Mission Mission

The mural space on Bryant at 24th Street has changed again. Most likely as a reaction to somebody tagging over it.

Reader Rob sends in the above picture and says:

Stoned, Occupy-targeted caterpillar has morphed into a stripey-panted, kowtowing, piece of poo/penis. Never a dull moment around here.

Commenter Dolissa says that as a public art wall the space is already reclaimed from advertisers who used it as a vehicle for unwelcome messages:

In the 1970s Latino artists and activists took over a billboard with tobacco and alcohol ads because they felt it was harmful to the community. The took over the space and used it to create art.

So now we have this thing. Soon to be replaced/defaced by something else. Hopefully this is respected long enough for people to appreciate it. Hopefully the next thing adds value to what’s there now, but since that’s completely subjective there’s just no way everyone can be satisfied. I guess the best we can hope for is that anyone can get in their piece at some time and that everyone gets a chance to appreciate at least one incarnation in the rotation. Free, open and public space is valuable to our neighborhood (especially if you consider that an alternative might just be another corporate billboard), and it can be anything you want it to be, but you will inevitably be forced to compromise what you want to make room for what someone else wants. And no amount of challenging a participant’s aesthetic or motives will change that.

UPDATE: In the comments, Matthew points us to the history of the Digital Mural Project on this wall.

Tonight, at Mission Comics and Art, my brother Calvin Wong and his girlfriend Hellen Jo are back in the Mission with a release party for their new comics: Ramble On #2 and Deep Cuts. It starts at 7pm.

We recently lost them both when they took a gig working for Regular Show for Cartoon Network in Burbank. The show’s creator apparently likes to poach indie comic talent from the bay, and they also feature Berkeley’s Minty Lewis as voice (for a nerdy racoon) and writing talent. It is a a hilarious cartoon, though.

If you’re into this stuff be sure to pick up these hott, limited-print-run, comics and triple-polybag them immediately. Then obsessively look up their value in each month’s issue of Wizard comic book magazine and price guide.

Oops sorry, thought this was 1994 for a second.

The Fog Bender is just the best at drawing. He’s on Instagram now too, if you’re interested. [link]

If you’re an artist who’s been looking for the perfect gallery in which to show your stuff, now’s your perfect opportunity with the first juried exhibition over at Gallery Hijinks!  They’re looking for works from all over the world and for any medium, and there’ll be live performances from sound artists and lectures from local artists like Renee Gertler.  Plus, they’re having an auction at the end of the month for all unsold works starting at 50% of the price!

Check out all the details here!

24th and Bryant.

[via Meesha]

Update: And, the finished piece.

Tim Harrington, the Art Director and Animation Instructor at BAYCAT (where I’ve spent my 9-5 for the last 8 years) did an offsite animation workshop at his wife Ali’s 4th grade class at Dianne Feinstein Elementary School last Friday. The result was too good not to share. Gotta love San Francisco’s diversity.

Not a flattering week for Dolores Park. First it was covered in bile, next Crate and Barrel rebranded it as a designer cookware set. Gee, I personally like to think of public urination and casually buying drugs from a man with a wizard’s staff when I’m furnishing my luxury condo, don’t you? On top of that, people can’t seem to stop spelling it “Delores“.

Thankfully, satisticsandlies posted this stunning set of single line renderings of the park to cleanse your palate:

Isn’t nice to finally see a line in Dolores Park that doesn’t end in a port-o-potty?

The iconic portrait used to look like this:

Now it looks like this:

Stellar work, Mr. Pickle’s.

A few weeks ago, reader Lily tipped us to a new mural-in-progress in Balmy Alley. Today, she writes in again with an update:

That new mural is now getting some paint on it. Looks like the riot police are kicking Adam and Eve (didn’t fit in picture) out of Eden. Also, those monkeys got some color!

Looks like the Hurricane Katrina mural is getting some updates as well:

From talking with the artist, she was adding more glued on artifacts (the picture glued across the hurricane damage are photographs the artist took of actual artifacts leftover after the destruction) as well as adding some lines, which:

1. will eventually have leaves and be vines/ivy to represent the vines/ivy that grew out of the rubble, and
2. will show the diaspora or displacement of New Orleans natives to other cities and areas of the country.

How’s that for a local art history lesson of the day? Thanks Lily!

Looks pretty damn good! The artist’s name is Nidhi Chanani, and she just published this piece today. It doesn’t appear to be available in her online shop, but perhaps it will be soon, and in the meantime there are a number of other SF scenes on offer.