Customer Reviews

The Beat of Urban Art: The Art of Justin Bua

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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Length:: 0:25 Mins

This book is pretty cool. It mixes elements of street art, caricatures, music and city life. In The Beat of Urban Art, Justin Bua recollects how he grew up in New York on the Upper West Side, Manhattan and Brooklyn.

He sketches the people he met and the streets he grew up on. The pages are filled with caricatures of people who grew up in this tough neighbourhood. Life was so rough on the streets he sometimes had to act insane just to avoid getting mugged, and that was in East Flatbush, Brooklyn.

It's easy to get absorbed looking at the interesting caricatures but not to be missed is the inconspicuous background art which serves as a great story backdrop. There's a very textural and grainy look to the art. After reading through his experiences, it's hard to imagine any other style more apt. He names his style of art Distorted Urban Realism.

His coloured paintings, musical influence and artistic expression goes to the second part of the book.

It's a nice art book to have if you're into stylised art. There are hardcover and paperback editions.

(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

Finally an art book that is relevant to our times, humorous, political and thoughtful; wrapped into one powerful package. I never thought that art could be so easily embraced. The book speaks volumes of urban life in America. There are plenty of criticisms throughout the book about our society and the urban ghettos that plague our cities. However, what I found captivating was how the book captures the essence of hip-hop culture and shows how it has profoundly influenced American urban life by bringing inspiration, pride and hope to even the darkest alleys.

Justin Bua is not just a talented artist but he is prolific as well. His stylistic caricatures and illustrations with there amplified perspectives and edgy stylings bring the urban street scene to life in a poignant and entertaining way. He presents a diary of his life on the streets. He shows a cast of characters that resonate with energy and rhythm created by his skills at applying line, color and texture. Awesome! Justin Bua is a poet with a paint brush!

If you like Justin Bua...you'll love this book.The artwork is beautiful and he provides a detailed outline of his life,his inspiration, and his direction for each of his pieces... The layout is beautiful, the design is lovely, and the art is brilliantly Bua. It's a great book to share with others too.

I bought this book as part of research for a 15 min adaptation of a play Marisol (Jose Rivera) for my drama class. Bua's artwork is stunningly beautiful, with a great portrayal of a city that brings so much awe, culture and mystery...NYC (where marisol is staged).
his telling a story through art is an amazing feat, the colors are great and a few really nice quotes about progression in any artform is in need of skills, as the book states:

As one of my teachers Glenn Vilppu put it: "if you think of all the possible visual elements that you must learn as keys on a piano, the more keys you have, the wider the range of possibilities you can enjoy. Of course, you can make music with just a few keys, but that should be based on choice, not limitations."

Eloquent in his words and thoughts (and his teachers words for that matter), and passionate about his artform, i found the book a great story into the heart of new york.

1. the price on here is way cheaper then the price on the actual website.
2. it was a hard cover so thats always better than paperback(when it comes to art books)
3. the delivery was quicker then expected.

Bua's work is amazing. I truly enjoyed his work as well as his story. I highly recommend this book.

I put this book in the must have catagory. I have followed Justin bua's art the last few years and have found this book a great source of info on his methods and background info on his work. I have a book by ernie barns and I put this one right up with his. This book is a must have for any Bua fan or fan of black or urban art.