Bay Area Murals [art]
Dec. 3rd, 2024 02:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rebeccmeisterThis post is mostly for cmcmck's benefit, but I think there are many other people who will appreciate it, too, especially as myka just asked me to clarify which mural alley in San Francisco we visited and I've now learned even more new things!
So, murals. What I didn't know is that there's an alley in the Mission District called Balmy Alley that has featured murals since 1972, mostly dealing with topics related to Chicano displacement and marginalization (source: Wikipedia).
That is not the alley that we happened across on Saturday. Instead, we encountered Clarion Alley (Wikipedia; Mural Project Website is here), which was inspired by Balmy Alley. This SF Mural Arts Directory has photos of the Clarion Alley murals, too, although this sign suggests some of the murals we saw are quite new:
We were moving through the alley rather quickly, so I did not attempt to take photos of all of the murals. Instead, here are just a couple of photos to give you a sense of the space. It was incredibly moving.
My sister walking down the alley:
I rather especially want to know more about this one:
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There are a number of murals along the Ohlone Greenway bike path in the East Bay, too. It has been interesting to be back here and think, "Oh yeah, hello again, mural" when seeing many of them.
But some of them are newer.
2019:
These ones are beautifully done, if way less political:
Out here, the thing is, if you do not buy paint and pay artists a fair wage for murals, you will find yourself buying paint for upkeep anyway. The resulting effect is quite different.
cmcmck's benefit, but I think there are many other people who will appreciate it, too, especially as myka just asked me to clarify which mural alley in San Francisco we visited and I've now learned even more new things!So, murals. What I didn't know is that there's an alley in the Mission District called Balmy Alley that has featured murals since 1972, mostly dealing with topics related to Chicano displacement and marginalization (source: Wikipedia).
That is not the alley that we happened across on Saturday. Instead, we encountered Clarion Alley (Wikipedia; Mural Project Website is here), which was inspired by Balmy Alley. This SF Mural Arts Directory has photos of the Clarion Alley murals, too, although this sign suggests some of the murals we saw are quite new:
We were moving through the alley rather quickly, so I did not attempt to take photos of all of the murals. Instead, here are just a couple of photos to give you a sense of the space. It was incredibly moving.
My sister walking down the alley:
I rather especially want to know more about this one:
-
There are a number of murals along the Ohlone Greenway bike path in the East Bay, too. It has been interesting to be back here and think, "Oh yeah, hello again, mural" when seeing many of them.
But some of them are newer.
2019:
These ones are beautifully done, if way less political:
Out here, the thing is, if you do not buy paint and pay artists a fair wage for murals, you will find yourself buying paint for upkeep anyway. The resulting effect is quite different.
no subject
Date: 2024-12-04 02:27 am (UTC)Each of the seven women in the mural is a strong advocate of various civil rights movements. It includes portraits of Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer and human rights activist sentenced to 33 years in 2018 for exercising her freedom of choice; Athena Daemi, known for her child rights activism, and sentenced to seven years in 2014; Niloufar Bayani, an environmental activist arrested in 2018 with 55 others by Iranian security forces; Sepideh Gholian, a social and civil activist arrested and sexually assaulted in 2018 during a protest with labor activists; Zeinab Jalalian, an activist, was arrested in 2008 and sentenced to death, but then reduced to life in prison; Shokufe Yadollahi, one of the Gonabadi Dervishes, was arrested in 2018 along with hundreds of Dervishes, including her three children; and Azita Rafizadeh, a professor at the Baha’i University of Iran (BIHE) was arrested with her husband for teaching Baha’i students who were unable to study at Iranian universities.
https://clarionalleymuralproject.org/in-honor-of/
no subject
Date: 2024-12-04 02:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-12-04 02:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-12-04 02:47 am (UTC)But there are definitely a lot of people here finding ways to hang on, and a lot of things to like/appreciate about the place. And I absolutely appreciate all of the art and creativity, and can only hope that other communities work to foster art in the same way.
I sent a pair of photos of the sailing club's safety launches to my rowing teammates in New York. One launch was painted to look like a shark, and the other had octopus arms on it. Evidence that not everything needs to be boring and serious.
no subject
Date: 2024-12-04 12:22 pm (UTC)I never had any trouble getting hired- amazing what a lot of letters after you name will do for you whoever you are!
no subject
Date: 2024-12-04 04:36 pm (UTC)I photographed that particular mural because it was such a direct statement, and that made me wonder why the artist chose that statement. Perhaps there's some context more specific to this country. And I would imagine there's also the element of the extent to which people "pass," much as I would like to think hiring decisions get made based on credentials (unfortunately, they don't).
no subject
Date: 2024-12-04 11:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-12-05 03:47 am (UTC)