August 26 Celebration

You never know how an opening will go but as the musicians set up, electronic bird sounds started to fill the post office and the Mellotones began to play on the street the full range of creative expression took over the corner. The sweet and sincere power of art should be no mystery.  Friends and strangers came to listen and participate in the community ribbon cutting.  Mayor Ed Lee arrived, Raj Sanghera, the Acting Post Master, and the sponsors and friends of the mural.  A good time was had by all.  Mabuhay!

 

 

 

Music and art

August 26 Event

Little Hummingbird Painting Day

Little Hummingbird Painters

On August 3 we had a fun and very busy day painting little hummingbirds with participants who signed up through Dina at North of Market/Tenderloin Community Benefit District.  She has been great to work with on this project and got a sign up sheet going.  Every 20 minutes or so a new painter showed up. Our Post Office friends did the first ones on the inside of the building.  Both Gwendolyn and Mercedes were all smiles as they created their little birds.  John, an older painter stood by his little bird to protect it as it dried.  Kids from the Boys and Girls Club came and did their birds around the corner.  Some gals from TNDC dropped by and a woman that worked in the Methadone program. I got to ask her some questions about the drug problem in the neighborhood.  She was very informative. I also invited  the Honduran gal who greets me every time she comes to work the corner.  Her face lit up and she did her bird with great finesse.  Now I understand why she was so interested in the project…she is a potential painter herself.  Doug, our Post Office photographer painted the last bird by the front counter, in between serving customers.  He wants to be able to see it as he works. It’s really done now and the celebration is set for Friday,Aug 26 at 5pm.

Week 8: Scaffolding down

scaffolding down

It’s almost done. The scaffolding has come down and we will finish it in the full light of day.  Long and short – an easy gig for the scaffolding guys. They pull down the “pallete” planks spotted in bright colors of the painting process.  The corner site  revealed; it’s dimensions, angles, views.  The last steps of painting ahead, touch ups, and adding small birds flitting around furiously.

Corner

across the street

Week 7 : Mean Green Tight White

garden level touch up

Racing to finish before the scaffolding comes down. Choice comments overheard by the small legless man with the big personality  “I am not a heart attack, I am a coronary arrest!!!”  Or by the passing poet.  “That green is mean. That white is tight.”  Or the two corner customers “ They can smell the junkie on you. And that’s just a fact.”  I neglect to mention the continuous heartfelt thanks we get from people passing by all day. “You are so talented. Hollywood is going to discover you”   Or from the Native American man “When the Hummingbird appears it brings good times.”

This site is mixed in with working people, elderly, children, tourists, immigrants, neighborhood residents, artists, students, post office employees and people picking up their packages. And ofcourse the broken and discarded people, the drug dealing, the violence and anger. The ranting and raving. Can the moments of shared appreciation of color and image, of creative activity alleviate the pain of poverty on this corner in America? Probably not by much.  But what I do know after 30 years of scaling inner city sites is that these images take their place in the public consciousness and in our social imagination. Images are powerful.

We must insist on art, meaning and creative exploration that is accessible and non-commercial. The very small percent of people who hoard the money of our country should not be the only ones who enjoy the “arts”.  I have my doubts as to whether the power/money set even consider this painting art at all or just waste of effort.  They are not willing to support the education, health, arts, infrastructure, immigrants and working people that would strengthen our society. They keep on the blinders and enjoy their gated lives as things crumble around them.  They have their own pharmaceuticals to ease the pain of their disconnect.  Over the counter, under the counter, in crystal glasses or a paper bag, it’s all the same.

Creative practice keeps us fluid.  The genuine interactions we have with people “the public”  “the community” can only take place in this context of art making. It opens up discussion – communication. Even the drug dealers express their appreciation, point out scratches and marks while we generally ignore and keep an eye on each other at the same time.

purple suit

nice moment

Week 6: July 1, 2011

End of the week. Three day weekend. Hot on the site today. The drug store was open. The self mutilating blond’s name is “Peaches”.  She had tons of make up on and a metallic purple handbag in the shape of an electric guitar.  Trying to get the top of the mural done so they take can the scaffolding down. It’s been a refuge, a shelter from sun and rain, from the police, a place to sleep, pass through, shoot up, smoke and paint.

It rained on Tuesday. The planks were wet but seemed “fresher”. Cristina came on Wednesday. She finds our all sorts of things since she speaks Spanish.  A dealer made lots of conversation with her today asking questions about the mural to avoid the “undercover” cop hanging out nearby.  He told her he couldn’t leave so as to appear too obvious. The colors and brushstrokes look so different as the light shifts through the day . You think you are done in the morning but in the evening light the rough edges show.

Passing By

I had fun taking pictures of people walking down our block.  Nice conversations and even a face from the past.  It’s time to stock up on new brushes. The wall eats them up.  Jenifer reported on the Tuesday taxi strike. They circled the block 3 deep honking. The “community” keeps messing with our scaffolding. Taking off safety bars, breaking off the wood climbing guards, pushing the frames off of their blocks.  I have had Access Scaffolding over 3 times to fix it.  The small legless guy was really drunk/high/angry on Friday. He rolled into the middle of the intersection and screamed at the cars trying to cross. The woman in the bright blue shirt (who would like us to paint people smoking crack in the mural as a warning to the children) was laughing “He does that all the time to get the attention of the dealers”.   I painted the big blue flower at one end of the mural and birds blowing out of the trumpet on the other side. John painted gold stripes with blues and orange at the entrance.