Chor Boogie. This is not a name that blends in with the rest in any way. The San Francisco-based spray paint artist’s work doesn’t either.
Chor Boogie was born Jason Hailey in 1979 in the San Diego, California, area. It wasn’t until 2007 that Hailey moved to San Francisco to pursue his dream as an artist that was established at age 5 in his kindergarten art class.
Now, the 35-year-old, re-named Boogie has had his art take him across the globe, establishing himself as an internationally featured artist.
Don’t be fooled and mistake his work for simple graffiti that litters the walls and streets of cities.
While Boogie’s work may express graffiti influence, mostly through its medium, Boogie’s art is shocking in its details.
“Most of the time people think my work is all done with a brush –– that’s how fine-tuned it is…but once they find out it’s done with spray paint, they are blown out of this world,” Boogie said.
It’s easy to misinterpret art in some cases. Though, some artists would argue that an observer can’t misinterpret art. For Boogie, however, he wants his work to be understood as he presents it and as he views it.
“The craft itself has nothing to do with that. This is art, baby –– get with the program,” Boogie said.
His success speaks on behalf of this, as he has his work painted on walls –– including the Berlin Wall, most notably –– in places like Canada, Brazil, China, Australia, Dubai and Mexico. While Boogie may have started in California, his work has spread across the U.S. and beyond.
Recently, Boogie was chosen to transform The CUBES in New York City. The already modern retail space has been taken to an even higher urban level by Boogie’s work. The glass, cubic space will be covered from the inside with Boogie’s art, with each floor presenting a different theme.
On the ground floor, Boogie has already completed a mural of two iconic and historical musical artists: Madonna and Michael Jackson. The second floor of The CUBES will soon feature flying superheroes while the third floor will display well known silver-screen actors and actresses from throughout history.
These images will be visible to passersby and workers stationed in nearby offices. The glass cubes will provide a window into the gallery of art that is Boogie’s work, standing out amid whatever else that space might be filled with.
Boogie’s most recent project displays his influences from the past and inspirations for the future.
“I did read comic books and they inspired me tremendously, especially Spider-Man, X-Men…the artists Todd McFarlane and Jim Lee,” Boogie said.
These artists and their work are admittedly factors of influence, although, Boogie remains adamant in remaining uniquely his own as an artist. He tries not to pay too much attention to too many artists, however, so as to avoid their style of work showing up in his work, Boogie said.
As mentioned, past influences are bound to make their way into a person’s life, but it’s where that person is headed and what he or she does with it that makes him or her something original.
In terms of Boogie’s future, he said, “The future is bright. Just staying on this path is good enough for me.”
As Boogie continues on his path of success, there’s no telling where his art will take him next. If there’s one thing to remember about Boogie and his genre of art, it’s that something as seemingly simple as spray paint can in fact be made into something that is as appreciated as art.
