“Fuck everybody”, stated the 38-year-old controversial Artist and Philosopher, James De La Vega. Sitting below the capitol cased letters “BECOME YOUR DREAM” painted above the entrance of his art gallery located at 102 St. Mark’s Place in the East Village, he delivered a message.
“Once you allow people to bend you, eventually they’ll break you, so don’t ever change who you are for no one”, commented Vega.
Underneath his aviator like shades and brown fisherman’s hat, he hides behind a façade yet his opinion exhales like the smoke from his cigar as we discussed how to make a difference through art, music and literature. He further explained that when one pursues a goal, one must have the confidence to stay true to their vision without compromising. This frame of mind is partly the reason for his arrest back in July of 2003 when he spray painted a fish jumping out of a bowl on the side of a Bronx warehouse with hopes of inspiring random pedestrians, which indeed won him a favorable reputation in the neighborhood, but hardly any with law enforcements. There after, he served 90 days of community service, yet continued coloring the streets of New York with pieces of chalk. One example in particular is of a bird resting upon his mother’s arm with a message underneath. It reads, “Be Free, My Son, Be Free.”
His unconstrained words of advice definitely matched his liberal lifestyle, perhaps due to his father’s independent influence before he died of A.I.D.S. in the early 90’s. “My father owned a few small business’s… He was always a Boss”, said Vega.
Although De La Vega suffered a great loss in his early teens, today the majority of his art collection pays tribute to Elsie Matos, his mother who was left alone to raise him in El Barrio, better known as Spanish Harlem on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. In an effort to inspire confidence and enlighten the public, he uses his mother’s character in which he refers to as a “strong woman” to portray worldwide celebrities and public figures in various illustrations.
For example, in a 5 x 8 drawing of his mother entitled, “My mother as Rosita Parks”, she is drawn as the only Latin women wearing gold hoop earrings with a slight mustache sitting in the last row of a bus occupied by Black passengers. Thus, the racial slur ‘nigger’ is blatantly crossed out which is replaced by the following statement: ‘Spics not allowed to sit in the front of the bus’. The next canvas also projects a racist concept with its title, “My mother as Amadou Diallo”. Here, her character is covered with 40 bullet wounds excessively dripping blood while aggressively shooting back with two machine guns, one held in each arm. Although these images are drawn in a cartoonist fashion, it conveys a serious issue while keeping the mood humorous. To further create a lively environment, salsa music circulates the room while one gazes upon the universal selection of innovators and world leaders such as pieces entitled, “My Mother as David Blaine breathing in a fish tank”, “My Mother As Fidel Castro In A Yankees Outfit” and “My Mother as John Lennon wearing a T-shirt that says ‘Nueva York”.
Like a kaleidoscope, this square shaped store is three dimensional, offering even more imagination than what was just previously observed and mentioned. There is a rack filled with greeting cards. The cover of one card has a stick drawing of a fish in three separate scenes. In the first he’s swimming with fins, in the second he sprouts legs, and in the third he runs onto land. A fish with legs! Needless to say, the picture speaks for itself.
“You know, all we have is each other”, De La Vega said. “I can honestly say that if I died tomorrow, I would be satisfied with what I left behind,” and he raised his arms to show off his amazing store that is a reflection of his artistic soul. Therefore when I asked him to explain what his personal dream was, since he motivates others to follow theirs, it wasn’t surprising to hear his reply.
“I want people to know that they can achieve anything they want to achieve and become whoever they want to become”. “OK, but what is your ‘personal’ dream for yourself?” I insisted
“I’d like to open up more stores across the country, especially in Los Angeles. A store in Puerto Rico would be nice too.” However as of recently, Vega’s work has been invited to participate inside of several restaurants and venues around Manhattan such as NYC’s Sofritos Restaurant (Puerto Rican Cuisine), The East Side Community High School and theatres throughout Manhattan, making him a highly respected artist in demand. Furthermore, while De La Vega focuses on imbuing a mass public, he proudly makes his Puerto Rican heritage known. “Conviertete En Tu Sueno” is written across a free sticker that he throws in every bag after every purchase. However, although the tattoo on his forearm says “BECOME YOUR DREAM”, The English translation for the sticker means, “Transform Into Your Dream”.
After I left for the evening, pleased at our motivational dialogue, I saw three black chairs in front of his store with individual messages written in white letters. They read, For Black’s Only, For Jew’s Only and For Gay’s Only. And off to the far left, was a fourth chair that read For Fat Girl’s Only. Knowing that De La Vega purposely invokes one to think outside the box through visual concepts, I realized that no one should take a seat and that everyone should stand up for their right to dream.
By Jasmine Clemente
