The art of being San Francisco (part 1)
March 20th, 2007
Imagine a mix drink made from Diego Rivera’s murals, Graffiti, hippies and lots & lots of Rock n’ roll. That would be the true San Francisco cocktail. As time goes by, though, Rivera is nothing but a forgotten myth, hippies are no longer what they used to be, Graffiti has lost its status to Street art and Rock seems to be taken for dead. The recipe would be a total disaster if we weren’t talking about the city of the never-ending hills and beautiful Victorian houses. In the new century, though, people still manage to keep wearing flowers in their heads and staying, thus, true to the bohemian laws of live, Rock n’ roll denies it’s own grave rocking loud and clear wherever you go and Graffiti still rules as a counterculture symbol, as everything else in this amazing city.
In order to understand the art that is being made in San Francisco one has to know about two things: Mexican art and Barry McGee. And the Mission is the perfect example of how these two factors combine. Here you live under Mexican laws, and through tacos and quesadillas an endless number of colorful murals and art graphics are being created as we speak. The savoir-faire is all about pure tradition and strong culture that just doesn’t easily blend in. Hairdressers, grocery shops, restaurants etc all get to be stamped with latex and lots of handmade artistry that comes from generations and generations of just being one thing: Mexican. Culture can be felt, or shall we say, seen in this neighborhood.
Image on the wall from the “Senacional, Mexican graphics” show
“Sensacional! Mexican Street Graphics”, at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, talks exactly about that. And after seeing it, a strange feeling stroked me, that maybe, it was just to easy for San Francisco to adopt this style, the colors, the flatness… the “naiveness”… What’s missing then? The touch of pure California dreaming. Here is when Twist makes it happen and turns it all upside down.
Barry McGee, aka Twist, brought revolution to the streets of San Francisco. Even if it’s almost impossible to find pieces of the good old days, nowadays, everybody knows who he is and what he represents. And for those who just got to this strange funky world that we call art, Barry McGee is the one artist that took the old school out from New York and brought it to the other side of the country under a new name, new technique and new influence. The new school was born and Mexican fingerprints were all over it.
Street piece by Barry McGee
Graffiti as we know it changed in a way that was needed and waited without knowing. A new wave of American artists emerged and conquered glory. The Beautiful Losers (www.iconoclastusa.com) were born with a style that rose and shone everywhere in the American country. Well-known galleries like the New Image Art in L.A., ., The Luggage Store in San Francisco and Deitch Projects in New York showed them and chose them as their favorites. The new generation was picking up from where Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix had left it and making San Francisco a reference point for the arts and ways of living again. Museums treated them as guests of honor, and names like Margaret Kilgallen, Chris Johanson, Claire E. Rojas, Thomas Campbell, etc became unforgettable.
Claire E. Rojas, “Sights of Sounds” at Parklife
Jake Watling and Bill Dunlap at Receiver Gallery
For us in Europe news don’t travel as fast as we wish, so nothing better than to cross the Atlantic and see, with my own eyes, what’s happening on the sunny side of the USA. Just walking trough the Mission is a whole new and interesting experience, to cross the street and get to the Clarion Alley Mural Project Project where you won’t find a free space to paint, and where everything is art, is priceless. San Francisco breathes art and you can see it easily. Many are the non-profit organizations that fight for this to happen. Each week there’s an incredible amount of cultural events, art openings, music concerts and foreign art guests coming. This time the attentions were on Onesto. The Brazilian artist took two weeks to prepare his show at 111 Mina Gallery (www.111minagallery.com) presenting a variety of his work that combined a mix of styles and formats. For a young artist is remarkable the maturity and experience he showed on deciding to show so many works.
Detail of Onesto’s work from his show at 111 Mina
And so the days just go by to fast. For some the street days are just coming to an end, for others they are just beginning. The important thing is to never stop making art. And the things that are still to come! With Robert Crumb’s show, or Andrew Schoultz and Precita Eyes Muralists my agenda gets busier by the minute. Time is money here but while there’s art to be seen and rock to be listening to, I’m staying man!
Entry Filed under: Miscellaneous
