Celebrate
SOUL by
EDER MUNIZ
Eder Muniz
a.k.a. "Calangos de Rua” started his career as an artist many years ago when, as
a little boy, he was obsessed with drawing all over the walls of his house.
He advanced to spray paint in
high school and hit the streets of
Salvador da Bahia, Brazil as a
pichador (tagger). His street art shifted when he began to develop his
technique and his style began to incorporate human figures, animals and
abstract and surreal images. It
is a testament to his profound love of art and creativity that he has progressed
so rapidly despite never having attended art school. Today his colorful graffiti
art blankets
Salvador's
streets with themes such as preserving mother earth, valuing regional culture,
and the importance of family. In 2006 he
was hired by the city as a full-time salaried street artist and has since gained
international recognition.
Muniz founded the Movimento
Calangos, a collective of artists - photographers, street performers,
musicians, actors, dancers and graffiti artists.
The Movimento is a space that
unites artists in a kaleidoscope of creativity and encourages culture in
favelas, the city’s peripheral
spaces. Muniz takes the name “Calangos de Rua,” from a brightly colored agile
lizard endemic to
Northeast Brazil.
The name represents the multiple genres that he incorporates in his own art -
painting anything he gets his hands on - from walls to sneakers, tee-shirts to
subways, living room walls to classrooms, glass and his latest canvas - rugs and
mats. A portion of the proceeds from his art sales goes towards supporting the
Calangos movement.
Muniz is a member of A.I.R (Artists in Residence) and participate in
the 2007 International Fellows Program of Salam Art Works (SAW), a collective of
artists in Upstate New York.
E-mail:
:
edermuniz1@gmail.com
Website: :
www.flickr.com/photos/calangosderua
