Surviving on a spray can

By Sarah Feldberg

Monday, April 19, 2010 | 12:05 a.m.

Aiseborn is 24 years old, but he talks like a shy child. Standing outside behind the Arts Factory on a sunny spring afternoon, his voice gets lost in the rumble of nearby traffic or the wind. His words sound half in his head, as if he's speaking to himself.

The LA-based aerosol artist is squinting against the sun, staring into the mural he's recently finished on a sidewall of developing art district venture, the Mission Las Vegas. The Mission, a mixed-usage studio and gallery space, is in the works from developer David Mozes. Though it's far from complete, colorful paintings by local graffiti artists already betray its future purpose.

As Aiseborn assess his newly completed work, a man walks up and points out some fresh tags above his colorful piece. The man scowls slightly, obviously defensive of his neighborhood's new decoration, but Aiseborn just smiles and shrugs, looking down at his paint-flecked pants. "I've been there," he says. "It's an adrenaline rush."

The work he does now is less adrenaline and more art. This mural — commissioned by local artist Ras.One — combines religious icons, the psychology of color and Michelangelo references. In one corner of the piece, Aiseborn has recreated the Ecstasy of Saint Theresa in red and white, her face mimicking that of Gian Lorenzo Bernini's 17th century sculpture housed in a church in Rome. The bullet holes in Aiseborn's Theresa are his own addition.

Next to the saint is another familiar image, an outstretched hand that echoes the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Instead of reaching for another hand, these fingers are stretched toward the cross. "It's actually dropping the cross," Aiseborn corrects. "Some people see things the way they want to."

The artist himself sees the mural as a vague interpretation of the human cycle. Painted in vibrant indigos and pinks with gold accents, it's also a window onto his own life, which revolves around painting and working with his California crew, cheekily dubbed The Rhodes Scholars. Aiseborn is taking a few community college classes in LA, and he says he hasn't held down a regular job in a while. He doesn't have a phone or too many bills to pay, a good thing since the money from his art is inconsistent at best. Sometimes he gets paid for pieces like this one; other times he doesn't. Still, he's determined to make art a full time gig, even if a low-paying one.

"This is the job for me. This has to be the job," he says.

When I ask him if he can make a living painting walls, he shrugs again. "There's days that I won't eat probably, but I don't think about that."

Like his far-reaching work, Aiseborn is zoomed out to the bigger picture. While he didn't get paid for this piece, he sees it as self-promotion, especially important since it was commissioned by Ras, a respected friend. If it's well-received, the mural could lead to more work, more trips to Vegas and even paychecks. Aiseborn's trying to build a professional portfolio and imagines a day when his skills will be used in more high-profile and lucrative locations. "It won't always be a spray can," he adds. "It might be a paintbrush, maybe watercolors."

***

Before walking away, Aiseborn gets close to the wall, his eyes scanning for spots where the paint has stretched or looks faint. Although the mural technically is complete, the artist sees spots that need touching up everywhere, and he's itching to get back out with some paint. There's an added pressure surrounding this project, which involved painting over a piece already occupying the same space. It happens all the time with street art, but there is a certain tension involved. "It better be worth going up," Aiseborn says seriously.

That pressure, along with his desire to satisfy Ras and Mozes, has made this mural feel like a test for the young artist.

"Did you pass?" I ask.

Aiseborn sighs. "I hope I passed. For some reason I feel like I never really know."

— Originally published on LasVegasWeekly.com