TEMPT ONE

Growing up in los Angeles and being a teenager that was into graffiti in the 80's i had the privilege to have been able to witness some of Los Angeles graffiti writers that now dwell in obscurity. Before the age of the Internet if you did not see a graffiti writers work in the streets it simply did not exist. For some one to be notice back them they really had to get up and put in 100's of ours of work. One of those memorable graffiti writers is TEMPT ONE. his work was all over town especially the freeways. He was part of an elite crew called FB that consisted of CAB, KEY, ANGST, MURAL, and TEMPT. These guys literally where FREEWAY BOMBERS. Tempt stood out from the crowd with his stylized fonts and clean legible styles that were boldly outline and strategically placed in highly visible areas. Tempts hand styles were in a league of their own, immaculately executed his tags graced the sides of signs, poles, electrical boxes and countless other objects.

Tempt is one Los Angeles most influential writers to come out of los Angeles, pioneering styles, traveling around the country to paint and gaining respect and notoriety where ever he painted. Although he can no longer paint the streets due to his diagnoses of ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), ALS, is a disease of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement. ALS is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. This fact is not stopping tempt from pioneering in an entirely different way. Tempt has recently teamed up with members of Free Art and Technology (FAT), Open-Frameworks, the Graffiti Research Lab, and The Ebeling Group communities. To create a low-cost, open source eye-tracking system that will allow ALS patients to draw using just their eyes. The long-term goal is to create a professional/social network of software developers, hardware hackers, urban projection artists and ALS patients from around the world who are using local materials and open source research to creatively connect and make eye art. Tempts work can currently be seeing at the Street Cred Exhibit in Pasadena California.

Street Cred: Graffiti Art From Concrete to Canvas
Opening Reception: Saturday May 14, 2011 | 7-10 PM
Open to the public / $5 Admission / Free for PMCA members

Pasadena Museum of California Art
490 E. Union Street
Pasadena, CA 91101
pmcaonline.org

Artists featured in the exhibition include Michael Alvarez, ANGST, AXIS, Chaz Bojórquez, CODAK, CRAOLA, DASH 2000, Ekundayo, EYEONE, HASTE, Paul SKEPT Kanemitsu, Alex Kizu, KOFIE, MAN ONE, MEAR ONE, Juan Carlos Muñoz Hernandez, Jose Lopez, Erick Montenegro, Nicnak, PUSH, RISK, Jeff Soto, Evan Skrederstu, RETNA, REVOK, SABER, SHANDU, Jesse Simon, SINER, TEMPT, and ZES.