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NARR: (:35) Walking on Lexington Avenue from 110th street down, all of the sidewalks are filled with chalk sketches and phrases of words. And on construction sites, along with quick scribbles of graffiti tag letters, the walls are painted carefully with simplistic figures and more word phrases such has "Become your dream." On 104th St. and Lexington Avenue all four corners have ellaborate sketches on the sidewalk. As one woman, Trish Indeavor, walks past it, she looks down at a drawing of a fish jumping out of large bowl into a small glass. She smiles at this drawing and keeps walking. She has just been exposed to James De La Vega's art in Spanish Harlem. Hundreds of New Yorkers read and view his work as they walk through this neighborhood. Indeavor is a native New Yorker has become very familiar with his work.
TAPE Indeavor: (:07) I think he has great messages It's really important to see things like that. We see so much negative on the streets why not see something positive.
NARR: (:29) Her favorite De La Vega saying is Be Mindful even when your Mind is Full. This is the reaction De La Vega says he wants as he draws his work on the streets of upper Manhattan. He says wants people to connect his work. Since he bases the subject material on his personal life experiences, he says his drawings have to be simplistic to translate to a wide audience. Some people might mistaken the work for graffiti since it is drawn on the sidewalks, buildings or large pieces of discarded furniture. But the element of surprise is what De La Vega says makes the difference.
TAPE De La Vega: (:09) If I see refrigerator, things that people throw out. You know they are great venues to communicate with for people. Thousands of people are walking over these things constantly.
NARR: (:24) To find more of those venues, De La Vega walks outside all of the time. He always carries different materials such as markers or chalk so he is prepared for any surface. De La Vega considers himself a street artist but others have defined him as a graffiti artist reminiscent to those of the 1970s and 80s. Jose Coredo is also a street artist who grew up creating graffiti on subway cars. He says he questions whether De La Vega would be considered a graffiti artist.
TAPE Coredo: (:12) If he is considered a graffiti artist it's cause originally graffiti artists were like social conscious individuals from the 60's you know scribbling things on the wall. And it evolved from there.
NARR: (:05) Coredo says that regardless how De La Vega is labeled, he has a purpose to his art.
TAPE Coredo: (:12) The reason that I like his work is because that the majority of his work has a message. He never just puts a mural on the wall just to put a mural on the wall. There's always a message, a lesson to be learned from his work.
NARR: (:06) De La Vega says repeating the lessons either through his art or living it in real life is what motivates his work.
TAPE De La Vega: (:12) This whole thing has been about learning from people and trying to put it into something simple that talks about and comes from these streets but can still have the power to go into the world, not just as a barrio thing.
TAPE De La Vega (:11) You can walk down the street and see a drawing on the sidewalk and it will make you think and hundreds of people are walking over it. I get more exposure than paintings at the MET.
NARR: (:19) De La Vega was born and raised in Spanish Harlem. He left briefly for college but decided to return to his neighborhood and opened a store. He sells copies of his art imprinted on mugs and t-shirts for $10 to $20 along with original art on canvas for hundreds of dollars. He says he came back to live and work in the neighborhood because he says he has a responsibility to his community.
TAPE: (:11) I stay here right now because I serve as a role model to people. They get to watch it. I don't always like being here you know. This place can get under you a little bit.
NARR: (:10) De La Vega is slowly working to get his art seen outside his community. Last year the clothing store Old Navy commissioned him to paint murals in two stores, one in San Francisco and the other in New York City.
TAPE De La Vega: (:16) The ultimate goal here is to really push this stuff out into the world in a big way where this concept becomes very institutional part of the world. Not just like this neighborhood or Manhattan. But it starts to appear all over the world. Rebecca Castillo, Columbia Radio News