by:
Adi Renaldi
A photographer perhaps not just an artist who plays
with lens or colors, but also can be considered as a messenger that has
something to say about a culture or something that happened with passion and
love. Thus, a photographer may speak through the lens to state his/her point of
view toward everything around and for the love of something that he/she
believes.
Began his career in the late 80s, Estevan Oriol
became a tour manager for Uber-Hip-Hop group House of Pain and built his
connection with the Cypress Hill - another LA-based hiphop superstar group –
that a decade later will create Soul Assassins (a production house which is
supported by various artists and musicians) with Oriol as one of the
masterminds. During his tour with the group, he invoked his unique and
outrageous style to capture the experiences and then started taking pictures of
his crew/homies and the lowrider culture in LA that influenced him a lot.
California is very well-known for its one-of-kind
and unique lifestyles. The diversity of cultures and races made it very rich of
influences and soulful. The Mexican immigrants (latino/hispanic/chicano) have a
sole way of life that truly inspired Mr.Oriol to do his “magic”. He had a gift
for capturing the raw essence of street life through his photography. He took
pictures for various magazines such as FHM, Anthem, Mass Appeal, Juxtapoz,
Juice and many to mention. Most of his photographs appeared as front covers. He
has a raw and honest style of photography with a delicate sense of street
spirit that has been very rare nowadays.
He also do artworks for CD covers and sheets from
various musicians and many collaboration projects including his notorious
project along with Mr.Cartoon, a world famous Los Angeles based artist. The two
skillful artists joined forces in 1995 to establish Joker Brand, a giant brand
which provides clothing to support hip-hop and chicano culture, which is now
rock-like solid and gained fans world-wide.
A
decade later, Mr. Cartoon and Estevan expanded their empire, using their unique
talents to assist brands and companies in reaching the coveted Hispanic Urban
market place through the establishment of SA Studios Agency, a multi-cultural
multimedia design/art company. SA orchestrated a highly successful
collaboration art show sponsored by Nike called Cultura, based on the line of
shoes completed for Nike. SA's clients include Harley Davidson, Nike, Toyota,
T-Mobile, and Rockstar Games. Today, to widen his career, Estevan directs music
videos for groups including Eminem, Cypress Hill, D12, Linkin Park, Blink 182,
Paul Wall, P.O.D., and Xzibit. He devised shooting campaigns for Nike, Rockford
Fosgate, and Cadillac. A few to mention, he has directed new media projects for
My Cadillac stories, MTV, and Apple Computer.
Never
enough and won’t ever stop, he stepped into film industry as a director. Brian
Grazer and his company, Imagine Entertainment, along with Universal Pictures,
chose to partner with SA studios by requesting from Estevan a three picture
deal in which he could direct three movies of his choice. The first one will be
the life story of his partner, Mr. Cartoon, set for release in 2008.
Moreover
in late 2007 and early 2008, Estevan Oriol released three separate publishing
book projects that he has been working on for the past decade: Ink, a
retrospective of his last ten years with Mister Cartoon, Adidas 1979, a
collaboration with Adidas originals chronicling street ball through his lens in
an 80 page custom book, and East of Havana, a book about Cuban hip-hop,
plus playing-card set and calendars. Last, Estevan Oriol starts with his own
world and beloved culture around him to legitimate his skills and gains
experiences. After all, it will give positive feedbacks to the culture that
raised him. He absolutely won’t stop trying and learning.
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