Wk 3 - Artist Essay - Revok

Revok

About the Artist

Revok was born 1977 in Riverside, California. He was originally introduced to art in the 60's and 70's at the height of the street art movement. He also took inspiration from comic books from the time. He is completely self-taught, developing his skills as an artist through his work alone. Revok is one of the world's most well known graffiti artists, but that fame has also gained the attention of the law. He has been in and out of jail several times, but in 2012 he went legit and is now making studio pieces.

Formal Analysis

As Revok is a self-taught artist, he uses similar medium to the ones that he started using in the 70's. In his more recent pieces he has done more geometric patterns. However, these pieces are still not perfectly created, as some imperfections can be found in the lines. He tends to use bright contrasting colors, which probably came from his time as a graffiti artist. Sometimes he works on a single canvas, other times, he layers several canvases on each other, creating a 3D effect in his pieces. They appear to be moderately large, but not the size of an entire wall, much like the graffiti art that he started with.

Content Analysis

Many of his pieces don't have a discernible theme or idea. A lot of it gives me the impression of its just a design that he thinks is interesting, rather than something that speaks to him. I think his arrests because of his prior work sort of drove him away from things that have a distinct message. 

Synthesis / My Experience

I am a fan of geometric art, so I like many of Revok's pieces. His arrests aside, his story is very interesting and an example of not just an artist, but a person, going legit and doing just as well for it. He may have had to distance himself from his previous work, but I think his work is as interesting as it used to be.