Tai Taeoalii (born July 14, 1977) is an American/ Samoan award-winning filmmaker and mixed-media artist.

Biography

Tai is a Samoan/American artist with a professional art career spanning over two decades. In the early 1980’s, growing up biracial in the suburbs of Salt Lake City, Utah, Tai self-identified as an outcast. He experienced some turbulent teenage years but says he was fortunate to discover that the arts were a remedy to expressing his frustrations. Tai experimented with a variety of art-forms, including graffiti, tattoo, music & film. He received awards for filmmaking, but Tai has stated that a ballpoint pen is his favorite medium. In the early 2000s Tai founded Weird Chief Pictures, a

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and television production company in Salt Lake City, Utah. Tai had been producing film and television for roughly 10 years before eventually putting his filmmaking career aside to focus on his artwork. His most notable production credits include the Ultimate Combat Experience and 3.2 Percent. In 2008 he wrote, produced and directed his fourth and final feature film entitled ''Darkroom'', with starring roles by

Darren Dalton Darren Jack Dalton (born February 9, 1965) is an American actor, screenwriter, and film producer. He is best known for playing Randy the Soc in ''The Outsiders (film), The Outsiders'' (1983) and Daryl in ''Red Dawn'' (1984), Life and career D ...

and David Stevens and a cameo role from Todd Bridges. Between 2002 and 2008, under the moniker 'Weird Chief' Tai sold an estimated 5,000 pop art paintings of pop icons made using

stencils Stencilling produces an image or pattern on a surface, by applying pigment to a surface through an intermediate object, with designed holes in the intermediate object, to create a pattern or image on a surface, by allowing the pigment to reach ...

and spraypaint, with at least one sale in each of the 50 U.S. states and Israel, Cyprus,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, the UK, Slovenia,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, Turkey, South Africa, and New Zealand. In 2009, combining urban and

surreal Surreal may refer to: *Anything related to or characteristic of Surrealism, a movement in philosophy and art * "Surreal" (song), a 2000 song by Ayumi Hamasaki * ''Surreal'' (album), an album by Man Raze *Surreal humour, a common aspect of humor ...

styles, he transitioned from pop art to a

pop surrealism Lowbrow, or lowbrow art, is an underground visual art movement that arose in the Los Angeles, California area in the late 1960s. It is a populist art movement with its cultural roots in underground comix, punk music, tiki culture, graffiti, and h ...

style, experimenting with a mix of ballpoint pen, photography, spray paint,

, acrylics, marker inks, and

watercolors Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

, applied on

plywood Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...

. In 2010 Tai founded Submerged in Art, an annual charity event gathering of Art and Music to benefit The Road Home homeless shelter. In just its 3rd year, the 2012 Submerged in Art charity event received a "Best Of" award from Salt Lake City Weekly. In 2017 Tai was invited to exhibit his solo show “thINK” at Gallery UnderTaci in

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

, Denmark, marking his first international solo exhibit. In 2018 Tai was bestowed the honor of a “ Matai” chief title, “Luamanuvae”, in his family's village in Savaii, Samoa. In May 2019, Tai's animal revolt series “I Am Animal” was featured at the Moniker Art Fair in New York City through the Philadelphia gallery Analog Contemporary. In 2019 & 2020 Tai's series “I Am Animal” had its France debut and was on exhibit for several months at all three of the SpaceJunk Art Center galleries in Lyon,

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...

and Grenoble. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Taeoalii renovated an 1851 pre- civil war home into his own studio and gallery with rentable Airbnb loft in

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

, Missouri. He also taught remote drawing classes and released two books. The first was a children's book, co-created with his wife, entitled ''Beyond the Sea'' and the second was a coffee table book of his drawings of tentacles, entitled ''Book of Arms.'' In 2021 Tai launched a podcast and YouTube web series called DOD45 (Drawing Over Discussions) where he interviews guests for 45 minutes while drawing a picture for them. Past guests include Sage Francis, Ceschi, Awol One, Doseone, Ron Allen, B. Dolan, Illogic, Carlos Condit, Moodie Black,

Factor Chandelier Graham Murawsky (born March 28, 1982), better known by his stage name Factor Chandelier (formerly Factor), is a Canadian underground hip hop producer from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He is a founder of Off Beat Production and Side Road Records. Hi ...

