the art of margaret kilgallen
i recently watched an art documentary called "Beautiful Losers". the movie was about a group of what i might call modern-day-urban-folk-artists. this group of "street artists" (yep, graffiti) formed what came to be known as the mission artists in san francisco. i wont recap the entire movie, (but if you are into that kind of thing, i highly recommend watching it for yourself). i was so inspired by several of the artists featured in the movie. the one that spoke to me the most though was margaret kilgallen. it was like i met my art soul sister or something. inspired by southwestern and mexican artists, folk art, and the handpainted taquerria signs in california, her work is romatic graphic art, often in super large format. known as a graffiti artist under the tag names "Meta" and "Matokie Slaughter."the latter name, a homage to folk musician Matokie Slaughter, was specifically used for freight train graffiti, a hobo tradition that strongly influenced her work. kilgallen was an accomplished banjo player and became an avid surfer after moving to California. i am amazed and inpired by her work, and her life. margaret tragically left this earth too early in 2001, but her legacy will live on in the women whose life she ectched with her beautiful and simple illustrations.
