Man One (b. Alejandro Poli Jr., 1971, in East Los Angeles) is a Los Angeles-based Mexican-American mural and graffiti artist best known for popularizing West Coast graffiti to an international audience and defining graffiti as a serious contemporary art form. Man One "never saw painting murals or doing graffiti as a ‘ghetto’ influence," but rather as a progression of contemporary art.

Childhood and education

Man One is a first-generation American whose parents immigrated from Mexico to LA in the late 1960s. He began doing graffiti as a child in the 1980s, eventually graduating from

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...

with a degree in art. He cites influences ranging from Los Tres Grandes -- ( Orozco,

Rivera Rivera () is the capital of Rivera Department of Uruguay. The border with Brazil joins it with the Brazilian city of Santana do Livramento, which is only a street away from it, at the north end of Route 5. Together, they form an urban area of aro ...

, and

Siqueiros Siqueiros is a Spanish surname Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other ...

)-- to

Dali Dali or Dalí may refer to: Chinese history * Kingdom of Dali (937–1253 AD), centered in modern Yunnan * Kingdom of Nanzhao or Dali, Kingdom of Dali's predecessor state * Dali, Emperor Daizong of Tang's third and last regnal period (766–779) ...

Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...

, and

Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

, as well as earlier Los Angeles muralists like Willie Heron and Chaz Bojorquez.

Career

Man One has created murals and large scales pieces and shown his artwork across the United States and worldwide, including Germany, Japan, Mexico, and Northern Ireland. In 2002, during the Los Angeles mural moratorium he founded Crewest Gallery which provided artists a legitimate space wherein to display their work. Crewest Gallery closed in 2014. In 2006, Man One was commissioned to do a piece for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) on construction fences alongside an extension project. Man One received a United States State Department Speaker and Specialist Grant to work with children in Panama building self-esteem through art. He was instrumental in lifting the Los Angeles mural moratorium, clearing the way for murals to become a permanent part of Los Angeles art and culture. He encourages others, saying, "Turn on some music, shake my spray cans and get lost in my own creative experience. That’s my favorite recipe. Peace is always right there, underneath our noses. Man One has worked on large scale projects for commercial clients as well as painting live pieces at music events alongside the

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...

P-funk Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their distinctive ...

Blink 182 Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their sound has ...

and the

Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo (rapper), Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie (singer ...

. Man One created #FacesLA, a series of portraits on building walls in Los Angeles featuring "the images of normal Angelenos." He has worked with the Los Angeles the Department of Cultural Affairs to get permits for these murals so they would permanent art fixtures. In 2017, Man One illustrated the book, “Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix (Readers to Eaters)” a children’s book about Los Angeles food innovator

Roy Choi Roy Choi (born February 24, 1970) is a Korean-American chef who gained prominence as the creator of the gourmet Korean-Mexican taco truck Kogi. Choi is a chef who is celebrated for "food that isn't fancy" and is known as one of the founders of ...

. In 2022, he was selected to install a mural under a freeway overpass of the SR-57 for the city of Placentia entitled "The Good People Under Our Sun and Moon."

References

External links

* http://www.manone.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Man One Living people American artists of Mexican descent Artists from California 1971 births American graffiti artists

Childhood and education

Career

See also

References

External links