Polk Gulch – Public Art and Architecture from Around the World

Herakut and Rusk Paint the Tenderloin

Posted by Cindy on August 16, 2012

Aug 162012

The Tenderloin / Polk Gulch

Hemlock and Polk

The area under this fire escape in Hemlock Alley has been the home to many worldwide known graffiti artists. Roa was featured here not too long ago.

This piece is by Arkut, Hera (who often paint as Herakut) and Rusk, all from Germany.

HERA, 27 years of age, born in Frankfurt, is looking back on a straight and classic art education with taking lessons from old weirdo artists, starting from when she was eight. That plus her never-ending years of studying Graphic Design account for her preferences today: she says, she would rather paint in the rain than do work at a desk. Even though that kind of weather might get you sick and makes it hard to foresee the final result of your piece because it keeps washing all pigments off the wall – it is still better than doing some tedious office work.

AKUT, 31 years, decided to take a ride when the graffiti wave reached his hometown Schmalkalden. Together with CASE, TASSO and RUSK, he formed the MA’CLAIM Crew, which is nowadays worldwide renowned for their photorealistic style in graffiti. AKUT studied Visual Communications at the Bauhaus University in Weimar.

RUSK is from Berlin.

MA’CLAIM has a wonderful blog if you are interested in seeing other works.

Stylefile interviewed Arkut and Hera, the interview is very enlightening and what I found interesting is that Hera mentioned that she was especially fond of Os Gemeos, whose work you can see here.

American Indian Occupation in the Tenderloin

Posted by Cindy on July 16, 2012

Jul 162012

The Tenderloin/Polk Gulch

Austin at Polk

American Indian Occupation by Jaque Fragua and Spencer Keaton Cunningham

Jaque Fragua is an acclaimed multi-media artist from New Mexico. From his cultural background, he has developed a yearning for creativity and for the intrinsic process that is Art. Experimenting with various mediums, such as aerosol, found-objects, earthworks, poetry, & music, messages of civil unrest, social justice, emotional introspection, and personal healing have heartened his unique perspective on life through art. Fragua has studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts, and in turn, has taught many community-based workshops, such as mural projects/public-art studies, and studio classes for figure drawing & painting. Fragua has worked with fine establishments such as Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Institute of American Indian Arts, & Museum of Indian Arts & Culture to produce progressive/innovative exhibits concerning the plight of Native America.

Spencer Keeton Cunningham (Nez Perce) is originally from Portland, Oregon and along with drawing and painting, he shoots experimental and documentary films. He graduated from SFAI with a BFA in Printmaking in May 2010. Spencer currently works at White Walls Gallery in Central San Francisco. Since 2010, Spencer has shown his prints and drawings internationally in Canada, and most recently Japan, all the while collaborating with Internationally recognized artists as ROA and Ben Eine.

Polk Street History in Murals

Posted by Cindy on September 19, 2011

Sep 192011

Tenderloin

1221 Polk Street

This series is by Dray. This set of murals is on the side of Lush Lounge at 1221 Polk Street in San Francisco. When I spoke to Dray about these murals he relayed an article in the San Francisco Examiner that discussed the controversy regarding a series of murals that was to be scheduled in the neighborhood on Hemlock, just down the street.

While Dray’s murals were not quite as controversial the Examiner stated “The Fern Alley mural proposal was far less contentious — the artist, Dray, proposed a visual timeline of Polk Street dating back to 1906.

The artist faced some heat for featuring an image of a gay hustler, and for depicting famous graffiti artist Shepard Fairey at work, which a few residents said glorified vandalism. Still, the mural proposal is moving forward.”

Here is Dray’s explanation: “There are seven 6ft by 10ft panels which were painted and then later installed on the building. Each panel depicts a certain era with relative imagery to reflect that era. Even some of the styles of painting reflect the era also. Depending on which panel you are looking at you will see Max Beckmann, Picasso, Dali, Andy Warhol and Shepard Fairy. If you research the history of Polk Street you will see that this illustration is somewhat mild compared to what was REALLY going on on that street.”