- Chase Graffiti Artist Photos
- Graffiti Artist And Their Work
- Chase Graffiti Artist Painting
- Chase Graffiti Artist Paintings
- Normally, being a graffiti artist is a furtive occupation where urban masters often lurk in the shadows waiting for their chance at spray-paint nirvana. That's why Five Pointz was such an incredible find - it's a graffiti Mecca located in a city where all other tagging is considered illegal.
- Nov 24, 2019 - 16 years old. Just wants to protect his friend and family. Pushes too hard and goes too far. See more ideas about words, character aesthetic, graffiti quotes.
On July 22, the design community lost one of its brightest stars to a tragic aviation accident. An icon of graphic design, Margo Chase created extraordinary, evocative letterforms that deeply marked popular culture as well as hearts and minds.
Jorge (Tattoo Artist) Chase Y (Tattoo Artist) Erick (Tattoo Artist) Gus (Tattoo Artist) Sammy (Tattoo Artist) Janice (Tattoo Artist) Mark Anthony (Tattoo Artist) Christina (Tattoo Artist) Chase H (Piercer) Past Guest Artists. I asked the guy about it, and it ended up being graffiti. Chase appeared in a list of indiscriminate acknowledgments for Lovesexy, and her credit for “logos” on Graffiti Bridge was rather cryptic. By that time, I was studying at the Royal Academy of Art in Gent, Belgium. I finally got to know who Chase was, and became acquainted with her body of work. Well, what more can i say it was bound to happen it someday hey. Had a feeling before I even started painting that something bad was going to happen and this.
by Bald Condensed
This has become a very personal tribute to an incredible, influential creative spirit. Margo Chase was more than just one of my earliest design heroes—it was her work that made me notice graphic design, and especially typography, before I was even fully aware of what those terms meant. She was one of a handful of trailblazing female designers in a male-dominated profession, founding the Chase Design Group over three decades ago and rightfully claiming her spot in the design pantheon. Known for her imaginative, flamboyant style and exceptional logos, she was also a magician of letterforms.
In the mid- to late 1980s, during my teenage years, Chase was poised perfectly at the intersection of music and design. Her letters graced the album sleeves of another (musical) hero of mine, Prince (and those of related artists like Sheila E. and Mazarati). Her work branded other pop stars of the era, including Madonna, Crowded House, Paula Abdul, Melissa Etheridge, Cher, and Bonnie Raitt. In 1985, I marveled at the psychedelic letterforms spelling out “Prince and the Revolution” and the album title neatly inside Around the World in a Day’s red balloon. I deciphered the titles of the singles and B-sides on the 12” sleeves and record labels, their letters intricately interlocked to form perfect circles or paisley shapes. I clearly remember recreating by hand the angular letterforms that alternated with the delicate copperplate script on the dust sleeve of my vinyl copy of Lovesexy in 1988. When Graffiti Bridge was released in 1990, I recognized that the artwork was a bit of a mess, but the imaginative, expressive logo and titles still captivated me.
These pop artifacts were instrumental in setting me on my course to discover, study, and, finally, practice graphic design and typography. Ironically, back then, I had not yet realized that all of this marvelous lettering had been created by Chase. Only art director and designer Laura LiPuma (my other earliest design hero) was acknowledged in the liner notes for Around the World in a Day. Chase appeared in a list of indiscriminate acknowledgments for Lovesexy, and her credit for “logos” on Graffiti Bridge was rather cryptic. By that time, I was studying at the Royal Academy of Art in Gent, Belgium. I finally got to know who Chase was, and became acquainted with her body of work.
During my studies, new design heroes emerged, like Emigre, April Greiman, Neville Brody, and the Designers Republic, yet Chase remained a constant, firing up my imagination and inspiring me whenever I discovered a new logo or lettering piece she had done. Her signature style was an exciting marriage of goth, techno, and baroque. It was as recognizable as it was wonderfully varied. Her inventive letterforms could be dangerous, sporting angular corners and sharp details; organic, channeling exotic fauna and flora; opulent, full of ornamental detail; or sensuous, with sinuous shapes and tense arcs. Chase’s letters seemed to originate in faraway realms and mystical shores and never failed to surprise and enchant.