, DJ Hoppa, Sole, Greg Lutzka,

Blockhead Blockhead(s) may refer to: Films * ''The Blockhead'', a 1921 German silent film * ''Block-Heads'', a 1938 film starring Laurel and Hardy * ''Blockhead'' (film), a 1966 Italian film Music * Blockhead (music producer) (born 1976), American hip-h ...

, DJ Qbert,

Prolyphic Alfred Schoeninger (born June 16, 1981), better known by his stage name Mopes, and formerly Prolyphic, is an American hip hop musician from Rhode Island. He is one half of the duo Stick Figures along with Robust and is currently signed to Stran ...

, Yoni Wolf,

Mr. Dibbs Mr. Dibbs (born Brad Forste) is an American DJ and hip hop producer. He is the Founder of 1200 HOBOS j/graff collective He was also one of the founders of Scribble Jam. Early life Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Forste was introduced to DJing aroun ...

& Slug of Atmosphere.

Art

Early Art

Tai has told stories of being in

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

and drawing pictures for his friends, selling them for a quarter or more. As a

juvenile Juvenile may refer to: *Juvenile status, or minor (law), prior to adulthood *Juvenile (organism) *Juvenile (rapper) (born 1975), American rapper * ''Juvenile'' (2000 film), Japanese film * ''Juvenile'' (2017 film) *Juvenile (greyhounds), a greyho ...

, he was arrested for his graffiti and was encouraged by the arresting officer to compete in an anti-graffiti/anti-gang

drawing Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, ...

competition, which he won and used part of his earnings from the competition to pay off the graffiti violation fines.http://www.thesource.com/articles/250548/Pop---Urban-Surrealism-with-artist-TAI-/40/Art , The Source Interview.

2005-2008

Tai started with many different art mediums including tattoo, graffiti, web design,

graphic Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of data, as in design and manufacture, ...

illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vid ...

, sculpture, oils, acrylics, music and

. In 2004, Tai was asked to help paint a 30 ft x 50 ft mural with

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Pop Artist

Jann Haworth Jann Haworth (born 1942) is a British-American pop artist. A pioneer of soft sculpture, she is best known as the co-creator of The Beatles' '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' album cover. Haworth is also an advocate for feminist rights ...

, who is best known as the co-creator of The Beatles' ''

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept album that advanced the roles of sound composi ...

'' album cover. The mural was an updated representation of the ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' album cover and is titled SLC Pepper. This mural inspired Tai to seek new techniques, at which time he was introduced to

stencil art Stencil graffiti is a form of graffiti that makes use of stencils made out of paper, cardboard, or other media to create an image or text that is easily reproducible. The desired design is cut out of the selected medium and then the image is trans ...

. Tai spent the following years focused on his stencil work. In 2005 he painted a tryptic painting of Miles Davis, Erykah Badu and Billie Holiday, listed the piece on eBay, and in a short time the painting sold. Although still considered lowbrow, Pop art had become very popular in the early 2000s, especially with the younger generation, and from 2005 to 2008 Tai used eBay to sell his paintings to collectors across the world.

2008-2012

In 2008, Tai began showing his work at art festivals. His first festival was the 2008 Utah Arts Festival, where he sold nearly 300 original 20"x30" pop art paintings. For the most part of 2008 and 2009 Tai only sold his work in the western United States, but in late 2009 Tai took his work across the entire country . As of 2009, Tai has been traveling across the country for nearly 8 months out of a year, selling his work to collectors.

Pop Art

Tai's pop art paintings were created with the use of spraypaint,

and masonite. The images were designed in photoshop, turning digital photos into multilayered images. The layers were printed out onto mylar paper and then handcut with an Exacto knife, resulting in multi-layered stencils. Each stencil layer was sprayed with a temporary

adhesive Adhesive, also known as glue, cement, mucilage, or paste, is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items that binds them together and resists their separation. The use of adhesives offers certain advant ...

, mounted on the masonite, then sprayed with

aerosol An aerosol is a suspension (chemistry), suspension of fine solid particles or liquid Drop (liquid), droplets in air or another gas. Aerosols can be natural or Human impact on the environment, anthropogenic. Examples of natural aerosols are fog o ...

spraypaint. Multiple layers were applied, completing the image. The backgrounds were painted with additional stencil use, freehand aerosol techniques and sometimes acrylic application with a brush.

