2 Blocks of Art in the Tenderloin

Last Friday, for a few hours only, there was an art walk that spanned two blocks of the Tenderloin. It started at Market and 6^th street; a notoriously rowdy, impoverished, and abject section of the city. For years there’s been talk of reviving and beautifying this section of the city with the help of art. There’s a hope that it can morph into San Francisco's arts district.

In an effort to facilitate the transformation an annual art event called 2 Blocks of Art happens along this corridor. Performing and visual artists set up temporary spaces and installations on and off the street; entwining themselves and their work with the people who live, hustle, and loiter on 6th street. Walking these two blocks requires courage and compassion at moments. Because of this 2 Blocks of Art was a truly urban experience and adventure. Below is a sample of some of the art I found tucked away in emptied retail spaces, and SRO entry way, a laundry mat and on the street.

Sunset Piano at Market & 6th

Drawing Air. Artist: David Fiveash

The Original Twelve. Artist: Robin Lehto

Artist: Elisabeth Nicula

Time Machines. Artist: Aja Ulfedt

Artofactory

Allison Lovejoy at Launderland

We are all explorers. Artist: Shalaco

I Can't Set No More Traps. Artist: Oskar Lawrence Brent Malone

Data Structures and Algorithms. Artist: Tilde Ann Thurium

Two Tripped Out Shows: In That Case, Take It

Blotter paper was on display at the Fifty24SF gallery. Vintage and new stuff, ubiquitous and rare stuff.  The show was called "Take It" and the paper / art / acid(?) on display was from the collection of Mark McCloud. It got me thinking, as psychedelics are apt to do, what an amazing drug LSD is. It spawns massive amounts of inspiration, creativity, ingenuity, and for some - enlightenment.  There aren't many drugs (other than a handful of plants that have been called psychedelic "drugs") that can even come close to facilitating human progression, deep insight, a sense of spiritual belonging, and consciousness. The intricate patterns, bright colors, portrayals of emotion (comical, frightened, blissful) were on display here, on teeny-tiny pieces of paper. That's how much LSD excited and inspired people, they even wanted to create art on the little piece of paper they ingested - taking it all in. 

In That Case: Havruta in Contemporary Art 
David Wilson and Francesco Spagnolo

This mysterious show is at the Jewish Contemporary Museum and premised on a Hebrew word relating to the concept "form [or out of] out of the depths". David and Francesco came together to explore this concept via artifacts and objects discovered by David in the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at UC, Berkeley. Penciled word associations and drawings of things were  created by David, whereas Francesco added pontifications and definitions to the collaborative effort. And to really top off the hard-to-explain, rambling, associative nature of this exhibit a strange band called "Fantasy Bracelet" gathered in a circle, adorned in robes, and played desert dweller spaced out mystical music. 

Ω

Band: Fantasy Bracelet

Reuse, Recycle, Reimagine, Recologize, Re: Art

Recently I checked out a Recology Artist In Residence exhibition. I really don’t know what took me so long to go to one (there’s two a year) because they are great! I mean, I've been hip to the program for years but never got around going to one. Maybe  it had to do with the fact that I would have to drive to the outskirts of the of the city, and visit the "dump", to actually check it out. Put like that it doesn't sound very appealing, does it? but now I know it's totally worth it. The exhibition spaces are large, the artist's work is professional looking, the Recology workers host a BBQ, and there is a large section of free stuff for the taking (like books, chairs, desks, fabrics, golf clubs, ect.). I happily scored a large roll of cork-board and a polka-dotted belt.

  
In brief, Recology is a company that collects all of San Francisco’s trash, recyclables and compostables. In addition to keeping San Francisco (and other cities) clean and tidy, they also work to take care of our societies aesthetic needs by supporting artists to make art from the things people have thrown away. Recoclogy’s Artist In Residence program is wholly unique in that it fosters the creation of beautiful, thought provoking, and interesting art to enjoy, be inspired by, and help us imagine how we can live in a more sustainable world. In case you haven’t already figured it out, the caveat of this Artist In Residence program is  the artists  must make art from the waste (actually, resources) that Recology collects. The artists they attract are phenomenal, just take a look at their roster and you’ll see what I mean. 

The exhibition I saw on May 22nd featured Ma Li and Michael Arcega. May Li’s work was like an explosion of Chinese  firecrackers. She shredded plastic water bottles and hung them from the ceiling; they looked like bright little explosions. On the ground and walls was a celebration of bursting bright colors and abstracted multiples of things all about, some of the items even looked liked tubes of firecrackers. Michael  Arcega’s work was entirely different. His work was earthy, wry, and more like a meditation on natural history  His pieces were accompanied by absurd taxonomical names like, “Doespoopsticktoyourfur (Nacireman Shrine Charms)”. Mr. Arcega’s work suggested that materialism, manhood, and extinction were linked; and in my opinion this dovetailed nicely with Recology’s over-arching mission to move humankind into a new paradigm - a Waste Zero culture.   

If you want to get your fix of Recologized art then tomorrow night (Thursday, June 11th) the Thoreau Center for Sustainability will be hosting a 25th anniversary celebration of Recology's Artist In Residence program. It’s been titled Make Art Not Landfill and the exhibition will be up for viewing until September 10th.  See you there! Ciao.

Ma Li

Michael Arcega

Doespoopsticktoyourfur (Nacireman Shrine Charms)