Justin Bua (born March 29, 1968) is an American artist, author, speaker and entrepreneur. He currently lives in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and is best known for his lyrical narrative paintings of musicians, DJs and similar characters who help define the urban landscape.

Early life and education

Bua grew up on the Upper West Side of New York City, son of "Love of Life" actor Gene Bua, during the height of the graffiti movement and was fascinated by the raw, visceral street life of the city. Bua attended Manhattan's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Performing Arts and complemented his education on the streets by writing

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

and performing worldwide with

breakdancing Breakdancing or breaking, also called b-boying (when performed by men) or b-girling (women), is a style of street dance originated by African Americans and Nuyorican, Puerto Ricans in The Bronx borough of New York City. Breakdancing consist ...

crews. He went on to the

Art Center College of Design The ArtCenter College of Design is a private art college in Pasadena, California. It was incorporated in 1930 as a degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both the visual arts and design. ...

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where he earned a B.F.A in

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

and taught figure drawing at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

for ten years.

Fine Art

Bua's distinctive figurative style combines his classical training with his background in graffiti, breakdancing and experience living in New York City. The subjects of his paintings range from recognizable figures, such as

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

and

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

, to anonymous people pulled from his memories, including the DJ and guitar player for which he has become best known. Each of Bua's subjects is ennobled within the urban landscape he paints and is often rendered with elongated limbs or hands, emphasizing the rhythm of the scene. Bua exhibits worldwide and was featured in a 2011 event at the

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...

. As an artist "for the people, by the people, of the people," Bua's fan base is diverse and ranges from former presidents, actors, musicians, professional athletes, dancers, to street kids and art connoisseurs.

Commercial Art

Launching his reputation in the world of

commercial art Commercial art is the art of creative services, referring to art created for commercial purposes, primarily advertising. Commercial art uses a variety of platforms (magazines, websites, apps, television, etc.) for viewers with the intent of promo ...

, Bua has designed and illustrated a myriad of products that include skateboards, CD album covers, apparel and advertising campaigns, and he served as a member of the

Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee The United States Postal Service's Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC) evaluates potential subjects for U.S. postage stamps and reports its recommendations to the Postmaster General, who makes the final decision. Purpose Each year, the Postal ...

as an appointee of the

United States Postmaster General The United States postmaster general (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The PMG is responsible for managing and directing the day-to-day operations of the agency. The PMG is selected and appointed by ...

. He has also developed successful visual concepts in the entertainment world, including: the opening sequence of

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's sketch-comedy television series, '' The Lyricist Lounge Show'' (2000–2001),

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...

video games '' NBA Street'' (2001), '' NFL Street'' (2004),

Slum Village Slum Village is an American hip hop group from Detroit, Michigan. The group was formerly composed of the rappers Baatin (1974–2009), T3, and rapper / producer J Dilla (1974–2006). J Dilla left in 2001 to pursue a solo career with MCA Record ...

's award-winning music video Tainted and

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

's Long Beach Grand Prix campaign.

Speaking and Entrepreneurship

In July 2013 Bua became the first artist to launch an online school with ArtistWorks, allowing students around the world of varying levels of experience to study his curriculum and interact digitally through video exchange. In 2013, Bua collaborated with nutritionist David Wolfe to create the superfood drink mix, Immortal Machine. In 2015, the artist developed, hosted and was the executive producer for

Oxygen Channel Oxygen (branded on air as Oxygen True Crime) is an American cable and digital multicast television network owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group unit of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast. The network primarily airs true crime television series ...

's "Street Art Throw Down" which featured graffiti and street artists, including

Lady Pink Lady Pink, born Sandra Fabara (born 1964), is an Ecuadorian-born American graffiti and mural artist, active in New York City. Early life Fabara was born in Ambato, Ecuador in 1964, and moved to the Astoria neighborhood of Queens, New York wh ...

, Ron English and

Mear One Mear One (born 1971 as Kalen Ockerman) is an American artist and based in Los Angeles, known for his often-political and sometimes conspiracy theory-inspired street graffiti art. Mear One is associated with CBS (Can't Be Stopped – City Bomb Sq ...

, as guest judges.

Bibliography

* Bua, Justin (2011). ''The Legends of Hip Hop.'' New York City: Harper Design. *

Presence at Auction

In 2017, Bua was a featured artist on

Artsy Artsy, formally known as Art.sy Inc is a New York City based online art brokerage. Its main business is developing and hosting website for numerous galleries as well as selling art for them. It utilizes a search engine and database to draw conne ...

benefiting the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...

References

External links

*
Online Art School with Justin BUA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bua, Justin 1968 births Living people 20th-century American painters American male painters 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American educators 21st-century American painters 21st-century American non-fiction writers American art writers American breakdancers American graffiti artists American illustrators ArtCenter College of Design alumni Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Painters from New York City Writers from Brooklyn Artists from Manhattan People from the Upper West Side University of Southern California faculty Writers from Manhattan 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American educators American male non-fiction writers 21st-century American male writers 20th-century American male artists