was a style, that simply put, I just liked and 

was drawn to more. It didn't take away from the other types of urban art I came across,
 it was just that this one was something that was a little more relatable
to me aesthetically.

Image of piece found online, pre-covering with overgrowth:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43901511@N00/6017297676/

Sources:

1. "Beautiful Losers" - 2008 film

2. Adeline J, "Street Girlz"