Mear One in SF

This video is a couple of weeks old, but since we snapped some pics on the stroll I thought I’d share it.

[Youtube = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPh0cHiMdVQ&feature=player_embedded]

Thanks to 1AM for setting this up. Next time there is a live painting, I’ll be there. Check out the finished product below.

Recent Art Encounters

I’ve been all over the place since landing back in SF. There have been lots of gallery openings and lots of randomness (my favorite). Here are some of the highlights from the last few days:

1) Studio Number One

First, I noticed one of Philip Lumbang’s cuddly bears on Market Street (btw Jones & Taylor). The former Studio Number One designer was in town for the opening of a show at Giant Robot. I’ll need to get up there to check it out…and score a Dunny.

Shortly afterward, I ran into Neek, Kasl & Rezen in SOMA. I have a feeling we’ll be hearing a lot about these guys in the not so distant future. Here is a short video I made (Smoke & Mirrors by RJD2) of Neek painting a robot:

[Vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/8684943]

He and Kasl went huge on a wall at McAllister & Jones yesterday morning. Here it is.

2) ARMOgedon2057

I met this dude at 1AM’s “Circle of Life” opening a few weeks ago. His work is utterly captivating. I think I spent the majority of my time at the gallery staring at his massive circle. It looked like a rainbow threw up all over the canvas. And I mean that in a good way.  He was cool enough to talk to me about his work and gave me a sticker which is now affixed to my computer. Here’s proof:

Anyway, also while riding, I noticed an electrical box (best guess) under the Bay Bridge with a similar sticker. (Note: I saw this while riding north on the embarcadero, by Ideo, through 2 lanes of traffic, 2 muni lines and 2 sets of barbwire fence. Damn, I absolutely swear by refractive eye surgery. See here.).  Sure enough it was my man. He also snuck the small version on another box around the corner.

3) Fecal Face

Cool show featuring Henry Lewis and Mike Davis. It was too crowded to really look at anything or take more pictures. I might try to go back later this week to get a little closer to the work. Hopefully without being trapped in a corner and sweating profusely. Henry Lewis below.

4) White Walls & Shooting Gallery

This is slowly becoming my favorite gallery combination in the city. The adjacent show rooms consistently feature artists who blow my mind. They do a great job of self promotion, via guerilla attacks throughout the city. And they also have a killer online/social media presence. Kudos. You might remember my post on the discovery of “wheatpaste face” by Hugh Leeman? Actually, it’s funny because the same image is next to Neek in the video above. I also tweeted a picture a while ago of a illustration, unaware that it was for the White Walls show. The artists name is Jesse Hazelip. Here are some pictures from the opening:

On the other side of the wall Shooting Gallery was showing work by Morgan Slade. These were my favorite all night. I love that they disturb me, but I can’t look away. There is something about the combination of photography and paint that just cripples me. Here is what I’m talking about:

Respect.

Circle of Life

Here are some pics from the “Circle of Life” opening at 1AM on Friday night. I especially like how two of the paintings feature Nike Dunks, both low and high. I also would’ve bought the Beyonce piece below if I got there early enough, it’s awesome.

Pampers, Dunnies & Valencia

Today was busy (I started this post yesterday). This morning I scrambled to finish my Pampers Cruisers brief and quickly biked over to 60 Federal to delivery my pecha kucha presentation (20 slides, 20 sec for each). I could definitely use a mulligan, but it’s nice to not worry about diapers anymore (the 20×20 format is much more challenging than it sounds).

After that I tried out The Toaster Oven for lunch. Not bad. Not great. The best part was deciding my next move mid-bbq chicken sandwich – a visit to Roman at 1AM.

I missed the opening of Eternal Sleep so I needed to check out the work…and buy some Fat Caps. The show provided me with some much needed inspiration for a few upcoming assignments. My favorites are below:

I like to end each visit by buying a toy (action figure) or two. For the last couple of months I’ve been a huge fan of Fat Caps (I actually have all 4 in that picture), but not without caution. The problem is that none of the boxes are labeled so you don’t know which design you get until you open it up. The suspense is fun, until you get a duplicate, which I have experienced several times already. Instead of a let down, I decided to explore another design that caught my eye last trip, Kid Robot’s Dunny. The decision was a success as I opened up two ridiculously awesome designs.

Dunny – Ye Olde English – HiCalorie x Julie West

Dunny – Ye Olde English – Mimic Black 2/25

I was feeling pretty good after this trip so I decided to keep things going. I hopped on my bike and headed down Howard St and into the Mission. I made a couple of quick stops at thrift and bike stores before stopping in 826 Valencia. There I bought two books: “Fever Chart” by Bill Cotter and “The Wild Things” by David Eggers (an adaptation of both the children’s book and recent screenplay). I love going into 826 by the way, the place is always filled with kids and the energy is palpable. I spoke with the cashier, who was lovely, and she said that the kids were all writing about their worst fears for a Halloween contest (the winner gets the pajamas that the character Max wears in the movie, awesome). Anyway, on my way back I saw some phenomenal street art. Neatly placed across the sidewalks off 18th street were long and short pieces of tape with words written on each one in sharpie. I snapped the following shots:

Pretty cool medium and a very fitting way to wrap up my trip to the Mission. Look for more on Valencia Street when I finish my cultural map for class. Respect.

Graff Battle 10/10

This is just a quick reminder (to myself?) that next Saturday, October 10th is the @Esteria Invitational Graffiti Battle in Oakland. I’ll make sure to follow up next week with a new post and some pictures.

Learn it. Meet up.

Recent Observations

I stopped by @1AM_SF the other day to buy some fat caps and I realized I missed their last opening. Not sure how or why. It turns out the group show titled “Don’t Sweat the Technique: Ode to the Spraycan” was a huge success. Above are two of my favorites pieces, both by NYC’s Queen Andrea.

1AM is involved in some really cool side projects too. They are in the middle of a contest called “Shopwars” where local teams have been challenged to design a blank Toy2R 8” Qee. At the end of the competition one toy will be crowned the winner and a percentage of the proceeds for all toys on display will go to Project Open Hand.

The TRUTH is HUGE over Market Street.

I saw this Geico flyer on a bus seat and thought it was a decal at first. Wouldn’t that make sense though? I think the campaign could dominate outdoor space in wild postings and stickers. Just imagine the creepy eyeball money stack stuck all over the city, in places you would least expect, watching, waiting, judging. I think it would be especially appropriate in San Francisco, where sticker tags are all over the place. A decal would blend in and stick out at the same time.

No need for copy either, the Geico brand icons speak for themselves. Whether its the caveman or the eyeballs, people know they’re dealing with car insurance. At least I hope so.

This is a follow up to my uber hipster twitter post last night. I felt it would be appropriate to document that I was indeed drinking a PBR. Perhaps the sleezy bathroom pic was a little too much, but there is something I love about graffiti covered stalls.

A couple of openings

There have been so many great openings lately. Over the last week I’ve attended Attaboy’s “Antidote” at 1AM and El Mac’s “Faces of Life” at Fifty24SF.

Attaboy’s (Daniel Seifert) work, below, features a lot of color pencil illustrations and stencil work on transparent plastic. I thought the installation was incredible. Roman and the crew at 1AM are first class all the way.

It’s also worth noting that Attaboy is the co-founder of Hi-Fructose magazine. Badass.

Fifty24SF had an equally impressive show. El Mac’s giant portraits are created using spray paint on burlap. I’ve been fortunate enough to pass by a couple of his street murals over the last couple of days too. See below.