Colombian muralist Carlos Nieto III invades urban L.A. with his street art

Fine artist Carlos Nieto III is one of the artists painting the 4’ by 8’ panels that will be attached to the fence of Thomas Starr King Middle School in Los Angeles as part of the school’s beautification project. And even though he’s already known as a muralist, his work stretches far beyond painting walls.

Nieto has directed the filming of several music videos for the punk rock band Harmful If Swallowed for which he’s been the bass player since the early ‘90s. They have shared stage with important bands including Green Day, Bad Religion and Korn. The artist is expanding his artistic scope to the limits.

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He is currently working on his first graphic novel; a writing category similar to cartoons but that goes way deeper with writing components such as complexity of the plot and storytelling style. This is quite challenging for the artist who is familiar with the graphic aspect, but is a rookie in the writing craft.

However, his first writing idea, I have to say, is quite original and suggestive. It’s something I’ve never heard of.

“It’s the story of a very young Latino girl who is a super hero,” Nieto told Pulso POP about the plot. “It’s very dark and a little bit violent but there is a lot of spirituality and existentialism in the story. The character evolves from anger all the way to enlightenment and transcendence.”

Nieto also teaches arts to kids at Los Angeles Children’s Hospital, a job he assures is one of the most gratifying he’s ever done.

Some of Carlos Nieto III’s street art

Some artists get their hands on so many dissimilar artistic disciplines that I call them onion artists. Yep! You read right –onion artists. Their works have layers and layers and layers that seem to never end.

That is Nieto’s case. The Colombian descendant artist was born and raised in urban Los Angeles. He took his first steps in arts at a young age making drawings influenced by street art, graffiti and cartoons.

He armored himself with a few basic arts classes, autodidact learning, and tons of hard work to crossover his art into oil painting and other fine arts modalities.

“I never had the resources to enroll in a full-time program and get a degree,” Nieto commented on his artistic academic background.

The artist started to blend influences from the Renaissance masters and modern European painting with his early influences of street art. He paints with the intention to examine political ideas, things of everyday life, and his own experiences growing up in urban L.A.

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Living in the melting pot California, Nieto has a voracious need to experiment with elements of different cultures in what he defines as cultural anthropology painting.

“When you play with and manipulate symbols of different cultures in one image, people from different cultures can connect with it. I show my vision of how they are all interconnected,” he said.

“My journey is not about fame or recognition but it’s been about meeting different people and stories though my art. My goal in life is to connect with others.”

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