Los Angeles artist Buff Monster is known primarily throughout the world for his street art. These are the cans that started it all. Inspried by ice cream, heavy metal, porn, and graffiti, the ‘Color Series’ set features brightly colored paintings of clouds, nipples, and other fantastic knickknacks, while the black and white cans show the project at its inception — hand-drawn characters on flattened spray paint cans nailed throughout L.A. and other cities.
Color Series Selections
1st Generation
In the early part 2001 the Buff Monster made its debut in the streets of Los Angeles. Within only a couple days, several monsters populated the industrial and artist districts on and around Alameda Street. This harsh environment consists mostly of steel, concrete and dirt. Common creatures in these parts are truckers, strippers, and the homeless. Artists and graffiti writers certainly pass through the area as well. This area is a prime habitat for these creatures because of the high concentration of graffiti. The buff does venture into these parts, although its trips are infrequent and unpredictable. For this reason, the Buff Monster had to make a presence for its inconsistent counterparts.
Over two and half years later, these first generation monsters are certainly rare. The few that remain are mere hints at the glory days. If not painted over, only the ghostly can remains.
2nd Generation
Just two months after the monsters first appeared in the City of Angels, a large group of Buff Monsters appeared in San Francisco. Like their Southern California relatives, these creatures favored the industrial, graffiti covered areas of the city. And unique to San Francisco, Buff Monster babies appeared. The monsters arrived just after the city formed its first vandal squad. The monsters had invaded the smallest areas to act a silent monitor on the streets. In fact, some monsters secured positions on the popular, free-spirited Haight Street. This is a good habitat for the monsters because amongst the vagabonds, druggies and artists, the police help to keep an eye on things. Nonetheless, graffiti penetrates and pervades this area. Two and half years later, most of these monsters are missing. Initially, they disappeared far quicker than those in Los Angeles.
3rd Generation
Nearly six months after the original Los Angeles invasion, the Buff Monsters were back. Another nineteen monsters showed up in specific areas of the city. First, it was important for the monsters to maintain their presence on and near Alameda Street. In fact, some of the second generation monsters claimed telephone poles that their foremonsters secured. As persistent as graffiti writers and as inconsistent as the buff, these monsters worked hard to make their presence known. Once the industrial and artist districts were once again secured, some buff monsters had invaded more central areas of the city. Monsters could be seen on well-known and highly traveled thoroughfares such as La Brea and Fairfax. Aside from key street corners, the monsters preferred the freeway off ramps of these popular avenues. And the trendy section of Melrose Avenue had also been infiltrated. This longtime home of the terminally trendy and painfully fashionable Angelenos has also hosted a large population of graffiti writers. Two years later, most of these monsters are missing. These monsters had certainly evolved to better fend-off predators, but it wasn’t enough. The monsters are in demand.
More Info: http://www.buffmonster.com
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