Though street artist Tristan Eaton moved to the West Coast after 15 years in New York, he recently returned to leave his mark with two spectacular wall murals in Little Italy. Here, he discusses those works, and his artist's collective TrustoCorp, which turns American consumerism, corporate culture and brand saturation on its head via cheeky, satirical pieces.
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Eaton painting "Liberty," photographed by Ryan Kobane.
"I moved to Los Angeles a year ago, and before moving I wanted to get a couple of walls to paint in the city that would stay behind forever. My assistant worked for a guy who did marketing for Little Italy, and he came back with this grand idea of having lots of artists paint walls around the neighborhood. I submitted my sketch for a wall that was near a church. The New York Post got a hold of the sketch and took my art to the church's priest without telling me. The priest flipped out and thought it was satanic pagan art, and the next thing I know, the Sunday edition of the Post comes out with a full-page story and the headline "Residents, Churches Upset Over Littly Italy Pagan Mural Plan." My piece was about family -- a child made of animals and foliage -- and I never had a chance to explain my work to him before they killed the project and crushed my dreams.
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(l to r): A TrustoCorp street sign photographed by Rey Rosa; TrustoCorp's installation at 10 Years of Wooster Collective: 2003-2013
But I ended up coming back into town and doing a portrait of Audrey Hepburn up the street on the side of Café Roma. I wanted to make something else that was iconic and tied to New York City, which ended up being my portrait of Lady Liberty on Mulberry Street. It's an easy icon to choose, but embedded in it are more of the complexities of what America is actually about. My work shows layers torn away, and these graphic patterns of logos are revealed below the surface. There's the veneer of the American dream, but then there are all those other people who never made it, who tried and failed. The way our country is now -- is it even worth fighting for?
My personal work tends to be more figurative, more painterly, more about beauty. My work with TrustoCorp is subversive, political and graphic, but I've always wanted to find a way to bring those worlds together. The Trusto work is like getting stuff off my chest. I don't think of myself as a funny person. It's more that I feel compelled to say things, to make fun of things, and my art comes from that instinct, that gut reaction. I never set out to be funny. It's just kind of how shit ends up."
The "Liberty" mural is on the corner of Canal and Mulberry streets.
Eaton painting "Liberty," photographed by Ryan Kobane."I moved to Los Angeles a year ago, and before moving I wanted to get a couple of walls to paint in the city that would stay behind forever. My assistant worked for a guy who did marketing for Little Italy, and he came back with this grand idea of having lots of artists paint walls around the neighborhood. I submitted my sketch for a wall that was near a church. The New York Post got a hold of the sketch and took my art to the church's priest without telling me. The priest flipped out and thought it was satanic pagan art, and the next thing I know, the Sunday edition of the Post comes out with a full-page story and the headline "Residents, Churches Upset Over Littly Italy Pagan Mural Plan." My piece was about family -- a child made of animals and foliage -- and I never had a chance to explain my work to him before they killed the project and crushed my dreams.
(l to r): A TrustoCorp street sign photographed by Rey Rosa; TrustoCorp's installation at 10 Years of Wooster Collective: 2003-2013But I ended up coming back into town and doing a portrait of Audrey Hepburn up the street on the side of Café Roma. I wanted to make something else that was iconic and tied to New York City, which ended up being my portrait of Lady Liberty on Mulberry Street. It's an easy icon to choose, but embedded in it are more of the complexities of what America is actually about. My work shows layers torn away, and these graphic patterns of logos are revealed below the surface. There's the veneer of the American dream, but then there are all those other people who never made it, who tried and failed. The way our country is now -- is it even worth fighting for?
My personal work tends to be more figurative, more painterly, more about beauty. My work with TrustoCorp is subversive, political and graphic, but I've always wanted to find a way to bring those worlds together. The Trusto work is like getting stuff off my chest. I don't think of myself as a funny person. It's more that I feel compelled to say things, to make fun of things, and my art comes from that instinct, that gut reaction. I never set out to be funny. It's just kind of how shit ends up."
The "Liberty" mural is on the corner of Canal and Mulberry streets.