Before Chase showed interest in designing typefaces, her remarkable lettering had already sparked the imagination of type designers. Type Network foundry partner Richard Lipton, for example, was intrigued by the goth influences in her work, which he saw as a contemporary take on blackletter design. “In the mid-1990s, I made it a point to follow the work of many lettering artists and see if there were opportunities to transform their concepts into type designs,” he said. ”I approached Margo with the notion of developing her logo for ECRU [a trendy Melrose Avenue clothing store] into a single weight display face. I found it a particularly interesting challenge to take the seed of an idea found within several unique hand-drawn letters and develop an entire character set.” Lipton used a similar approach to create Shogun and Talon. Although those faces were not based on particular logos, they were inspired by several styles of Chase’s lettering.
The availability and affordability of type design software that ushered in the digital typography boom came at exactly the right moment for groundbreakers like Chase. Liberating font creation from monolithic companies in the early nineties, the democratization of type design gave rise to maverick foundries like T-26, which was founded in 1994. The indie shop’s daring style was a perfect match for Chase’s typographic vision. In 1997 and 1998, T-26 published ten typefaces designed by Chase, each of them showcasing a different facet of her artistic persona. Chase’s typefaces stood out amid the mélange of remixed, deconstructed, and distressed grunge fonts so prevalent at the time. Although her illustrative lettering style became sought after in the branding and packaging worlds, Chase remained a creative force in the entertainment industry. She designed countless logos, title treatments, and custom typefaces, many of which are forever engraved in our collective pop culture consciousness. Chase may have been taken from us far too soon, but she leaves a typographic legacy that will endure.
It is remarkable how so many of the tributes to Chase that popped up last week began with “she was one of my earliest design heroes.” Chase was a genuine icon, one of the first design stars that made our profession so visible, propelling it into the public eye. There was something transcendent about her work, something fiercely original and captivating. I will forever regret never having seen her speak, nor having had the opportunity to tell her how much I admired her. Without Chase, the design world has lost some of its sparkle, some of its magic. Because I didn’t know her personally, I would like to close with a few words by Agustin Garza, principal of Garza Group Communications and former board member for AIGA Los Angeles and AIGA National.
“No coincidence she liked to fly, Margo was an angel. Her love for her craft was contagious and inspiring. She was an entrepreneurial force who created one of the most successful design businesses in LA. She was a radiant human being.”
- Announcement on the International Aerobatic Club website.
- Obituary in Print magazine.
- Obituary in the Los Angeles Times.
- Album covers designed by Margo Chase/Margo Chase Design on Discogs.
- Some of Margo Chase’s best-known logos on Brand New.
- Spotlight: Chase Design Group on The Dieline
- Documentary Creative Inspirations: Margo Chase, Graphic Designer.
- Online course Margo Chase’s Hand-Lettered Poster: Start to Finish.
Whenever I go out with my friends or drive around town, I always see this dog.
Who is this dog? Why is it everywhere? Is there a cult behind it?
It’s even nearby where I live in Cheras as well.
Sometimes, it doesn’t stay turquoise for long and has clothes or accessories sprayed on it later.
I wanted to find out who was behind it.
Started From Carcasses Of Stray Dogs
This dog graffiti is actually quite cute, but the history behind how it started, not so much.
The man behind all of it is Kenji Chai, who calls this dog Chaigo.
It’s a wordplay of his surname “Chai” and the Chinese word for dog, “gou”.
He’s a 38-year-old from Sabah who moved to KL in 1999 to grow his career.
Kenji lives in Cheras too, which makes sense why I run into his graffiti often.