Pop Surrealism Art

Tai's recent artworks are surreal creations of ballpoint pen drawings on Mylar film including further highlights, details and background colors created with the use of pencils, charcoals and a drizzle of

. In the past, Tai's

drawings have also been created on watercolor paper, canvas and plywood. Tai has stated that he prefers hotel pens and was recently rewarded with a case of his own personal pens, provided by Bic.I AM SELFLESS
, Tai Interview.

Art Festivals, Galleries and Awards

* 2022 Art in the Pearl (OR), 2022 Best in Show Award * 2022 Art Fair in the Square (WI), 2022 Best in Show Award * 2021 Artigras (FL), 2021 1st Place Award * 2019 Uptown Art Fair (MN), 2019 Best of Show Award * 2019 Lake Wells Festival of the Arts (FL), 2019 Award of Distinction * 2017 Fort Worth Main Street Art Festival (TX), 2017 People's Choice Award * 2018 Uptown Art Fair (MN), 2018 Top 10% Award * 2018 Art Fair on the Square (WI), 2018 Invitational Award * 2017 Schlafly Art Outside (MO), 2017 3rd Place Award * 2017 Utah Art Festival (UT), 2017 Juror Award * 2017 Three Rivers Art Festival (PA), 2017 Juror Award * 2017 East Lansing Art Festival (MI), 2017 Honorary Award * 2016 East Lake View Festival of the Arts (IL), 2016 Best in Show Award * 2017 Fort Worth Main Street Art Festival (TX), 2017 Juror Award * 2016 Festival International (LA), 2016 3rd Place Best in Show Award * 2016 Kentuck Festival of the Arts (AL), 2016 Award of Merit * 2016 Winter Park Art Festival (FL), 2016 Award of Merit * 2013, 2014 Covington Three Rivers Art Festival (LA), 2014 Award of Distinction / 2014 Best Display Award * 2015 Baton Rouge Fest4All (LA), 2015 Award of Excellence * 2015 Brookside Art Annual (MO), 2015 Best of Show * 2014, 2015 Artisphere (SC), 2014 2nd Place Award * 2014, 2015 Schlafly Art Outside (MO), 2014 Best of Show * 2013, 2014, Wells Street Art Festival (IL), 2013 1st Place Mixed Media / 2014 1st Place Mixed Media * 2013 Art Fair on the Square (Madison) (WI), 2013 Invitational Award * 2012, 2013, 2015 Plaza Art Fair (MO), 2015 Award of Excellence * 2011 Artfest Boca (FL), 1st Place Drawing Category * 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

Red River Revel The Red River Revel (called simply The Revel by locals) is an annual festival of food, culture, art and music that takes place in Shreveport, Louisiana, annually in the month of October. The Revel began in 1976 as a bicentennial celebration, spons ...

(LA), 2014 Best of Show / 2015 Jury Award * 2011 Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair (MI), Best of Show * 2011 Highland Fest (MN), Best of Show * 2010 Castle Rock Artfest (CO), 1st Place Mixed Media * 2010, 2011, 2012 South Miami Arts Festival (FL), 2010 Best in Show, 1st Place Mixed Media / 2012 1st Place Mixed Media * 2010, 2011, 2012 Art in the Park Plantation (FL), 2010 1st Place Mixed Media / 2012 1st Place Mixed Media * 2010 Funky Ferndale (MI), Award of Merit * 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 Uptown Art Fair (MN), 2012 Award of Merit

Film & Video

Born to a middle-class family in Salt Lake City, Utah, Tai spent his childhood drawing and shooting short videos, and at 18 he went on to study film at the University of Utah, where he first made the transition to producing short films. After dropping out of college he went on to produce his first feature-length film ''Luck & Rat Poisoning'' (1995), which was heavily influenced by Kevin Smith's Clerks. After ''Luck & Rat Poisoning's'' theatrical release at Utah's historic Tower Theatre, which serves as a venue for the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

, Tai produced and directed his second feature-length movie, ''Hustlin' a Hustler'' (1996), which he shot on hi-8 video, on what could be considered as a "used car" budget. In 2001, Tai began production on his 3rd feature-length picture, but his first on celluloid (his earliest works were shot on video). Shot on Super

16mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, educ ...

