Big, beautiful pieces that go beyond the usual urban graffiti is what artist Jesse Hazelip plasters upon boarded up buildings in the East Bay area. No, he’s not your typical graffiti artist whom dabbles in spray painting gang signs and urban decay upon city buildings, Jesse Hazelip is the gentrified graffiti artist with artwork being showcased in infamous galleries such as White Walls and the SFMOMA.

Of course, his art is sometimes found on the side of buildings, but with a list of clientele that includes Converse and Christian Audiger the term illegal seems a bit too harsh. In Hazelip’s recent works a recurring Native American and very Americana theme is showcased with figures such as bombers growing out of buffalos and birds shooting out pistols and other military artillery from their beaks. We could spend hours, extracting symbols and meanings behind the art work of Jesse Hazelip, but instead we decided to talk to the man himself.

Art Nouveau: What emotions inspire you?

Jesse Hazelip: Compassion, empathy, sadness, anger

Art Nouveau: How do you feel about street art and the public’s reactions towards it?

Jesse Hazelip: There has always been a multifarious public view of graffiti, but mainly a negative outlook.  The public seems to be gradually warming up to the subculture, but true vandalism will always draw a stinkeye.  Early in my career as a vandal I tried to destroy everything in sight without hesitation, rationalizing it to my self as an act of anarchism.  I then began to realize that the majority of my vandalism was only affecting the working class, who are the people with the least.  This realization brought on a completely new outlook on how I approach my street work.  I created a set of guidelines for myself that dictates where my street work finds its home.

Art Nouveau: You have worked with Christian Audigier, Mishka NYC, and Converse to name a  few. Which one of these brands best fits your aesthetic art and concept  wise?

Jesse Hazelip:  I try to keep my commercial work separate from my fine art.  Discussing “which best fits my aesthetic” might alienate one of the clients.

Art Nouveau: Tell us a little about your exhibition “Sentimental Journey”?

Jesse Hazelip: Sentimental Journey was my first major solo exhibition at White Walls Gallery in SF.  Its main focus was on historical lessons which have been ignored throughout the course of our occupation in North America.  WWII heavily influenced the aesthetic of this show, the name Sentimental Journey comes from an actual bomber plane.

Art Nouveau: What are some of the concepts behind your latest exhibition?

Jesse Hazelip: In my upcoming show, “The Belle of the Brawl” at 941 Geary in SF, I am addressing the United States and its role in Iraq and Afghanistan, our impact there, and the eminent power struggle over minerals deposits found by our DOD.  Lithium is going to be the next oil, and countries are already beginning to struggle for mining rights in Afghanistan.  I again, am asking people to look at the past in hope that we don’t repeat mistakes in our approach to this situation.

Art Nouveau: What inspired you to begin to work on large scale murals and besides size, how do they differ from normal size paintings?

Jesse Hazelip: In graffiti, bigger is always better, and that thought process has greatly influenced my fine art.  I feel that large-scale pieces help my message because I tend to deal with major social issues.  I work on used wood paneling, so it lends me freedom to build and stack and expand, instead of being confined or limited by canvas.

Art Nouveau: Tell us about some of the times that you have been arrested for doing street art.

Jesse Hazelip: Fortunately I have only been fully processed (arrested) once, and it was very educational.  I got “the works”, which included, but was not limited to, police brutality, illegal search, strip search, orange jumpsuit, 4 days in county (which should have only been 12 hours max), threats of “disappearing”, the list goes on.  I ended up just reading a book the whole time. I was actually bummed when they called my name for release because I was almost finished.

Art Nouveau: What  is the most important thing that going to the Art Center taught you,  and one is the most important thing that the street taught you?

Jesse Hazelip: Art Center humbled me, and made me realize that there are many talented people out there, and to keep up I have to dedicate everything to my craft.  Some instructors and many of my colleagues greatly influenced my work, and continue to do so.  My graffiti work has always been a sort of meditative place, somewhere that my mind is clear of thought and distraction.  My street work gave me thicker skin because it was mainly looked at in a negative light, and in the graffiti game there are always jealous haters.  I learned to detach myself from criticism, and do what I feel at the moment.

Art Nouveau: Is death a theme that you explore in your works? Explain.

Jesse Hazelip: Death and war are synonymous, and our history is stained by the blood of wars.  In this series of work I am discussing war and history, so death is inevitably intertwined in the subject matter.  My main message is learning from those mistakes, and then evolving as a species beyond our violent tendencies.  We’ve seen the results of war for centuries, yet we continue to settle disputes in this manner and develop new methods of destruction without an end in sight.

Art Nouveau: Concerning warfare, do you feel as though humans are more evolved animals with guns? Explain.

Jesse Hazelip: I compare ourselves to the cavemen, who ran around beating each other with sticks.  Though centuries have passed since then, the only thing that evolved from that scenario was the sticks.