However, he grew bored with his graphic designing job at Gempak Starz because of how routine it felt.
Kenji started painting more to help with the boredom, but one day, something struck him which led to the birth of Chaigo.
“I saw a lot of stray dogs getting hit by cars on highways. I relate to them because I come from a broken family but feel the need to chase my dreams in KL,” Kenji shared with Vulcan Post.
“Unlike these stray dogs, I knew I had the power to change my life,” Kenji shared in an interview with SEA Mashable.
Chaigo became both his newfound love and alter ego, whom he left his 9-5 job for.
“Working as a graphic designer for a while, I found that there are too many guidelines and restrictions. I had no freedom to do what I wanted to do.”
“When I’m out there on the streets painting, my mind is free to do anything. I make my own guidelines,” he shared in an interview with Puma.
Though his family was unhappy with his decision, Kenji was glad he finally could immerse himself in his art without anyone breathing down his neck.
When he started spraying Chaigo on the walls, it was all just for fun.
The first Chaigo graffiti he’d ever done was in Kampung Attap, near Zhongshan building.
Over the years he has been stopped and warned before, but he enjoys the thrill of getting caught that comes with graffiti art.
However, he made an effort to start wearing proper graffiti gear so that he doesn’t get the side-eye from people anymore.
Gaining Traction And Going International
When Kenji first started Chaigo, he didn’t have a plan to grow it.
But in just a year, Chaigo was already recognised by big brands and organisations.
He was paid a commission to paint Chaigo on a wall in 2014, and later started receiving invitations for collaborations.
Now, Kenji has collaborated with Pestle and Mortar, Netflix, Tiger Beer, Puma, CIMB, Uniqlo, Volkswagen, among others.
Besides Chaigo, Kenji does graffiti of other animals or people for buildings as well. Massive fl studio download.
You may have come across the big rooster graffiti at Nando’s Petaling Street (now permanently closed).
That artwork was done by Kenji, and so is the 25-storey mural on the side of RED by Sirocco Hotel at Jalan Kamunting, near Yut Kee.
The 87-metre artwork took Kenji 21 days to finish, which landed him recognition from the Malaysia Book of Records for the Tallest Mural in the country in 2018.
It features a Dayak woman accompanied by flora and fauna, which is Kenji’s niche, and hawker food.
Not only has Kenji established a household name for himself and his graffiti in Malaysia, but his work is also admired internationally.
Chase Graffiti Artist Photos
His artwork can be seen in China, Spain, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and more.
Kenji gets invited to share his art at these places.
In 2018, he was invited by an Australian mural artist to paint a large shark mural to highlight environmental issues in Brisbane.
No Regrets Ever Since He Left His Job
Leaving his job and making art he likes at his own pace full-time positively changed Kenji’s life.
Kenji shared with Vulcan Post that his revenue from collaborations is likely to last him for years, so it’s safe to say that doing what he loves is paying off.
That being said, he still would’ve done it even if he wasn’t earning well from it.
“As long as there is one person who appreciates my art, that is enough for me to continue doing what I love.”
Since starting Chaigo, he no longer struggles with his career like he used to.
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Graffiti Artist And Their Work
Kenji’s art has actually been more present in my life than I realised, now that I’ve found the artist behind those murals on buildings.
Chase Graffiti Artist Painting
He’s defied the odds of a starving artist and graffiti painter, especially in Malaysia.
Chase Graffiti Artist Paintings
However, these negative perceptions of independent artists still haunt many in our country today.
Leaving your job to pursue what you love sounds like a dream, but you’re not guaranteed a journey that’s as smooth-sailing as Kenji’s.
Then again, with people like Kenji paving the way for more budding artists, I hope more of our local talent is given the opportunity to make it to the international stage in the future.
- You can find out more about Kenji Chai here.
- You can read about other artists we’ve written about here.
Featured Image Credit: Kenji Chai, creator of Chaigo