, ''Twice Today'', starring Don Shanks, was invited to the AngelCiti Film Festival in Los Angeles, California where it had its premier at Paramount Studios. In July 2002, ''Twice Today'' was also invited to the Real to Reel Film Festival in Shelby, North Carolina, where it won the award for Best Amateur Feature Film. After ''Twice Today'', Tai transitioned into television. From 2003 to 2006 Tai was hired to edit the Ultimate Combat Experience, a weekly television series featuring tournaments of

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

and no holds barred fighting, credited as being the first

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

show of its kind on network television anywhere in the world. After editing several episodes of UCE, Tai was promoted to a producer, where he produced and edited 52 episodes over a 5-season period. In 2006, after leaving the ''Ultimate Combat Experience'', Tai produced and edited commercials and promotional material for Ultimate Fighting Championship's two-time light heavy weight champion Randy Couture and Matt Lindland's training camp Team Quest and MMA event, ''Sportfight''. From 2004 to 2006, Tai also worked on his weekly television series called ''3.2 Percent,'' which highlighted the nightlife, music, sports, culture and lifestyle in Utah. In corroboration with early Spy Hop Production personnel, Tai produced an 11-episode season in 2006. Citing unsustainable financial conditions, Tai cancelled the ''3.2 Percent'' television series, after just one season. In December 2005, Tai returned to filmmaking and was hired to produce and direct a short film for the 2006 Slamdance Film Festival, with specific guidelines. It had to be shot in 24 hours, with a budget of $99 and a running time of 3 minutes. The finished short was titled ''Waiting'',Waiting (2006) - IMDb
/ref> starring David H. Stevens of Punch Drunk Love and after its premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival, it was invited to screen at the 2006 Real to Reel Film Festival and the 2006 Arizona International Film Festival. Following the Slamdance premiere of ''Waiting'', Tai adapted the short story into a feature-length film. Two years later, Tai began production on ''Darkroom''. Tai's fourth feature-length film, ''Darkroom'',Darkroom (2008) - IMDb
/ref> stars David Stevens,

and Todd Bridges. In 2008, ''Darkroom'' made its way through the film festival circuit, screening at the 2008 Big Muddy Film Festival, IL, Okanagan Film Festival, Canada,

Big Island Film Festival The Big Island Film Festival is a film festival held at the Mauna Lani Resort on the Kohala Coast on the Big Island of Hawaii. The festival, which has been held every May between 2006 and 2016, features short and feature films by independent filmma ...

, HI,

Bare Bones Film Festival Bare literally means fully or partially naked, or figuratively used it means minimal. Bare may also refer to: People * Bare (surname) * Jader Volnei Spindler (born 1982), Brazilian football player nicknamed "Bare" Places * Bare Island ( ...

, OK, and the

Dances With Films Festival Dances With Films is an annual independent film festival located in Los Angeles, California and was founded by Leslee Scallon and Michael Trent. Lineup Taking place every year since 1998, the festival is dedicated to representing true indepen ...

, CA. In 2011, ''Darkroom'' was picked up by Vanguard Cinema for DVD distribution. From 2011 to 2012 Tai edited commercials, promo videos and Episode 1 for ''Showdown Fights'', which aired on Fox Sports Net in 2012 and is an MMA event in Orem, Utah that has featured and features professional and amateur fighters from across the country, including UFC contenders and popular up-and-comers such as Josh Burkman, Jeremy Horn, Junie Browning, Court McGee, Jordan Smith and Steven Siler.

Filmography

* Showdown Fights - ''Episode 1 on Fox Sports Net'' (television) - 2012 * Darkroom (feature) - 2007 * Waiting (short) - 2006 * 3.2 Percent (television) :(episodes 1 to 11) - 2004/2005 * Ku Klux Klan - ''How they promote Racial Inequality'' (short) - 2004 * SportFight Intro (commercial) - 2004 * U92 Video Countdown (pilot) - 2004 * Truth or Dare (pilot) - 2004 * Fresh Start Ministry (pilot) - 2004 * Water in the Desert (short) - 2004 * No News is Good News (short) - 2004 * Ultimate Combat Experience (television) :(episode 9 to 52) - 2000/2004 * All I've Got (2004 Olympic promo video) - 2002 * Twice Today (feature) - 2000 * Hustlin' a Hustler (feature) - 1998 * Luck & Rat Poisoning (feature) - 1996

Weird Chief Pictures

Weird Chief Pictures was founded by Tai Taeoalii in 1996. It was an independent film production company that had also expanded into all aspects of media, entertainment and the arts. As of 2013, Tai has suspended all of Weird Chief Pictures' business dealings, citing his need to focus on his recent artistic endeavors, of which he operates business now as 'Art by Tai'.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taeoalii, Iosua Tai 1977 births Filmmakers from Utah Artists from Utah Living people