Ala Ebtekar is a Berkeley-based artist whose fantastic work juxtaposes "street" art and traditional Iranian culture. (Above, detail of this piece.) "In my own work, I'm trying to find a visual glimpse of a crossroad where present day events meet history and mythology," Ebtekar says. Ala Ebtekar site, Video profile on public television's Spark (KQED.org) (Thanks, Heather Sparks!)