Street SmARTS Mural at 485 Scott Street

 Posted by on October 1, 2012
Oct 012012
 

485 Scott Street
Western Addition/NOPA

Marina Perez-Wong (aka Micho P. Wong) is an artist participating in Community Arts and Education’s StreetSmARTS program. As a native San Franciscan, Marina bridges the gap between the fine art world and the public with site-specific works of San Francisco’s Mission District. Marina is the recipient of many awards including the Precita Eyes Community Center Mural Award. Her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions including the Precita Eyes Benefit at SOMArts and the Children with AIDS Benefit at 111 Minna Gallery.

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Marina designed and painted this colorful mural at 485 Scott Street, which includes images of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Painted Ladies at Alamo Square Park and other historic San Francisco landmarks. She collaborated with the building’s owner to design a mural that reflects contemporary San Francisco.

With the help of her long-time friend and fellow painter, Ernesto Aguilar, Marina explains the imagery she chose for the mural in this short video. Marina and Ernesto speak about their previous collaborations and explain how StreetSmARTS has allowed them to give back to their community

The Giants mural they speak of in the video can be seen here.

Western Addition – Athletics at Hamilton Rec Center

 Posted by on June 22, 2012
Jun 222012
 
Western Addition
Steiner and Post Streets
Hamilton Rec Center
Athletics by Mary Erkenbrack – Ceramic Tile 1955
This glazed ceramic tile mural is of male figures engaged in athletic activities. This tile mural sits between two painted murals names Blues Evolution I and Blues Evolution II
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This tile mural has been on the walls of the rec center since it opened.
Mary Erkenbrack was born in Seattle, Washington on Nov. 30, 1910, Erckenbrack was raised in Rio De Janeiro, London, and Paris as her father, a shipping commissioner, moved about. While in France she studied art in Le Havre at Pension Jeanne d’Arc.
During 1933-35 her married name was Hennessy.   In 1935 she settled in San Francisco and became active in the North Beach art scene.  She soon established Mary E’s Mud Shop and was kept busy fulfilling ceramic orders for Gump’s, Marshall Fields and others.

 

Western Addition – Northern Police Station

 Posted by on June 21, 2012
Jun 212012
 
Western Addition
Turk and Fillmore Streets
Northern Police Station
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This cast concrete panel by Horace Washington depicts the cultural diversity of the Western Addition and its architectural history. The panel also features the likeness of police officers of the past. The piece is part of the San Francisco Arts Commission collection and was produced in 1987. It is 3 feet high by 8 feet long.

Horace Washington (who has work on the 3rd Street Light Rail project) studied at Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio before moving to California to study sculpture at the San Francisco Art Institute and then completed his graduate studies at Cal State University, Sacramento. He is a San Francisco sculptor and muralist whose works include numerous projects in a variety of materials for public facilities in northern California including the International Longshoremen’s & Warehousmen’s Union mural/ scultpure, the Northern Police Station sculpture, the Martin Luther King Swimming Pool Tile Murals, and the Plaza East ceramic tile and painted mural. He exhibits his work in San Francisco and has been a guest lecturer at UC Berkeley, Cal State Sacramento, and for the San Francisco Unified School District. He has also taught developmentally disabled adults at the Creativity Explored Art Center. He lives and works in San Francisco.

The Fillmore Center – Hard Bop

 Posted by on May 27, 2012
May 272012
 
The Fillmore Center
Western Addition
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Hard Bop by John Atkin
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or “bop”) music. Hard bop incorporates influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano playing.
In 1942, during World War II, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which relocated all interned people of Japanese origin to internment camps throughout western United States. The vacant homes in the Fillmore attracted African Americans migrating northward to work in the shipyards, as well as musicians, and artists. Soon, many nightclubs (the likes of Leola Kings Bird Cage, Wesley Johnson’s Texas PlayHouse, Shelton’s Blue Mirror, and Jacks of Sutter) were opened, bringing major musical icons to the neighborhood including Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, and Billie Holiday.
The artist, John Atkin, has made a three minute video about the construction of the piece, and the ideas behind it.



