Juan. D. Estrada

Welcome to the second part of my Art Chronology, where I explore my artistic journey through different styles.  From 2002-2010, I focused on discovering my identity and how spirituality plays a significant role in my life.  From 2010-2017, I delved into the world of Urban Chicano culture and how each person has a unique story. Tattoos serve as open books of those stories, and I represented the fusion of their auras through abstract backgrounds.  From 2017 until now, I have been exploring Triunity, Body, Soul, and Spirit, which express the unknown and the unseen while highlighting how humanity interacts with each other.

  Chicano Art and a Spiritual Quest in Self-Discovery 1992-1995  Juan D. Estrada (John Zender) During the 1990s, I created many murals in ethnically diverse communities, including Asian, African-American, Central American, and others.  Through these experiences, I learned how symbolism can be used to tell a story and how a group can unite behind a shared experience.  It also caused me to question my own identity, as I had previously been more connected to the hip-hop movement.  This led me to study the work of Chicano Artists, who explored their personal experiences with culture, displacement, and family life through bold, brightly-colored images of religion, cars, masks, and ancient relics.  Since 1992, I have incorporated some of these techniques into my work.   I started painting images of myself while gazing at an ancient Aztec mask and questioning my identity with the question, "who am I?".  Despite being born Mexican American, I grew up...

 

 Prison Art (1988-1991) In 1988 I was given a 5-year sentence in the state of California, I would complete my sentence at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility. This was the first time I had ever been in prison; I had no idea what this experience would be like. I was in my senior year at Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles when this occurred, so my outlook was still mainly focused on art, I had painted a couple of murals in the county jail during my arraignment so maybe I could do the same in prison. Donovan was a new California prison during this time, and everything was grey concrete inside and out, even in the cells so the idea of color was absent. The first couple of months I worked in landscaping and later found out I could take a vocational course. The only art-related course was the UCLA Extension Program which focused on printing and publishing. I was in Level 4 when I arrived at Donavon so to be a part of a college program was perfect. The course consisted of learning...

  Painting in the 1980’s From 1975 to 1981, I was a Chicano gang member from elementary school till 8th grade, so my knowledge of life was seen through this window. In 1981 I moved from South Central LA to Maywood California, where the community had little gang activity and kids were mostley influenced by hip hop and music videos. This would also be where I began to gain an appreciation for hip hop music with the likes of LL Cool J, Run DMC, Whodini, and many more. Break dancing was at its peak, and this was my introduction to Graffiti art, in the form of a visit to a club in the mid-Wilshire District called: RADIOTRON. If you seen the movie, well that was me…I was a B Boy, and to be a B Boy in those days meant you danced, DJ, rapped, and did some Graffiti. I am not going to give the full history of LA Hip Hop, but I am going to explain how the graffiti art form influenced my work. New York had its history on trains (See Documentary Wild Style). In LA we had Yards. Specifically, th...

I have decided to begin to share my life story with the public, this is actually one of the hardest things to do because I tend to be very private when it comes to my past.  For many years Ive been a mentor to many young artists and I always  do my best to give only my positive stories, but to understand my art or to even understand me as an artist both the dark and light side of life must be known.  throughout my series I will always connect my past with my art this is to keep this blog artistic and not just biographical.  I was born in East Los Angeles in 1966 in a small house on 1034 1/2 S. Herbert Street in between Whittier Blvd and the 5 freeway,  My father was an alcoholic for as long as I can remember:  my older brother has more stories about these early years than I do.  I just remember Christmases and special birthdays, I do remember when my mother died, it was a major turning point for my  two sisters and brother. My father had a new w...