United Music Scene

More by Amanda Klamrowski

Street art’s ability to raise consciousness and act as a catalyst for political and social change were the motivation behind Oakland-based artist Eddie Colla’s transition from photography to defiantly altering existing landscapes with his wheat pastes and stencil images since 2005. At the heart of Colla’s commending work is the exploration of conformity, freedom and the threat of oppression. His raw characters, often donning face masks, are the embodiment of these themes and Colla hopes they spark a dialogue among the urbanites that spy them in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and Miami streets. His work aims to compete with the pervasive advertisement in urban environments; which Colla believes can foster submissiveness in inhabitants. He counters that passivity with provocative and challenging commentary. As Colla shares on his website: “I can interrupt their conversation and change the subject. That’s very appealing to me. Advertising perpetually alters our environment without the permiss...

Estevan Oriol discovered a love for photography after the gift of a camera and a no-frills explainer from his father. “My dad said, ‘Here’s a camera. This is the speed of the shutter and this is your depth of field,'” he explains, in a steady tone. “Here I am with my Ph.D. in photography… and Ph.D. means ‘push here dummy.'” Estevan’s journey as an artist was undoubtedly shaped by that first lesson. His father had already made his name behind the lens, and the old man’s intuition that Estevan had something to add to the cultural conversation was spot on. Eriberto Oriol started documenting the forgotten corners of Los Angeles in the 1980s — shining light on graffiti, homelessness, and protestors of state power. In 1989, he launched the first major graffiti-photo exhibit in Los Angeles to wide acclaim. He was a fresh pair of eyes, examining issues that had been ignored up until that point. Meanwhile, Estevan was managing the hip hop acts Cypress Hill and House of Pain. When life...