href="http://www.woostercollective.com/images2/choemoca2.jpg"> src="http://www.woostercollective.com/images2/choemoca1.jpg" />
(Click
to Enlarge)

“HEY kids if your in L.A. this
week I got a treat for you, and if
your in the bay I got something for you
too, but first

The ying and the yang
This was a great month for
e-mails. I usually get some pretty good
e-mails, but here’s 2 from opposite
ends of the love/ hate
spectrum.
Lets start with the hate

/>cho
you stupid fuck.
i can’t wait to meet you soon so i can kick
your buckethead in, you
korean dog eater!
look at your biter-filled
webpage and it’s enough to want to
administer a fucken asian shit-kicking
like no other.
the amount of shit you copy and put out as your own is
fucking hilarious.
you are nothing but another useless fucking Korean
kimchee dog
eater biting other artists non stop.
you’re a bullshit
fuckhead who will get a serious beat-down soon.
watch yourslef you fuckeing
chinky jap fighter.
koreans are the most useless race.
go get your
eyelids fixed fuckface.
ching chong bo guk kee motherfucker.

/>Dear David,
I just wanted to let you know that you are pretty much the
first
Asian man I have developed a crush on. As you may know, Asian
/>girls seldom like
Asian boys cuz it is kinda like dating yourself. Maybe
it is
unprofessional of me to say stuff like this…
Anyway, I came
across your Tokyo Prison art and that sealed it for
me.. I am officially
wowed by you.
Are you planning to be in the ******* any time soon?
Let
me know if you have any travel plans anytime soon.
By the way - my name is
actually ****** but that is top secret.
”****” is just my name for work.
/>rock on,

From barely being allowed to hang my shits up in hair
salon’s and
Ice cream shops .I know I’m not even 30 yet and people are
gonna
talk shit, but I got my show at the MOCA (ok moca santa rosa, but
/>fuck it, that’s still something) this month and later next year at the
/>PASADENA MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART. It is pretty exciting,
It’s
definitely cool , all these museums, galleries, world tours,
and college
lectures, but all I ever wanted to do my whole life was
draw comics, I
never gave a fuck about museums (who even goes to museums), so I
was pretty
excited when DC comics first asked me to write stuff for
them about 5 years
ago now. But it was only to write , not draw, so it
was cool , but not the
coolest ever. Anyways that fell through
because my editor left to marvel,
and I’m banned from marvel comics, but DC has had
it’s hand out to me from
the beginning, and when it gets right down
to it, although I could fucking
kill it if I ever got a crack at
spiderman, hulk, or the x-men, I’d rather
be at batman’s house. I
say this every year but this might be the year that
I return to comics. Stay tuned. (I have a six page comic I did for SCION
magazine out at the end of this
month, hey 6 pages is a start) I also get
email’s every week from students, and
struggling artists, asking how I got
so successful so fast. First
off , make no mistake, a decade of busting my
ass, eating and breathing art everyday for my whole life is not fast. And the
answers pretty simple. Bust your
ass, follow your hero’s, and DO IT
YOURSELF.

Bust your Ass.- I saw this awesome movie this week called
HUSTLE
and FLOW. Go see it(preferably in a black neighborhood, I saw it
in
a white neighborhood and I was the only one dancing in my chair)
anyways
the movies about a pimp trying to squeeze a dollar out of a dime
/>and in the meantime he doesn’t have two pennies to rub together. He ‘s
trying
to raise himself out of his current situation and become a
rapper.
This Character is not me, Also in the movie there is a skinny
white
trash whore that sucks and fucks everything to make it out. This
/>Character IS me. And that’s it. how bad do you want it? ok I never sucked
anyone off
,but in life , in any field ,the people that are doing
something
and tremendous and worthwhile all have the same things in common.
They have no
boyfriends and girlfriends , and if they do , they’re
totally
dysfunctional relationships, they’re pale , because they’re always
inside
working, you never see them, they hardly go out,they have no
social
life , because they’re ALWAYS working, they don’t punch a clock ,
they live and breath their job. I’m 29 and I see these young fresh faced kids
coming out
of art school, and I think should I be scared of shorty? All
trying to get up in
the gallery and shit? Why? A lot of their hearts and
minds are in
the wrong place .

hey princess , force your self
even if you don’t FEEL like it.
While you sleep, while you drink and party,
I’m a machine I never
stop. Fair weather painters, Sunday painters.
Scenster painters need not apply.

Follow your heroes. AND I don’t
mean, copy them and bite their
style. Maybe a little at first but then get
over it. but I mean if
your favorite artist illustrates for this magazine,
or shows at this gallery , or won this award , go for the same goals. When I was
22 and had just
dropped out of artschool, I went to san diego comic con for
the first time and was
blown away. There I saw one of my favorite comic
book artists Kent
Williams, he did this book called HAVOK and WOLVERINE
with Jon J Muth that
brought comics to a whole new level for me, I saw all
the originals
and kent signing books and shit and thought that was pretty
cool. 2 days
later back in L.A. I see him again ,in a totally different
setting
at the Merry Karnowsky gallery showing all his fine art oil
paintings which were
unbelievable. and up to this point I’d been a little
hazy about how
to go about making a living as an artist, but after seeing
Kent’s world, that’s
what I wanted for myself. (cut to 9 years later , I’m
banned from
marvel comics, so i won’t be drawing wolverine, and Merry’s a
cool lady, but I’m sort of banned from her gallery too, it’s ok though I do
alright). Also
Barry Mcgee one of my favorites has taken it to another
level, in terms of
graffiti, so I wanted to know how he does it. So I
applied for
every grant and fellowship that Barry had gotten. In the end I
got rejected for all
of them, but I did get the XERIC grant . which jump
started my
career,when i was 22 it’s a grant started by one half of the
creative force of
teenage mutant ninja turtles. (xericfoundation.com) check
it out,
if you draw comics give it shot, if it all goes to shit, get a job,
or hustle and flow.
WHOOP THAT BITCH!

