Dolla, conscious street art

In Tokyo. Under a stop sign. On the back bumper of my car. On a t-shirt. On last night’s 40. There are far and few places that haven’t been slap-tagged, spray painted or drawn on by the elusive San Francisco sticker and street artist, mildred. Infamous for his mix of awkward, crazed, ugly-but always cute-characters, this 21 year old works just as hard keeping the pages of the man behind the madness closed. Here, he opens the book. A little.

If there’s anyone in the graffiti world who needs no introduction, it’s SEEN. So let’s just get down to business...

MCA Evil Design first flashed across my radar about six years ago, through his instantly recognizable and unique character style, dry and dark sense of humor on his website, and the nonchalant cool of the world he’s created through the simplest of linework. It takes a lot of hard yards to get your stuff that simple, that memorable and that good, and he’s done it. He’s also managed to get it out there into the world’s consciousness since 1991, through many art shows, toys, commissions, street art, and appearances in books, which means he’s also very hard working, tenacious and professional – precursors to success in making a living from your work. He’s also one of those rare artists who has cut through, armed with a seemingly simple character style, but a style which to me is layered with subtlety, complexity and a pathos not usually found in this genre of art. We’ve been email buddies for the last five years or so, and here are some questions I’ve always wanted to ask him.

Later that evening… I motored over to deep Queens. I handcuffed the 76 CB 550 and headed to FR’s lab where I met up with Plasma Slugs. I have seen and see Plasma Slugs boards and stickers everywhere and have seen him at events. He got up on one of the official sticker boards at PEEL’s StickerThrow—and caught a hot topic from Abe. Abe and I decided to not buff it. Time to get down...

Dolla fi rst caught our attention a couple of years ago when he showed us his sticker panel collaboration project (appearing in PEEL #5). Since that time, we’ve watched his body of work grow and his style develop and mature. We’ve been consistently amazed by both his personality and his work and have been looking forward to the day we’d give him a proper introduction in the pages of PEEL...

The Hoodiez and My Little Cthulhu had already caught our eye, but when we heard that Dreamland Toyworks would soon be producing designer vinyl from some of our favorite street artists, we had to check it out. PEEL had a chat with toy design veteran and pioneer David Fiorito about the process of toy design and manufacturing and where he plans to take the company in the near future...

Street art encompasses a variety of techniques from markers, stickers, hand drawing, stencils, brush painting, aerosol painting, sculptures, and wheat paste posters. The artists all take the time, energy, and great risks in putting their work out onto the streets under harsh public scrutiny. Street art is constantly evolving and new mediums will be embraced but the same goal unites all the forms– it’s all about leaving your mark. People are always trying to be new, different, innovative and creative. They are creating art for their own sake, as an extension of their feelings and emotions. Visually arresting and provocative works of art are created that offer a unique perspective and take on different meanings depending upon the reaction and interpretations of the viewer.

Writing for the TOY issue is an excellent opportunity to address issues existing just below the surface of the ubiquitous articles on toy topics like designer toys and their validity, on is so-and-so a sellout for doing a toy, on are toys art, etc.

Stickers. What purpose do they hold? The first time I remember using them was in the early 90’s. It was a fast way to get up. I could draw hundreds of them. Quick, elusive and semi permanent if placed in the right spot. Hand drawn, Printed, Stenciled or Vinyl. With so many options how does one choose? That is the beautiful thing about being creative. You always have choices. Exploring options brought me to the prince of adhesive, Sir Sticky Rick. Over thousands of stickers and countless hours on the phone our relationship began..