Tucson graffiti art, 1994

In October, 2022, Rock the Spot covered the walls of the Pueblo Parking Systems lot with murals. (We'll have two posts next week with lots of photos.) The story started around thirty years ago, though. Let's look back to the 1990s — mostly 1994 — for some of the early graffiti art in Tucson.

I started by talking with Monty “Ses” Esposito, who was one of the main people behind Rock the Spot. He's been in Tucson since at least the 1990s. After talking with Ses, I searched online and found much more.

(Thanks to Graffiti Empire Graffiti Generator for that writing. I made the three words separately, then joined them into one image.)

Albert Soto and ...

As the RockTheSpotAZ.com tribute page explains, Rock the Spot was dedicated to Albert Soto, who helped urban art develop in Tucson and supported the artists. Ses told me the story on May 2nd.

Ses’ story starts back in the 1990s. He was painting without permission in a wash. Eventually he got permits to do that. Lots of guys painted there. Because he's called Ses, they called it the Ses-pool.

Now graffiti art is often called "street art" and graffiti writers are called "street artists". Back in the 1990s, there was no such word. When artists painted, people would be scared and run away. Now, decades later, they roll down their car windows and wave!

(By the way, Rock “CYFI” Martinez — who's now famous around Tucson and has painted around the world — used to teach a murals school in Tucson. He organized an annual graffiti art painting weekend called WintaFresh; artists came from around the US. One example on this blog is from 2016, when WintaFresh was ending: So long, WintaFresh.)

Next, about Albert Soto. He worked at TPAC (the Tucson-Pima Arts Council, a former incarnation of today's Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona). Back then, in the 1990s, people didn't understand how the two words in the term “grafiti art” could go together. It was before the Internet, so people couldn't see examples easily. Albert was one of the few Tucsonans who believed in this art form; he did a lot for local graffiti writers, treated them like artists, and was also a mentor.

Albert spearheaded the Spraycan Art Symposium at Pima Community College and brought some top artists to Tucson. He also helped to create the Spraycan Art show at the Sixth Congress Gallery. There's more on both of those next.

Spraycan Art Show

Around the same time as the Spraycan Art Symposium, the Sixth Congress Gallery held a Spraycan Art show. A May 18, 1994 article in Phoenix New Times titled American GraffitiAerosol Artists Answer Scrawl of the Wild gives an overview of the show and graffiti in Tucson, then covers graffiti in New York City. It's full of fascinating stuff. For instance, the Tucson Police Department actively worked against the Gallery and writers/taggers, even those who did graffiti legally. The show was so controversial that funding for Sixth Congress Gallery dried up and it had to close. And so on. It's a long story but, I think, worth your time if you're interested in this scene!

Three artists — Ses, Sketch, and Demo — were part of a big crowd of artists at 6th & Congress — along with artists who came from New York. The show was the biggest event in Arizona. For instance, Martha Cooper — a photographer who traveled worldwide taking photos of graffiti and murals — was there. She and Henry Chalfant made graffiti famous. Henry also attended the Tucson show. Search online for something like Martha Cooper graffiti or Henry Chalfant subway art — or a mixture of those — to see lots of examples.

Thanks much to a Facebook user named Herm (HermDJ), there's a 15-minute video on Facebook of the Spraycan Art Show at the Sixth Congress Gallery. (Note that there's profanity and other things that might offend some people.) Here's the link; there are details below it:

https://www.facebook.com/HermDJ/videos/may-1994spraycan-art-showsixth-congress-gallerytucson-azway-back-in-1994-andy-be/3577041305752717/

(At 11:30 — that is, 11 minutes and 30 seconds into the video — you can see the start of the mural that was painted above the Sixth Congress Gallery. At 12:16, 13:19, 14:06, 14:34, and 15:07, it's closer and closer to being finished.)

Next, three screen grabs from near the end of the video Herm posted on Facebook. They show two stages of the mural, and one close-up, painted above the long-gone Sixth Congress Gallery:

In case that video has been removed by the time you read this (for example, Facebook has marked some photos of mine as “not meeting community standards,” even though they were of an inoffensive mural), here's what Herm wrote:

May 1994
Spraycan Art show
Sixth Congress Gallery
Tucson AZ

Way back in 1994, Andy Bernard & David Wright, owners of Sixth Congress Gallery on the corner of 6th Ave & Congress (the building that eventually became Hydra), in conjunction with Pima Community College, put together an art show consisting of works from NY graffiti legends as well as local graffiti stars. Prior to the art show, the legends held court at the Pima [Community College] West auditorium, discussing their history and stories from their fabled careers. It was called Spraycan Symposium and almost every graffiti writer from Tucson, Phoenix and other parts of AZ were in attendance. (In some way or another, almost all of us graffiti writers were in tune with — if not active participants of — each of the "four elements of Hip Hop" back then. Graffiti, B-Boying, rapping & DJing were heavily present at almost every party, jam or get-together.)

As part of the Symposium, the NY graffiti icons painted a mural above Sixth Congress Gallery. Five local graffiti artists were handpicked to work with the NY artists, chosen and paired up according to their individual style & personality. Madcap painted with Lee, Lexx painted with Futura, Such (Phx) painted with Lady Pink, Fyce (Phx) painted with Stash… Chico was the other NY artist but I can't remember who he was paired with.

This relatively short (and admittedly low quality) video I took captures opening night of the Spraycan Art show at the gallery, and some daytime footage of the mural being painted. (I had a video camera and thought it was important to document certain moments back then.) I'll try to tag as many people in this video that I can down in the comments, both here and on Facebook. If you see anybody you recognize, feel free to tag 'em! I've lost touch with some over the years.

What's next?