Do it yourself. D.I.Y.And
especially now. With what’s out there. I
can’t believe there was a time
when I’d have my black book, and I’d
go through all my art , and have to
pick which one’s to make color copies of, and
then pick which magazine or
editor to send it to, so every promo
pack costed 5 to ten dollars. But
these days the struggle has been eased, put
your shit online and thousands
can view it . no prob. With art,
music, movies, all this shit is so cheap
and accessible , there’s really no excuse
anymore. If all you get is
rejection letters and doors slammed in
your face. Fuck them.

/>Fuck the whole world. Do it yourself. Start your own comic, your
own
magazine, your own gallery. But put your heart into it and make
sure it’s
good. Just because you CAN do something , doesn’t mean you should,
there
are mountains and himilaya’s of rotting festering donkey shit
out there in
every medium. Don’t add to it. only do good. and if you
hate computers and
technology fuck all that and grab 2 cans of
krylon ultra flat black go
outside and put your art up on the walls. until you do
that, you will
never, get it.

The drummer for U.S. bombs told me this (and I think
the drummer
from rolling stones told him) and it might not apply to
artist’s
since a lot of artist’s blossom after their 30’s . but he said,“if
you don’t make
it , by the time your 30, just treat it like a hobby and get
a real
job.

OK show time. If you been inquiring about buying art
from me,
here’s your chance

LOS ANGELES
This Saturday: SOFA
KING
David Choe at GR2, August 20 - September 14
Reception: Saturday,
August 20, 6:30 pm - 10:00 pm

GR2
2062 Sawtelle Blvd.
Los
Angeles, CA 90025
gr2.net
(310)445-9276

Giant Robot is
proud to present Sofa King, an art show featuring
David Choe, at GR2.
Raised on comic books, affected by street art,
and inspired by crime,
women, and spirituality, Choe has developed an restless
style that is
effortless yet meticulous and focused yet dirty.

Since he contributed
his first illustration to Giant Robot magazine
in 1997, Choe has been
featured in solo shows at GR2 as well as in
New York, Paris, and Tokyo. In
fact, much of his current work reflects time
spent in jail during his last
trip to Japan. At his upcoming show
at GR2, the San Jose-based artist will
be sharing his latest experiments with
sculpture in addition to his
paintings.

A reception for the artist will be held from 6:30 - 10:00
on
Saturday evening, August 20

Ok if your in the bay area
/>David Choe
EMPTY JOYS AND FLEETING FANTASIES part 2
Site- specific
mural and installation
Opening reception FRIDAY AUGUST 26,2005
7 to 9
p.m.
THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART
Luther Burbank center for the
arts
50 Mark West springs road
santa rosa ,CA 95403
(707)546-
3600

ok if you’ve stayed with me this far. Here’s one possible
outcome
to all your hard work.

THE BIG BREAK!!!
You been
barely scraping by for years, and then one day you get
your big break. And
by big break in the art world ,I mean anywhere
from 5 to 20,000 dollars.
/>When that day comes I’ll tell you how I spent my money. Because
sometimes
you get a big break, and then you never get another one
again, or
Not
for along time.
First off celebrate take your parents who supported your
ass, or
your significant other that stood by through all your artsy
/>bullshit, and get em a nice
Surf and turf dinner, especially if they’re
vegetarian. If you
don’t have anyone special , shave that thing off your
fucking face
and go get a real haircut at the barber shop , not from your
roommate or sister, feel
and look like a real human again. Do not get a
tattoo.
Do not , do not , do not spend it all on a nice pimp my ride car
or
even a shitty old American car
Spend 10- 20% on a cheap used Toyota
with good gas efficiency(mini
vans are the greatest cars ever, don’t spend
more than 2 g’s)
Or if you already have a car. Leave. Go someplace take a
vacation
somewhere longer then two weeks, just go
Get out of my
face.(and when you get to wherever it is your going,
don’t watch t.v. in
your hotel room, go outside)
I gave 10 % to GOD ( fuck you , I know what
your thinking I used to
think the same thing, it all comes back ten
fold)
Another 10- 20% set aside for rent and living for the next three
/>months( two if you want to live dangerously)
The bulk of it 50- 70%
should not be spent on toys you want. If
your in debt or have a loan out,
pay it off. If your all good with
the sharks then Put
all this money
into funding your own self published book, T-shirt company
Or movie, or
whatever. So you have something that you can sell and
have money whenever
you check you po box. I have two sold out
self- puplished Books , and have
been living off sales my last book
for the last three years.
At this
point you should have nothing left to play with , but if
you were able to
stretch your dollars out.
It’s all coke whores , the horse track and gravy
from here or
whatever your into. I got a rolan-v drum kit. Nothing gets me
going
like 808 . I go
crazy when I hear a cymbal..


I
know my website says “I’m updated” but it’s been almost a year.
I’ll do
something about soon..
Also on the same night I’m having my show
One
of the best painters alive is having his show ten minutes down
the street
in culver city
AARON HORKEY sat . august 20th 7 to 11 pm
At
BLK/MRKT
6009 washington blvd. Culver city ca
blkmrktgallery.com
/>if you haven’t seen his work , and you ‘re in l.a. you have to go see it.”
/>
... David Choe

style="clear:both; padding-bottom: 0.25em;">