 

Western Addition – Blues Revolution Part II

 Posted by on May 24, 2012
May 242012
 
The Western Addition
Post and Steiner
Hamilton Pool and Rec Center
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The Blues Revolution Part II by Santie Huckaby
This is Part II of the Blues Revolution.  You can see Part I here.  Santie Huckaby was born in Ohio, and has spent 40 years in San Francisco working as a professional musician, sign painter and muralist. Included in his resume is the Rosa Parks mural, (at the Rosa Parks Elementary School in San Francisco) which was awarded best mural of 1997. He is currently an artist in residence at Hunter’s Point Shipyard, artist in residence at the Bayview Opera House, an art teacher with the Carver Mural Program in San Francisco and continues his vocation as a sign painter.

Western Addition – The Blues Evolution

 Posted by on May 21, 2012
May 212012
 
The Western Addition
Post and Steiner
Hamilton Pool and Rec Center
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The Blues Evolution by Santie Huckaby Part I
Sponsored by the Blues R&B Foundation.

The Blues and R&B Foundation has this to say about the mural.

We’ve received a lot of wonderful comments and support from the community concerning our mural. What has particularly stood out to us is the way it affects the youth that pass by all of the time, they look and ask questions. We’re on first name basis with many students that pass by.

The mural represents unity and strength of accomplishments to those who work hard at anything they choose to do. It also shows the dues that were paid by artist for the next generations of artist. However, what’s even more great is that most of the artist on the walls has come from our beautiful city, San Francisco or Bay Area. What a great legacy to pass on to our youth giving them a sense of pride and confidence to last them their lifetime, but also the older generation, being able to remember their part in that struggle that opened doors for many today! A piece of history that should be passed on.

The purpose of this mural and two book project is to educate our youth and enjoyment for those who are interested. With the books, it will pass on information from the pioneers of music. We will tell the story of those who are still alive, but also comments from family members whom represent the artist that have passed on.

We’re trying to implement programs within the SF Unified school district and we have the support of the individual SF Park and recreation sites to have afterschool programs teaching what were writing about even more. Any monies raised from the book will go into a fund to keep these projects going in the school system so it won’t affect any budgets and we will give scholarships to those who would like to further their crafts. We will also be giving instruments to student/adults that need them. These afterschool programs and seminars etc. will be free to the public. An incentive to promote unity and confidence in individuals giving them a positive outlook no matter what their circumstances may be.

Western Addition – World Walls for Peace

 Posted by on April 13, 2012
Apr 132012
 
Western Addition
Page and Buchanan Street
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In 1999, with consultation and training from the organization, World Walls for Peace, residents of the Western Addition became participants in a Peace Empowerment Process. Volunteers taught a program in two elementary schools and over fifty community based organizations, focusing on tolerance, understanding, and non-violence. Participants learned ways to develop positive solutions to resolving conflicts and defusing anger. The project was developed and implemented by residents for residents—a true community endeavor.
As part of their participation, people of all ages painted over 1,800 tiles on the theme of peace, to be installed on a retaining wall that encircles Daniel Koshland Park on Page and Buchanan Streets in San Francisco.

By May 2007, all the tiles were painted, fired, organized, labeled, and photographed; the SF Arts Commission had approved the project; the retaining wall had been resurfaced and repaired in preparation for tiling.  This is a photograph of the long side of the park as well as the interior stairwell.

 Justine Tatarsky was the lead artist on the project, her work is really quite beautiful, you will recognize hers not only for the refinement but also the initials TOT on her work.

There is a brass plaque on the wall that reads:

This Peace Wall celebrates our community’s commitment to PEACE, and is dedicated to families that have lost children to violence in the Western Addition.
This Peace Wall stands to remind us that we have the power to be creative and heal ourselves and our community.  We are all artists.  May we find inspiration and strength in these messages of love.
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Hayes Valley – Great Adventure

 Posted by on April 2, 2012
Apr 022012
 
Hayes Valley/Western Addition
Octavia and Page

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This is Growing Home’s Community Garden, their mission is to provide a community garden where both homeless and housed San Franciscans work side-by-side to grow nutritious food, access green space, and build community.

The mural on the back wall is by Ben Eine, he has several murals around San Francisco.

In an interview with Proxy SF, Eine said this about the piece, “My problem with this wall was the width between the windows. The first letter I sketched up on this was the ‘E’ and then that gave me the size of each letter going left or right of the ‘E.'” The interview is quite extensive, go to the link above if you are interested in reading it in its entirety.

