BUA: The Beat of Urban Art
Paperback, Collins, $24.99
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From Leah Garchik's 7/10 column in sfgate.com

Artist Justin BUA unveils "The King of Pop," his Michael Jackson tribute painting, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Moe's Books in Berkeley. The event is in conjunction with the publication of BUA's book, "The Beat of Urban Art" (BUA, get it?), but the Jackson work is new.

"I just did the thing. ... I started the day he died and completed two days after he died," said BUA, who will be there along with DJ CJ Flash spinning Jackson tunes.

How did he come to Moe's? "A lot of bookstores wanted to do something, but Moe's is cool, the only independent bookstore to survive" (well, sort of). "I like the tenacity, the audacity of them. We're going to celebrate Michael, have a DJ, book signing, my own version of a memorial. ... I am the beat of urban art."

Tuesday, July 14th: Artist Justin BUA

Groundbreaking artist Justin BUA is internationally known for his best-selling collection of fine art posters-- The DJ being one of the most popular prints of all time. Born in 1968 in NYC's untamed Upper West Side and raised between Manhattan and East Flatbush, Brooklyn, BUA was fascinated by the raw, visceral street life of the city. He attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Performing Arts and complemented his education on the streets by writing graffiti and performing worldwide with breakdancing crews. BUA went on to the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California where he earned a B.F.A in Illustration.

In his first book, The Beat of Urban Art, BUA lays out his unique vision, melding urban rhythms, graffiti, and classical art training. This visually arresting book is about his life, his work, and the birth of Hip-Hop. As we follow BUA through his turbulent youth, navigating the streets and underground worlds of the urban jungle, we recognize the powerful evolution of BUA's distinct style--"New Urban Realism." Following in the footsteps of the great masters, BUA represents the lives of both the revered and the marginalized, the heroes and the underdogs of his time--New York City during the 1970s and '80s. With an autobiographical narrative illustrated with photographs, drawings, sketches, studies, and explanations of how many of his paintings were created, The Beat of Urban Art takes you into the head of the modern-day Toulouse-Lautrec.