Next week we'll have photos of the Rock the Spot parking lot before and after the painting, as well as images from BG Boyd Photography showing the work in progress.

Another Rock the Spot is planned for this year (2023). The date should be announced in September.

Rock the Spot: Graffiti art festival October 14-16

Monty Ses Esposito posted on Facebook:

Tucson, Arizona this is it. We are 1 week away. The super bowl of graffiti art in Tucson. Next weekend October 14th, 15th and 16th. Rock the spot graffiti art festival. This art event will feature some of the best graffiti art in the south west. Please come out and enjoy all of the beautiful graffiti art murals. Thank you to the city of Tucson and all of the sponsors and everyone involved. Now let's rock the spot.

It'll be at 63 E. Congress (downtown behind the Cobra Bar on Congress Street… it's in a big parking lot).

Who remembers the WintaFresh weekends that Cyfi organized at Und1sputed Fitness on Stone? Here are photos and video from almost ten years ago: Murals being made, part 14: WintaFresh 2013.

Update (May 12, 2023): Our post on May 9th, Ready to Rock (the Spot), shows preparation for painting the lot and the signatures of artists who did the work. Today's post This Spot (was) Rocked has closeups of most of the 30+ murals after they were finished or (for a few) almost done.

Freedom -- thanks to a motorcycle, thanks to veterans

Thanks to Monty SES Esposito for that photo of his mural on the west side of Standup Bill's Annex in the parking lot of American Legion John P. Burns Post 36. He took it on March 10th after he had finished painting. I stopped by on March 21 to snap two closeups:

He painted another mural nearby with help from two other artists. It's in our October 8, 2021 post Greetings from ARIZONA.

Who you gonna call when your vehicle has dents?

If you've seen or heard Ghostbusters (“Who you gonna call?”), you'll recognize the sign for…

…Dent Busters. (The 2002 is their address on North Stone Avenue.)

I'll bet the muralists had fun painting these murals! On June 4, 2019, we posted the mural on their north wall by Clint Tzu of OldPuebloSigns.com, painted in 2018. Here it is again, photographed on December 11, 2021:

The fence at the back of their parking lot is even more fun. Monty SES Esposito (Instagram @theseswon38 and Facebook Monty Ses Esposito) painted it. Here are photos from left (the north end) to right (the south):

I've brightened the right side (in shadow) of the last photo. As always, you can click on a photo for a larger view.

Although “I ain't afraid of no ghost,” I didn't stay any longer than I needed to on December 11, 2021.

Día de Los Muertos on Grant Road

The "Day of the Dead" is an opportunity to remember and celebrate the lives of departed loved ones. It is often celebrated on Nov. 1 to remember children who are deceased and Nov. 2 to honor the adults who have passed.

The artists are Monty Ses Esposito, Retro, Sketch 71/Rickey A Bush and Sal Sawaki; all working with Wagon Burner Arts.

Found at the SW intersection of N. Martin Ave. and E. Grant Rd., Tucson, AZ

La Calavera Catrina ("Elegant Skull") on the left next to "Sugar Skulls". Sugar Skulls are made of sugar and are placed on graves and altars in honor of deceased loved ones.
(Update: See the note farther below.)

La Calavera Catrina (the "Elegant Skull").  Also known as Mexico's Lady of the Dead.

 

Mariachis (a street band in Mexico)

La Calavera Catrinas
Note the dog and cat.

 

Update: KGUN9 TV interviewed muralist Monty Ses Esposito, one of four artists who painted the mural.

Update:  The Sugar Skulls panel — the right side of the second photo in this post — was replaced in Jan. of 2022. The “sugar skulls” were “chuckleheads” — the four artists who painted the mural. Left to right, they were: Ses, Sketch 71, Retro and Sal. Below is what replaced the panel:

Update: To give you an idea of how big the mural is, here's an aerial view from BG Boyd Photography (thanks!):

Click on any photo for a slideshow of larger images.

Doggies On The Wall

The original mural at the Transformation Pet Center appeared in The Tucson Murals Project on Sept. 15, 2008. See Meow Mural with Mutt Motif. The mural has since been re-done and there's no longer a meow. This photo is from Aug. 2, 2017:

 Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

Update (February 25, 2021): Here are two closeups that Jerry Peek took today:

Monty “Ses” Esposito painted the dog on the left and Rickey “Sketch” Bush painted the dog on the right.

Update (May 29, 2023): Sketch brought Jerry to see this long-time Tucson mural… still here after 20 years or so:

Years after the mural was painted, Sketch and Monty stopped by the business. The owner had been trying to find them to update the mural… she didn't want anyone else to do it. They painted the side and front of the building teal and added the black paw prints running along it.

Sketch told me the names in the signature at the left side, but I didn't write them down… I'll need to ask him again. Here's a closeup from his print, followed by a photo today with higher contrast to help the letters stand out:

Roll in here (if you can!)

The previous photo showed the top of the store next door as well as the mural on the roll-up shutter. The sign above the entrance for Pima Street Bicycle is about as generic as you can get, though. So let's see just the mural that's hidden while the store is open:

The mural advertises “expert bicycle repair.” So if you can't ride your bike here, you can always carry it in to be fixed.

I stopped by (in my car) near sunset on May 28th, 2017.

Updates: As David Aber was doing his usual careful checking (he's caught my goofs more than a few times!), he saw on Google Street View that the shop had moved two blocks away — from 5247 to 5445 East Pima — sometime between the time I snapped this photo and the time the Street View car rolled by on June 2018. Even more interesting is that the store took the mural with them — on the same roll-up shutter! I've updated the Location at the bottom of this entry.

Monty “Ses” painted the mural with help from Rickey “Sketch” Bush.