Saber (artist)
Encyclopedia
Saber is an American graffiti
artist, and painter working in Los Angeles
. The Washington Post described him as one of "the best and most respected artists" in his field.
in 1997. The full color piece took 97 gallons of paint and 35 nights spread out over the course of a year to complete. The final work, measuring 250 x 55 feet has been called "the largest graffiti painting ever." The work was viewable from satellite. Highly visible from the East LA interchange near downtown Los Angeles, it was seen by millions of drivers. A photo taken upon completion of the work shows the full scale; Saber can be seen sitting in the upper portion of the letter B, and above the concrete bank several trains show the relative length. The global reputation of the work within the graffiti world was further spread when that same photo was used as the splash screen
for artcrimes.org, the first graffiti art website. In 2004, Saber recreated the piece in a diorama of the river for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
exhibit, L.A.: light / motion / dreams. In 2007, the piece was included in the KCET project Departures: LA River. Remarkable not only for sheer size, Saber's LA River piece remained for 12 years. On September 1, 2009, a sub-contractor of the Army Corps of Engineers, BJD Resourcing, removed the work by painting over it. Despite being an ineffective long term strategy for Graffiti Removal
, the company received $837,000 of federal stimulus money for the work.
and dropped out of art school in San Francisco. He has also tagged many places in San Francisco, and was interviewed by Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine
for the July 2007 issue.
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
artist, and painter working in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. The Washington Post described him as one of "the best and most respected artists" in his field.
Los Angeles River
Saber is most famous for an exceptionally large piece he did on the concrete bank of the Los Angeles RiverLos Angeles River
The Los Angeles River is a river that starts in the San Fernando Valley, in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and flows through Los Angeles County, California, from Canoga Park in the western end of the San Fernando Valley, nearly southeast to its mouth in Long Beach...
in 1997. The full color piece took 97 gallons of paint and 35 nights spread out over the course of a year to complete. The final work, measuring 250 x 55 feet has been called "the largest graffiti painting ever." The work was viewable from satellite. Highly visible from the East LA interchange near downtown Los Angeles, it was seen by millions of drivers. A photo taken upon completion of the work shows the full scale; Saber can be seen sitting in the upper portion of the letter B, and above the concrete bank several trains show the relative length. The global reputation of the work within the graffiti world was further spread when that same photo was used as the splash screen
Splash screen
A splash screen is an image that appears while a game or program is loading. It may also be used to describe an introduction page on a website. Splash screens sometimes do not cover the entire screen, but only a rectangle near the center...
for artcrimes.org, the first graffiti art website. In 2004, Saber recreated the piece in a diorama of the river for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County opened in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California, USA in 1913 as the Museum of History, Science, and Art. The moving force behind it was a museum association founded in 1910. Its distinctive main building, with fitted marble walls and domed and...
exhibit, L.A.: light / motion / dreams. In 2007, the piece was included in the KCET project Departures: LA River. Remarkable not only for sheer size, Saber's LA River piece remained for 12 years. On September 1, 2009, a sub-contractor of the Army Corps of Engineers, BJD Resourcing, removed the work by painting over it. Despite being an ineffective long term strategy for Graffiti Removal
Graffiti Removal
Graffiti has long been a part of the social fabric in urban society. Despite the occasional pieces which may be deemed as street art, most instances of graffiti are often simplistic tags which offer no form of aesthetic benefit. Therefore most governments have seen graffiti as detrimental, and have...
, the company received $837,000 of federal stimulus money for the work.
American flag controversy
Recently in 2010 Saber filmed a video of him painting the American flag and painting on it. People said that he was desecrating the American flag. Saber had a many discussions with many news productions such as Fox News and MSNBC. Saber claimed he was he was sending a message to the American health reform to get organized. Saber did not agree on how the systems was functioning for the health care. Saber suffers from Epilepsy and quote said "if people didn't have health care or health insurance they were done".Early life
Saber graduated from Thousand Oaks High SchoolThousand Oaks High School
Thousand Oaks High School is a high school established in 1962 and located in Thousand Oaks, California. It is a California Distinguished School, and offers curriculum at all levels for Thousand Oaks students. The mascot is the lancer...
and dropped out of art school in San Francisco. He has also tagged many places in San Francisco, and was interviewed by Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine
Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine
Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine is a magazine created in 1994 by a group of artists and collectors including Robert Williams, Fausto Vitello, C.R. Stecyk III , Greg Escalante, and Eric Swenson to both help define and celebrate urban alternative and underground contemporary art. It was edited from...
for the July 2007 issue.