Back when I went to one of those stuffy liberal arts colleges and forever indebted myself to Sallie Mae and Citibank, there was this silly group of dorks on campus called “Art Attack!”  They went around getting permits/permission to hang 100ft tall Godzillas off of campus buildings and what not.  At the time, I thought they were idiots because institutional approval takes the fun and thrill out of everything.

I don't think it was until I got to SF and replaced my thrilling life of saving the world (via student activism) with the dull life of blogging and web development that I began to appreciate even the most institutionalized forms of public art.  Because, goddamn, a 100 foot Godzilla is nice to see before writing PHP for 8 hours.  Yeah, it's more romantic if someone had to break laws to get it there, but, nevertheless, it's there.

Which brings me to Oh San Fran.  These guys are not doing any crazy vandalism.  They're just doing small things around the city they call “happiness projects.”  Things light setting off a flurry of LED balloons:

Or hanging swings around various city parks:

It might not be as thrilling as wheatpasting a police station or a PBR mural, but it's rad to see people out there doing small things.

(hat tip Wooster Collective)