Graffiti artists spray their way to top spots

Graffiti artists Katch One, 40, and Kawika Samson, 29, took top honors at the Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle at the Academy Art Center in Honolulu on Saturday.

Katch, an established graffiti artist in Honolulu, would not give his real name.

"At first it was because I didn’t want to get arrested (for tagging), but now it’s because I like the anonymity," he said.

On Saturday, many of his fans approached him for sketches and his graffiti signature before his first-place spot was announced.

Katch and Samson will go to Oakland, Calif., in October to compete in the final competition against about 15 to 20 other artists from New York, Los Angeles and Oakland.

Samson, who said he was first drawn to art because his grandmother painted and drew portraits, said he hopes to place in this year’s finals. In 2009, he took first place in the Honolulu competition but didn’t place in the finals.

Estria Miyashiro, 43, creative director of the Estria Foundation, based in Oakland, invited the 12 artists who participated in Saturday’s competition based on their previous artwork.

The artists, equipped with 15 spray-paint aerosol cans in colors ranging from deep purple to bright orange, worked on their 8-by-10-foot canvases for five hours. Most listened to their own music while they worked and a few wore colorful gas masks to protect them from the fumes.

"This event is meant to inspire artists to think about and express environmental and social issues," said Miyashiro, who was born on Oahu and attended ‘Iolani School and the University of San Francisco. The theme for this year’s artwork, announced at the event, was hanau, Hawaiian for birth.

Katch’s piece featured a subway train from the Bronx making its way to Honolulu, a metaphor for the birth of graffiti art in Hawaii. Samson’s work showcased the Hawaiian taro plant, based on the Hawaiian legend of Papa and Wakea’s stillborn baby, Haloa, who was buried and became the first taro plant.

Aspiring artists also competed in the event’s Blackbook Battle. They used Sharpie pens and other markers to decorate the image of a subway train on a 7.5-by-20-inch piece of paper. A winner was selected from three age groups.

"It’s great that these artists, some of the best (in urban art) around, got together to do something positive," said Gary Lee, 30, a former Los Angeles resident who drew a multicolored fish piece as part of the Blackbook Battle.

The event also featured live hip-hop, slam poetry and breakdancing.

Na‘a Makekau, of Manoa, a digital media adviser at Waianae High School, said his students recommended the event so he offered extra credit to those who attended. For the assignment, Makekau asked students to say whether the pieces in Saturday’s competition are graffiti or art and explain why.

While vandalism isn’t prevalent in the Waianae area, Makekau said, he wants to start an urban art club to give students a place to express themselves. Before teaching, Makekau worked as a graphic designer for more than 18 years.

Said Waianae senior Elijah Wells, 18, one of Makekau’s students: "I came to enjoy the culture and observe the skills and techniques of the artists."

Miyashiro hopes to expand the reach of the Estria Foundation and eventually host an international competition, including other media of street art. This is the fifth year of the competition and the second year it has been held in Honolulu.