Western Addition – Blue Wall

 Posted by on December 28, 2011
Dec 282011
 
Western Addition
San Francisco
Geary and Fillmore Streets

This is Geary Street in San Francisco.  On the left is Japantown and on the right is the Western Addition.

The Fillmore street overpass has stretches of blue glass on either side.  This installation is titled 3 Shades of Blue by Mildred Howard.

The piece is a “Tribute to the music the continues to define the Fillmore”  It is 20 blue glass panes inscribed with a poem by poet laureate Quincy Troupe – Shades of Blue for a Blue Bridge for Mildred Howard, Joe Rudolph and Yori Wada.

three shades of blue
evoke minnie’s can do,
soo chow’s, yori wada

jimbo’s bop city
john lee’s boom boom room,
history riffing blue matzoh balls,
fried chicken, soba

the jigoku club inside
j town, bold rebels jamming
cross from black town, udon,
grits, barbecue

cherry blossoms blooming
in lady day’s hair, greens and fat back,
sashimi staining kimonos

you walking filmore,
crossing geary with duke,
street cars running over ghost-tracks,
pigfeet in vinegar

indigo-blue & white
red satin, sticky fingers handling
chop sticks, hot cornbread,
sweet potato pie

Mildred Howard has been in this site before.  She is an artist that best uses words as her medium.  The mixed cultures of this area are well represented in the poem.  The neighborhood has a long history of struggle not only between cultures, but between the city and it’s residents as well as the visions that everyone has versus reality.  There have been books written about this strife, suffice it to say I think the poem sums it up very, very well.

Due to the light, it was almost impossible to get a good shot of the etched words, here is a small sampling.

Walking across the Fillmore overpass.

Western Addition – Sunnyside Conservatory

 Posted by on October 31, 2011
Oct 312011
 
Sunnyside Conservatory
236 Monterey Boulevard
The Sunnyside Menagerie is a collaboration between Scott Constable and Ene Oseteraas-Constable.  They have a company called Wowhaus.  They described the creatures: “The concept behind our menagerie is to complement the Victorian sense of wonder and discovery by suggesting plausible creatures that might inhabit the gardens surrounding the building. The result is a series of four creatures hybridized from actual fauna associated with the native origins of the plantings.”
Scott Constable is a woodworker. His work, ranging from furniture to architecture and environmental sculpture, has been exhibited internationally.  Ene is the daughter of  Estonian immigrants,  she accompanied her parents at age 8 while collecting oral histories in West Africa. This formative experience contributed to Ene’s interest in cultural identity and oral traditions such as gardening and cooking.  She works and teaches about gardening for many entities.
There are three of these, apparently, they make a wonderful musical instrument if you run a stick down their backs.

Western Addition – Pastime

 Posted by on August 10, 2011
Aug 102011
 
Western Addition – San Francisco
Corner of Franklin, Page and Market Street

It is no secret that I consider graffiti to be an art form.  Do not confuse that with tagging, (those single color scribbles) or bombing (just really, really large tags) which fall into a whole other category.  But the question is, where does graffiti leave off and art begin.  I can not, nor do I want to, answer that question.  The above is why I am on this subject.  This fabulously colored wall is by a graffiti artist known as Pastime.  So is this just graffiti, or is it a fabulous piece of art?

Pastime is a member of the Lords.  According to Graffiti blog Graffhead the:

LORDS Production Crew has been operating in San Francisco for almost two decades, manipulating the stark walls of the urban landscape to make the wasteland a tad more livable for those of us lucky enough to notice and appreciate their nocturnal artwork. For example, the wall across from Amoeba Records on Haight is one of their collaborative murals, generally referred to as “productions” in graffiti lingo. LORDS members have been featured in the documentary ‘Piece By Piece’ (chronicling 20 years of SF graffiti), as well as the independent feature film ‘Quality of Life’ (a fictional drama about SF graffiti writers).

I have borrowed the following photograph from Fatcap another graffiti blog.
This is what all the work I have ever seen by Pastime looks like.  So again, the question: When does tagging become graffiti become art?
This piece is no longer available for viewing, the building has been torn down.
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