The Date Farmers

The Date Farmers are two California artists, Carlos Ramirez and Armando Lerma. I love their mix of advertising and popular culture with images of native peoples and Mexican culture. Influenced by graffiti, Mexican street murals, traditional revolutionary posters, sign painting, prison art and tattoos, these are pictures of Outsiders against backdrops of the Mainstream, and the mix is interesting and a little melancholy. These are strong images of brute strength but the hand lettering and pop characters give them a tenderness that's very appealing.