James De La Vega (1972) is a visual artist of Puerto Rican descent who lives in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He is best known for his street aphorisms and muralist art.''Become Your Dream'' by De La Vega. Harper Collins, 2009.

Life

James De La Vega was born in East Harlem, the son of Jaime De La Vega and Elsie Matos, and graduated valedictorian at York Preparatory School and attended

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

, where he graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. He is a former art teacher at York Preparatory School. In 2003 De La Vega failed to win a primary for New York State senate while campaigning on healthcare access for Spanish Harlem residents. There have been difficult times for De La Vega. He got sick, and when his mother died, he lost his storage where he had merchandise, paintings, and many other items. His attitude has always been to keep going and continue his work.

Art

He was featured as a live action character in the episode "postcards from Buster" from the animated series Arthur, as "Dr. De La Vega" while Arthur and Buster toured New York City with their camcorder. James De La Vega (aka De La Vega) is known as a community-inspiring artist. Those who come across his work know him primarily for his murals and sidewalk chalk drawings. His murals can be found mostly in East Harlem, and his chalk drawings may show up anywhere in Manhattan. His street drawings are usually accompanied by aphoristic messages such as "Become Your Dream." Legally, his outdoor work qualifies as

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

, although many put them in a separate genre. James De La Vega was a recipient of a Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Grant in 1999. Artist James De La Vega was featured in MoMA PS1 Exhibit ''100 Drawings'' in the spring of 1999 alongside other prominent contemporary artist such as Danica Phelps, Rob Pruitt, Amy Gartrell and Olav Westphalen. Christie's auction house has featured some of his work, and fans were able to view his more intimate work in his East Village gallery until the location closed in 2010."Marked Man: Guerilla Artist James De La Vega Leverages his Street Smarts to a Fashion Career"
by Colin Fleming, ''Smithsonian'', October 2007. In 2011, De La Vega collaborated with Tory Burch to create a line of accessories that benefited the Tory Burch Foundation.

Street Art vs. Vandalism

In July 2003, De La Vega was charged with vandalism for a mural he painted on a blank wall in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. He was offered one year’s probation in exchange for a guilty plea, but he refused to say he caused “damage” to the property and thus sentenced to 50 hours of community service.l"Street Muralist May Soon Be Looking at Jailhouse Walls"
by Ian Urbina, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', June 12, 2004.

Apple iPhone 5s Ad Campaign

In May 2014, artist De La Vega filed a cease-and-desist letter to Apple, claiming their new ad campaign for the iPhone 5S uses his trademarked slogan, “You are more powerful than you think”. Apple's usage of the slogan 'clearly misleads customers into believing De La Vega somehow supports, approves and/or endorses its products' it apparently adds.

References

External links

JamesDeLaVega.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:De La Vega, James Living people American graffiti artists Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning alumni University of Paris alumni American people of Puerto Rican descent 1974 births People from East Harlem American expatriates in France