October is Filipino American History Month, so starting today, I'll be posting a different painting by a Filipino American artist each weekday until Halloween (Monday, October 31).
Mike "Dream" Francisco (1969-2000) was a respected figure in the Bay Area graffiti art scene. Marty Aranaydo, a member of Dream's TDK Crew, summed up his mentor's impact on that scene in
a Complex article about Dream:
Dream was the head, heart, and soul of Bay Area graffiti. Dream took the lead stylistically, and pre-internet, he had the Town, and soon the whole Bay Area buzzing. Without being too new agey, Dream's pieces made people feel something, and along with his crews, he innovated what people came to identify as the Oakland and SF style of "Funk." Dream had a deep respect for the East Coast tradition of writing, and he led by example and set the bar with hella ups, dope handstyles, throwups, blockbusters, pieces, and huge, style-forward "productions" that really set the entire West Coast on its ear. In a short period of time, Dream put the Bay Area on his back and established Oakland as a world class graffiti city. 23rd was the epicenter, and 23rd was Dream's court. Anyone can be a king, but everyone LOVED this man. His personality was larger than large.
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