Chiaka Hauze – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

“I hope that people open up their eyes and realize, that they’re looking through real eyes instead of believing their lies that they think are real. And know your vowels: ‘AEIOU’ for you and yours. ‘Eh, Earth – do I owe you? Yes, you do.’ Stop having so much fun, because fun spelled backwards is enough.”

“Not my whole life, I’ve lived in Pittsburgh my young life, because I got like young adulthood in 99, when I was 26 I went to Seattle. I came back when I was 39. Came back in 2011, so I’ve been back in Pittsburgh for six years. January 13th it’ll be six years.”

“Family. Pittsburgh’s situation, it needs my help and I need Pittsburgh’s help. Help us get strong, because it’s here, just need to bring it out. You know, we got six Super Bowl rings, but I mean, sports aren’t everything. It makes this game [gesturing to painting and people walking on the streets] be overlooked, because the people running to the game, this is the real game. Sports to me is Smart People Outdoor Research Technology – I do this [street painting] for a sport, this is my sport.”

“[I’m a] heartist – humanitarian environmental art reaching the streets since I could hold a brush or a fork or anything in my hand, since I had tactile skills. And that was very young when I could hold something, then I start manipulating what I could hold, and maneuvering, navigating, and creating.

It’s a lot of observations – I’m not formally trained, but I trained myself formally by reading and studying and watching. A lot of my practice and my techniques come from just doing it. I’m not using the best of brushes or surface material, and none of that matters. And I got watchers, and I don’t even know that they’re watching. You have to paint like no one’s watching or sing like nobody’s listening People don’t always give me the money because I’m not like ‘Hey guys! Give me money, I need it!’”

“No one told me I could do this [gesturing to painting on window], but no one told me I couldn’t do it. When I came here it looked like this [gesturing to ‘wash me’ written on dirty window], so I said ‘well, nobody said that they couldn’t do that.’ You know it says ‘wash me’ and this is easy to scrape right off. Sometimes I just do whatever I feel like doing in the name of art. Just want to see who’s gonna come out and say ‘you can’t’ and then I’m gonna ask them ‘why?’

It says ‘Project Popup: Downtown’ – you could actually get this [storefront] from some kind of inquiry with Pittsburgh Cultural Arts Trust, where you can just have a mock business. They’ll start you up for free just to show ‘we want something here so it doesn’t look desolate’ – fight the blight…Sometimes I’ll just come out and do it raw, just to say that I was gonna do it anyway, now I’m asking you.”

“Life imitates art, art imitates life. So all I should do is…let their peripheral eye float over here, and it’s done, the job is done. They’ve wondered, they’ve looked, they’ve seen. And, maybe a little hint of inspiration, or ‘somebody’s doing something, look at that, that’s different,’ and then they’ll think ‘oh, I paint a little bit too. What kind of brush was he using…on a window?’ Might make them want to go home and paint.”

“I need interpreters, I need speakers hanging from the trees. I could talk and have a wireless mic, you know, and have my voice coming out of that bush in a speaker. Be like ‘Why’re you walking past me? Why’re you not talking to me?’ Be like ‘Where’s that coming from?’ The bush – the talking bush – put the money in the bushes, okay?”

“I would say [to my 18-year-old self]: Don’t do drugs. Do not drink as much. Take care of your body. Exercise. Brush your teeth every fucking day. Yeah, all those good things. I would tell him to ‘take care of you, and then you’ll be stronger to take care of others.’”

“Thousands of people pass me and don’t stop. I know I should have a standing-up, clear, with a light in it, vase made out of plastic this tall [holds hand above his waist] so they can’t miss it, that has like, lit up bubbles in it. Then I wanna see how they keep walking past.

They can easily say they didn’t see it and then they can easily say they didn’t see me. It’s kind because of my – I don’t like to say it all the time – but it’s still my skin, and height, and color, or class. And I went through this in Seattle, it’s major, it’s all of it.

I remember a guy was here, he brought a washing machine, he put it here, he put a board door here, some chairs – ain’t nobody said anything, he thought he was just moving in his junk, I didn’t know, we didn’t know…and the next minute he took this whole ring of washing machines, filled up this garbage bag, starting putting tape on everything, sticking it to the wall with cardboard, made like a cartoon figure riding a washing machine that turned into a horse coming from the wall – and left it here. Then left it on another block and another block. That’s just doing your art on the street like it’s a public service announcement. Nobody said anything.

Nobody’s said nothing to me yet, and I don’t think they’re going to. But at the same time they’re not breaking their necks to say anything to me either. They’re walking by like there’s nothing different. That’s the Matrix – you know how Neo was standing here, he was like watching? Everbody like fshhew, fshhew, they don’t even know that you’re right there, you’re ‘the One.’”

“People don’t want to stop because they don’t know who you are or what’s – it’s safer just not to say anything.”

“I want to have the ISCREAM Truck – Inspire Street Culture Revolutionize Education with Art and Music. To where we have our own impression management group. Lights, cameras, our people putting on a show, and it’s being filmed – like, we create our own news. It’s not about money, it’s about time. Time issues, going out and finding others. Talent scouts.”

“I would like to have a bucket and squeegee – I could really start making this pop. If I had my generator with me. I have all the supplies. I had a better cart, I just improvised this – a lot of what I have on me has just came from the last couple of days of being at the shelter across here where they’re just giving out stuff everywhere.

I’m just a genius as making this stuff compact so I can still get on the bus. This ain’t no open cart, it’s my walker, carrying my art – and I am quick to get it maneuvered, locked down…without being too long and making everybody wait. And I have my bus fare too, that’s a plus.

Sometimes, they don’t want to stop. If they see you – and they can pass you up, they’ll pass you up…One thing when people look at you, and you just turned around and you kinda like catch their glance, and they look away – we go through that so much. You know what I mean? I’m not trying to make the story bad, but you want to hear what’s really going on.”

Limited edition print available (alpha edition):
Giclée (Archival Inkjet) print w/ quotes hand-lettered on mat in silver pen.
1.25” Matte Black Frame, 2.5” Black Mat, Archival Hinge Mount, UV Glass.
21″ x 14″ (Framed: 28.5″ x 21.5″)
$1799

Chiaka - Limited Edition Print, Framed Alpha Series
Click here for more information about limited edition prints.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *