Mission District Mural Essay

Mission District Murals and Street Art

There has been a recent revitalization of mural projects in my neighborhood . New murals have been painted and old ones have been restored. Everywhere I look when I walk around in my daily routine there is some form of art and expression taking place.

This is nothing new to the Mission district of San Francisco, but it made me think of the reasoning behind the mural projects and the tension between the old and new people living in the same community. Ultimately the dollar value difference. Who is enjoying these murals? What do they stand for? What type of people paint them and what story do they tell? The following selection of photographs were taken on a short walk with my dog this morning August 30, 2015- CHIRSTOPHER WARREN DSGN

Located near an old apartment building I used to live in at 26th and Lucky Alley is a new mural that was painted sometime earlier this year. I remember seeing the two artists painting it when I would park my work van near by and walk home. What I like about this painting is the bird in flight, the fluidity expressed and the color.

A particularly “rough neighborhood� I am curious to the psychological effect it has on the indigenous people in the area. It has definitely added a strong splash of color to an otherwise drab apartment building.

26th St. @ Lucky Alley

Keeping a careful watchful eye on Garfield Square park is this beautiful aquatic themed mural that has been on this wall for as long as I have been in the area.

Located inside is the Garfield Square Park swimming pool that I sometimes do laps in.

I enjoy the view of Bernal Heights in the background when I take my dog here to run around for a little bit.

26th St. @ Harrison St.

25th St. @ Balmy Alley

Around the corner is Balmy Alley a huge tourist destination for mural lovers and culture seekers. I like the story of the Mother Guadalupe watching over the neighborhood. The alley is filled with political paintings with cultural significance to a rapidly changing area. Its interesting to think about why the paintings were painted and what types of people they ultimately attract to the neighborhood. With gentrification an issue it makes me wonder why tourists flock to see the art of an oppressed minority telling their story with paint and passion . I asked myself why the neighborhood association doesn’t just paint over the murals so it lessens the blow of gentrification.

24th St. @ Alabama

Another eye catching culturally rich Californian image is this mural of a Native American looking out over the bay with the inlet in the background. Sometimes when I drive down Fillmore St. headed North on my florist delivery route and see the Marina and San Francisco Bay in the distance I imagine what it may have looked like pre-gold rush era. I see a fleet of sails and ships moving in through the inlet. I wonder if this is what this Indian saw the next day.

These three murals were just recently painted within the last month or so. It was interesting to watch the artists gather and interact with the community over the course of the painting. I always look for what I call the Haley’s Comet of city activity and this definitely was a rare occasion to watch. What are the parameters of urban acting? Are there limits to what humans can do and achieve within city limits? A city is defined as a built environment. Are all of our actions created and typical; A rhythm of the machine.

What is new? What will be future activities in city limits? What actions can be deducted?

24th St. @ Folsom

Across the street on the side of Phil’s Coffee is this new mural. It was funded by the California Arts Project. It was recently painted as well by a group of about 20 artists.

Mostly students .

It was interesting to watch it take shape over time.

The out line of the figures were drawn over the course of a few weeks then the fills took place.

It became a meeting place for the artists in the community. A place to gather. Friends of the painters would watch, take video , skate board and drink coffees…Young couples making out on the bus stop bench near by. Friendships solidified and life time memories were made. The guy in the orange tube top on the left in the picture commented , “A beautiful gift to the community. A great mural.” I agree.

24th @ Folsom

A celebration of carnival. I remember my first carnival when I first moved to the city in 2006. My apartment was around the corner on Florida St. and a friend of mine and I walked over to watch. I think it was the best carnival I ever went to and the colors and actions are definitely captured in this painting. I love the flamenco dancers and their costumes. On the weekends I get a donut across the street and am reminded of this moment. It has been beautifully restored in the last year.

24th @ South Van ness

This painting was freshly painted last week. You can still smell the paint curing. It was fun to watch the family paint it. Father passing on a tradition to his daughter, uncles and cousins helping out, music blaring kids dancing.

24th @ South Van ness

Every alley in the mission is a canvass; an art gallery.

They are all literally covered with art. The 24th Street corridor at Mission is a palette of tempera paints.

Every single piece is a story.

It is not just an expression of life, it is a stamp of approval. I have arrived. I mean something in this neighborhood. I count. My life matters. They battle for the best mural spot and paint over the weak ones.

The switch back stairway in the right of the background is the best painting I think. I don’t deserve to paint a mural in this alley.

24th @ Cypresss

24th Street Bart station. This mural reminds me of the Mayan cultural history legend of human sacrifice.

From dusk until dawn they would sacrifice a lesser citizen every hour on the hour. The smell in the air rich with blood. They would mix the thick coagulated blood in with their brick mortar to make their buildings and statues. A worship ritual. In the painting you can see the shadows of the many. The chief in the mid-ground. The foreground saturated with color. The birds overhead: the dead spirits circulating like clock work every 30 seconds or so.

24th Street Bart

22nd ST. @ Bartlett

Down the street a little way, is an area getting a beautification make-over. The area has always been charming with café Revolution on the corner and the interesting people that congregate there. The new building are definitely modern…a person walking by called it the condo-izsation of the mission. The apartment building above Popeyes chicken just burnt down this year as well. It has raised some eye-brows in the community…a little too convenient. Anyway, this is the conversation I over heard.

Mission @ 21st

While this is mostly graffiti art, (I am still trying to differentiate between mural and graffiti art. I suppose graffiti is more of a branding art style and mural painting tells a story and is for the greater good of the community.) I enjoy this building because it is where art and architecture merge. The deconstructing marquee with its exposed skeleton has a firm foundation of color.

The full color wheel. To the right is signage for both fictitious and legitimate enterprise.

Mission @ Clarion Alley

The infamous Clarion Alley has adorned graffiti and mural artists from all over the world for years. It is a local street artist hot spot and a huge tourist destination. There always seems to be something happening in this alley: A video shoot, model photo shoots, an artist painting or local crumbs hanging out drinking beers. Like the other alleys, artists line up for a chance to paint here. Some murals stay for years others are buffed immediately and vetoed from the alley.

This mission is littered with small and large pieces of art work. It definitely keeps things interesting. Inspiration is always in front of you as you walk the corridors and streets to find food, entertainment and excitement. It feels almost like an adult theme park.

Wait‌it is an adult theme park.

They should charge admission.

Mission Street

These two guys are just, well…COOL! I mean look at them. They look rad. That lady is even looking at him. These kinda guys you want on your side. The burritos inside I can not speak for because this part of Mission St. has a miasma so complex that it turns my stomach inside out and I will not eat there. I’m not sure if it is the fish market next door, the rotting garbage in the street or the crack den to the left, but these guys don’t care about that. I wonder how much a room in the hostel up stairs is. One of these desperados would be your roommate and you would stay up all night taking shots of tequila with worms in the bottle!

Mission @ 16th St.

The murals and street art in the mission just make life more pleasant.

It takes a drab over crowed slum lord apartment and makes it more bearable to look at. It keeps the spirits of the citizens up in this part of the city.

It has a certain monetary demographic to it. In other more expensive neighborhoods you don’t see stuff like this at all. Is art the refuge of the poor mans soul? Will the Mission be painted over when gentrification finally overtakes this culturally rich neighborhood? Will the murals all become art student projects so vain and self serving? What story will it tell? I am curious to see the evolution unfold before our eyes. Change is a beautiful gear in the city machine.

Mission St. @ No Name Alley

The murals are used to express thoughts and change. Unfortunately this is a distress signal that the artist feels he needs to send to the mission. People are evicted. They lose their homes so people can move into one of the most progressive, industrious cities in America. This is where it is happening. And while I don’t agree with it all, it is the ebb and flow of life. Change happens.

Excepting is the key to understanding, growing and flowing with life. Affordable housing is a scarce commodity that is not a right. We need to find new ways to solve housing problems, industry problems, job problems, health problems and societal issues. The murals all tell the same story in one way or another. From the beginning of Californian History to now; a new gold rush. This image can be paralleled to the Native American over looking San Francisco Bay. I see the future in another 400 years with aquatic housing built off the coast of California, a solution to the over crowding that is inevitable.