Political, Social, and Cultural Motivations

     Many murals around the city have political, social, or cultural meanings/motivations behind them. They are used to educate people’s views, as well as make them question their beliefs. The big boom of political/ social expressionism through murals happened in both Mexico and the United States in the 1930's and 40's. Currently, we see a lot of aesthetic street art pieces, but many of the works in San Francisco are still politically or socially motivated. These murals often focus on workers and worker’s rights, the lower classes and their daily life, women and women's rights, and people who work in the fields harvesting food. Often we will see murals that are highly religious being associated with cultural types of murals, tying these works back to the main themes of murals created in the Middle Ages.

   

Cultural Art






“Culture Contains the Seed”
Located in Balmy Alley: Currently Under Restoration

Gentrification

Victorion - Protector of the Mission

by Sirron Norris

     An Oakland resident, who was one of the artists who worked on the mural located in Balmy Alley, said that, "This particular mural was the perfect adaptation of the culture of the mission changing from a celebrated Chicano community into basically, hipster-yuppy central (Montgomery)." The design of this mural in particular, emphasizes the considerable degree of politics involved in the gentrification of the Mission. We see two young Latino boys being arrested by the police on one garage door, and on the other we see a police officer sharing a conversation and a coffee with what looks to be a wealthy, white woman. At the top of the mural we see Adam and Eve being pushed out The Garden of Eden by officers as it appears to have been foreclosed on. This is symbolic of the thousands of people being forced out of their homes due to the sky rocketing housing prices generated by the gentrification of the Mission. Tech companies like Google and Facebook are pushing locals out of their homes, and this is represented by the image of a man on a computer with a plug attached to the back of his head. Overall, this mural consists of many smaller, discrete and meaningful pieces that are both politically and culturally motivated. 

    

Montgomery, Kevin. "Anti-Gentrification Mural In Progress on Balmy Alley." Uptown Almanac. N.p., 16 May 2012. Web. 03 May 2015.

Balmy Alley Home Page

Balmy Alley Yelp Page

Women Rights

The Women's Building

     “The Women's Building” was one of the first major murals that I encountered in the city. I was absolutely amazed by the massive size of the work as well as the brilliant colors that it was composed of. After doing some research I found that this was the first woman owned and operated community center in the country. "The Women’s Building is a women-led community space that advocates self-determination, gender equality and social justice ("The Women's Building.)." All these qualities are represented throughout the building sized mural. On the mural we see many types of women represented including of all kinds of ethnicities, some young and old, some with higher educations, some who are mothers, and even some who are disabled. The variety of cultures, heritages and social situations represented really works to speak to the equality of woman of all descriptions. 

"The Women's Building." The Women's Building. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2015.

Women's Building Home Page

Workers Right's Murals

The Making of a Fresco Showing the Building of a City by Diego Rivera



Coit Tower Murals

     The Coit Tower murals portray industry and agricultural workers, that are often depicted by "people grim with purpose, trying to make their way amid the struggle and strife of the Great Depression (Whiting)." The theme of industry workers is one we can see portrayed in Diego Rivera's piece The Making of a Fresco Showing the Building of a City as well. This was a common theme during the time period when these works were created; The Great Depression. These works ask the viewers to think about the importance of workers right for all people in all kinds of work fields. 

Whiting, Sam. "Coit Tower's Long-Hidden Murals Finally Being Revealed." SFGate. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2015.

History of the Art Form in San Francisco

     Once I became interested in the art that surrounded me in the city, I felt the need to learn the history behind the creation of the murals here.

      Murals are not a new concept or style of art; they were produced by cave people, and are still being created in our day and age. “Murals have been painted in many ways for many reasons under varying conditions - social, political, economic, and aesthetic – for tens of thousands of years.” (Drescher,pg 9) Today’s murals may differ in content from the murals of the ancient past, but they still play a major role in the communities in which they are created. “California’s mural tradition dates back hundreds of years, before Europeans first landed on its shores, back to a time when native peoples, such as the Chumash and Yokuts, used cave walls and other rock surfaces as giant canvases for their rituals and beliefs.” (Dunitz. pg 7) San Francisco, one of California’s more prominent cities, is best known for its murals that are often politically or socially motivated. The city has been said to support the highest per capita output of murals in the world. (Drescher,pg 7) This doesn’t mean that they are always easy to find or supported by all viewers. “San Francisco boasts a rich and potent street art scene but to discover it, you’ve got to venture beyond the predictable tourist landscape of cable cars and foggy Fisherman’s Wharf. The real action is in the sunny alleys and side streets of The Haight, The Tenderloin, South of Market and, most impressively, the historic Mission District.” (Rotman)      

Drescher, Tim. "Murals: From Cave to Contemporary." San Francisco Murals: Community Creates Its Muse, 1914-1990. St. Paul: Pogo, 1991. 7+. Print.

