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Blane Bizzaro in Xi'an, Shaanxi, Central China, May 2008
 On Wednesday May 7, 2008, I traveled to Xi'an, Shaanxi, China with a group of artists including Aerosol Artist Jason (Chorboogie) Hailey,
Cynthia Kostylo, Cecilia Linayao and Lori Escalera to demonstrate western street painting and aerosol art at the 10 Year Anniversary Celebration of "Century Ginwa" Shopping Center. We were invited by Sasha Tosic, a San Franscisco-based DJ who was asked by Chinese Media Personality and Event Organizer, Daniel Dukai, born in Xi'an, now living in Zhuhai, to find four American chalk artists and one American graffiti artist to come to China and demonstrate their art. I was one of the artists selected.
According to Daniel Dukai, this was the first time the people of Xi'an had ever seen chalk art being performed. Xi'an is located in the province of Shaanxi. The drawing above is of the Bell Tower, a 700-hundred-year-old structure located at the center of the city. It is depicted here floating on a cload above an imaginary river canyon with mountains in the background.
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Xi'an, Shaanxi Bell Tower May 12, 2008
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Left is a photo of the Bell Tower. It was taken from the third floor of the Drum Tower, located about 200 meters away. I took this just minutes before the earthquake. The earthquake was felt strongly in Xi'an. All the buildings were evacuated for 2-3 hours. We experienced an after-shock at around 4:30 am. There were some injuries and deaths in Xi'an reported. I'm glad I made an offering to the gods in the drum tower minutes before the quake. It just felt like a good idea.
Below is a chalk drawing of an archer from the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Shi Huang Di the First Emperor of China. The terracotta figures, dating from 210 BC, were discovered in 1974 by several local farmers near Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China near the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor (Chinese: 秦始皇陵; pinyin: Qín Shǐhuáng líng).
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Bell Tower drawing in progress. |
Archer portrait from the
Xi'an Terracotta Army |
China chalk art venue
Koi pond section (click to enlarge)
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Left is a photo of the venue at Century Ginwa. Each chalk artist worked on a 1/4 pie slice of a 50' foot-diameter circle on painted boards. The graffiti artist painted a 16' x 60' foot mural at another Century Ginwa location in Xi'an. The chalk artists were contracted to complete ten pieces in four days. Each artist created a 1/4 circle section of a central koi pond.
Mural by San Francisco artist
Jason "Chorboogie" Haily
Despite some of the trials and tribulations of traveling overseas, the event was a great success! Everyone was very pleased. Daniel Dukai and the Century Ginwa people treated all of us with the greatest hospitality. I hope to visit China again in the very near future. All my love, thoughts and prayers are with the people of China during this difficult time. |
Local artists Mino (left) and April (right) lend a hand! (click to enlarge) |
Oceanside, California Pier chalk drawing in
Xi'an, China (click to enlarge) |
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