The Streets of San Francisco-The Alternative

pic from www.colevalley.org/blog/?cat=11

ALTERNATIVE:
serving or used in place of another; "an alternative plan"
necessitating a choice between mutually exclusive possibilities; "alternative possibilities were neutrality or war"
option: one of a number of things from which only one can be chosen; "what option did I have?"; "there no other alternative"; "my only choice is to refuse"
pertaining to unconventional choices; "an alternative life style"
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn


pic from whatimseeing.com

I think the fifth definition pertains to street art: pertaining to unconventional choices or maybe this one necessitating a choice between mutually exclusive possibilities.
The street art of San Francisco is glorious and vibrant and you might discover it waiting around every corner or in a dark alley. It energizes the urban jungle with nurturance and light. I am always blow away when I see an masterwork from my car on the Bay Bridge or in a dark pissy alley in the Mission. It is an alternative to the confines of art that is found on the walls of art museums like SFMOMA or the art that is looked at as an investment or as a status symbol that is found on the sales floors of the Union Square commercial galleries. Street art is free, public, and gives passer buyers a chance to get away from the rat race for a moment.

I also think this art inspires a lot of people and other artists.
It permeates the greater good of us humans. Viva aesthetics, these artists are master technicians. Many folks as I am are truly inspired by the life that is infused in this work.

We can also flip the coin and look at the other markings on street art as symbols of gang violence and oppression. That is another post. The concept of mark making is something interesting to think about.

Artist Steven Rotman has been tracking street art in SF for years. He is a San Francisco photographer who specializes in images of urban art. Under his Internet handle Funkandjazz, he has posted more than ten thousand images on the web and established himself as a true aficionado.


San Francisco's vibrant street art scene exists in areas off the city's well-worn tourist paths. The alleyways and hidden side streets of the Haight, the Tenderloin, and especially the Mission district's Clarion Alley offer unexpected treats to visitors lucky enough to stumble upon them. For more than five years, photographer Steve Rotman has obsessively documented this scene as it evolved on walls, sidewalks, billboards, fences, doors, and other public spaces. Culled from thousands of images, the result is a collection of work that attests to the artists' personal and stylistic diversity, from Mars1's robotic depictions of alternate universes which reflect the local counterculture spirit, to Neck Face's whimsically ghoulish creatures that serve as a testament to entrepreneurial hipsterdom, to Bigfoot's friendly green primates inspired by the area's rich graffiti culture. San Francisco's charm as an international destination also causes foreign artists to contribute to the street dialogue-Brazilian duo Os Gemeos, Londoner D*Face and German painter Dome have all graced the city's walls with their unique points of view. An enterprising photographer, Rotman has forged relationships with many of these often-reclusive artists, allowing him access to some of the lesser-known corners of the street art world.

Above is a review of Steve Rotman's book.
San Francisco Street Art

I found this book at an obscure book store in Japan town and that gave me inspiration for this post. It is all about cross pollination eh..



There was also a video on UTUBE. This genre is huge in S.F.

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Also, check out this article on the history that street art reveals in San Francisco.
'click here"

I think I have opened a flood gate here. The street ART in San Francisco is transcendent.

The conversation:

While doing this post I am coming full circle to the nature of VALUE and its relationship to Art. What is the value of art? How do we value art in our society. and can art be quantitative in terms of value? Subjective reality. What is the value of street art? What is the value of commercial art? What is the value of creativity and its active process?

Thoughts and evocations always welcome!