Beat of Urban Art by Justin Bua
Justin Bua creates cool art. His wiggly-armed D.J. intently scratches vinyl on a turntable, head and shoulder wedging in place a set of headphones that he is too cool to wear, while surrounded by the tools of his trade. The Beat of Urban Art showcases a motley cast of jazz musicians, homeboys, street hustlers, and neighborhood toughs - from the heavy-lidded Piano Man in his cubist yellow jacket to the slyly romantic El Guitarrista, strumming his acoustic guitar and peering lazily out of his bedroom eyes; from the exuberant nighttime craps players of Green Street to the joyously sneaky grafitti artist entering the subway yard through a hole in the fence in The Artist. With sketches, studies, and narrative explaining how his pieces were created, The Beat of Urban Art takes you into the head and heart of the Toulouse-Lautrec of our times - a man who paints the world he sees with a riot of color and movement that is as unique and modern as the art created by Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat.