Mission Mission

I stopped at Arizmendi today and got a pretty good vegan blueberry scone, and ate it while looking at this guy. This is not really possible with the 9th Avenue Arizmendi or the Emeryville Arizmendi. I’m very happy there’s an Arizmendi in the Mission now.

Read the online comments, and see the origins of this poster here.

Walked by these guys at Dolores Park the other day and noticed this masterpiece.  The whole thing is constructed from layers and layers of regular masking tape and is a detailer’s dream when viewed up close.  Despite its fragile appearance, it is actually quite sturdy!  Observe:

This sticky metropolis was created by the folks at Tapigamifashion.com, although their website only features wearable items rather than taped structures at the moment.  Hopefully this deceptively complex artform will catch on and soon be found on the coffee tables of Twitter executives everywhere.

I mean, mixtapes have enjoyed a resurgence, and duct tape has prospered for ages (although Eats Tapes might not be playing anymore).  Isn’t it time masking tape made a comeback?

If you were walking by Clarion Alley at Valencia Saturday afternoon a very friendly guy with a can of spray paint in one hand and a Flip camera in the other may have excitedly encouraged you to paint your name on the wall. Chor Boogie was getting tourists and locals alike, most skeptical at first, to grab a can of paint and throw-up.

Chor has been collaborating with the San Francisco Arts Commission for the Free Wall Program, giving people a legal space to paint on to discourage them from painting . . . anywhere else. Little kids can get started early by painting with cops. He hosted a free wall at the last Sunday Streets in the Western Addition, and will host another for the October 24th Sunday Streets at Civic Center.

It’s definitely fun to have a bunch of random strangers collaborate on a large piece, but I’m not sure how you make a product that can be enjoyed once the process is finished. The Clarion wall as it ended up (directly above) is cool in a chaotic way, but is ultimately a mess. You could say it reflects the overlapping thoughts and voices that is life in a neighborhood as dense as The Mission. Or something like that. But it’s still too much for me to really want to look at.

That’s not really the point here, I know. People were enjoying being able to paint without rules or structure. (though etiquette was still enforced, Chor reminded a man not to spray upwind of another artist) So the process is engaging and inspiring and freeing, but once it’s done what are we supposed to do with what’s left? I wonder if they’d be able to impose a loose structure that allows people to feel empowered to create what they want, but gives them enough framework to produce something cohesive. Exquisite Corpse? Paint by numbers? Maybe everyone gets assigned a piece of a known painting that gets recreated as you go.

In any case I like the idea and the $150,000 program also pays for commissioned murals and arts in schools, which is rad.

Bat Bombs, your guide to tags in and around New York’s Lower East Side, just spotted this cheap Ribity knockoff.

Right? Or was Ribity so trashed one night he forgot how to spell his own name? Or does this have something to do with Marc Jacobs too?

P.S. Be sure to check out Bat Bombs’ “Why?” page.

Previously:

Ribity Makes Virgin Mary-Like Appearance on Sole of Area Man’s Running Shoe

This mesmerizing animated GIF has something to do with some Día de los Muertos festivities planned for next month. All of a sudden I’m excited for fall!

The question is, will Meli be all done up like this for tonight’s Butter Lap? Show up and find out, I suppose.

“Free paint!” Exclaimed our buddy Joe Finkel on Facebook a minute ago, “San Francisco is pretty cool.” That’s right. Recology SF explains:

Most of the latex paint we receive at the San Francisco Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility [501 Tunnel Ave, San Francisco, CA 94134-2940, (415) 330-1400] is recycled on site and given away for free. If you would like some of our free paint, just stop by during regular business hours, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm, Thursday through Saturday.

Read on.

Thanks, Joe!

Photo by Stencil Nation.

Needles + Pens announced last night that they’ve got a new zine in stock called Evil Levi, and it’s about our neighborhood’s run-in with Levi’s over the summer. There’s a decent comment thread happening on their wall post too. Check it all out.

Image courtesy of T-Shirt Bordello.

Comedian Alex Koll just published a piece for Bold Italic examining the variety of crazy window displays around the neighborhood.

He covers the troll window, the owl window and the Dennis Richmond paintings window, but neglects our favorite window. No worries though, there’s some great M.U.S.C.L.E. news at the end.

On 16th Street there’s no time for subtlety when it comes to BP (formerly British Petroleum).

Up in North Beach we find this helpful guide.

Back to Valencia, and I’m not actually sure what this one’s about.