Dunitz, Robin J., and James Prigoff. "California Mural Traditions." Painting the Towns: Murals of California. Los Angeles: RJD Enterprises, 1997. 6+. Print.

Rotman, Steve. Introduction. San Francisco Street Art. Munich: Prestel, 2009. N. pag. Print.

Murals of the past:

American Indian Art:

Ancient Egyptian Art:

Current Murals:

San Francisco:

     Murals function to provide free art to the public. This is important because many street artists use the urban landscape as their medium of choice as they don’t want their pieces being confined to a museum. These artists want their works to be accessible to the public so they are created in a public space for everyone to view and admire. Street art functions the same way that any other art in a gallery or a museum would, it appeals to the viewer’s emotions, it focuses on social and political issues and most of all it can empower people to think about the human condition. 

     One thing that makes street art very different from the art that is in galleries and museums is that it isn't made to last forever. Many pieces are often painted over by the owners of the building or walls, painted over by other graffiti artists or even destroyed when the structures that they are painted on are taken down. Although this may seem horrible to most, street artists know that their work will, more than likely, not last forever. Their work is put there to be seen, appreciated, and eventually painted over and taken down. Below are some real life examples of murals being defaced or destroyed.

     If you are in the mood to venture into the city and move past the usual tourist spots you can find some of the beautiful murals that cover the walls and buildings of San Francisco. Attached are some links that will show you where many of the murals are located by neighborhood as well as give you a route that you can take through the Mission district to see the art there. Also, a company called Precita Eyes Muralists offers guided tours through different areas in the Mission.     

Mural Locations By Neighborhood
Mission Mural Tour Route
Guided Mural Tours

My Favorite SF Works and Artists

     When I moved to San Francisco to go to school, I wasn't like a lot of the other students that surrounded me. The city wasn't all new to me. I have lived in the Bay area for sixteen years and I had seen all the tourist spots in the city a thousand times. I thought that I had seen all of the interesting things that there was to see, but I was wrong! After all my friends had been to every tourist site, we began to further explore the more unknown and less popular side of the city. This is where my interest in street art began.

    As I continued to explore the city I discovered quite a few pieces of street art that I fell in love with. The first work was one that I discovered in the Haight while touring with some friends; it is titled "X-Ray of a Wolf" and is depicted below. This really was the piece that started it all for me as it peaked my interest in street art. I believe it was my love for dogs and anatomy that caused this piece to initially catch my eye. I began to research the artist who created "X-Ray of a Wolf", Nychos. I found that Nychos had several other pieces that had been commissioned in San Francisco, and countless others around the world. Here I am in front of "X-Ray of a Wolf."   

     Nychos was born to a hunting family in Styria, Austria in 1982. His Facebook biography credits some elements of his style as arising out of his upbringing. Nychos was “confronted by the anatomy of dead animals at an early age,” and was an “80’s kid with an interest for cartoons and heavy metal.” All of these influences “ended up being some of the ingredients which inspired him when he started graffiti and painting at the age of 18.” ("NYCHOS.") Since then, he has worked to develop a style all his own. He is well known for “his dissections and cross sections of human and animal bodies” that are easily recognized by the public. ("NYCHOS.") Nychos has painted many “huge and technically outstanding art pieces in the urban environment” in cities all around the world. He has also exhibited his works in galleries worldwide.  He is said to currently be “one of the most sought-after artists of the street art scene”. Nychos says this about his works of art; “Combining the comic character with how a body actually works is really interesting to me”. (Nychos, March 2013)("NYCHOS.") 

"NYCHOS." Facebook. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May. 2015.

Below you will find some pieces Nychos has painted in San Francisco.

For more information on Nychos and his works I have added in the links to his tumblr and Facebook!

Link to Nychos' Tumblr

Link to Nychos' Facebook

     After becoming interested in Nychos' works I wanted to find out about other popular artists who had worked in the city. One of the artists I came across was Banksy, a prominent but unknown British graffiti artist/ political activist. He paints street art all over the world, and has several pieces in SF. Not a lot is known about him because he keeps a low profile as the works he makes are not commissioned and are often considered vandalism.

The piece below is one of my favorites because it has become a source of inspiration for other artists that work in the city. When Banksy painted his tree on the wall it was the only work there, as depicted in the first picture. 

Now, we can see that the wall has become a forest of trees. Other artists have been inspired to create their own trees on the wall. I really enjoy this set of works because a multitude of artists, both famous and unknown, have worked together to compose it. 

I have attached the link to Banksy's website where you can find more of his works, as well as a movie he produced about street art called "Exit Through The Gift Shop." I highly recommend the documentary, it was interesting and quite humorous!

Locations of Banksy's SF Works

Banksy's Website

Link to "Exit Through The Gift Shop"