Art - The Streets

Zero Drugs Taken At Burning Man Due To Police Presence

— By Jon Skulski |

Captain Steve Grabowski and Lieutenant Sarah Jones are up for promotion after leading a valiant police effort that has eliminated drug use at the event known as Burning Man.

Officers Grabowski and Jones receiving accolades for winning the War on Drugs at Burning Man.

Over 50,000 artists, musicians and others wishing to experiment with “radical self-expression” gather at Burning Man each year. The event is a haven for the strange and bizarre and is notorious for the use of drugs such as LSD-25, MDMA, and Cannabis.

“Our mission here is not to stop young people from having a good time but to protect them from getting hurt.” Captain Grabowski places handcuffs on a young woman. She was found in possession of a drug testing kit, a tool used to determine what kind of drug a user has bought. “We are in the business of harm reduction,” says Grabowski.

Richard Thomas, an event attendee known as ‘The Postman’, regrets spending his summer building his sculpture ‘El Pulpo Mechanico’, a two story mechanical octopus that spouts fire from its arms.

Richard Thompson's 'El Pulpo Mechanico' which will not pay the pickle man.

“It’s not like I can pay bills with a mechanical beast,” says Thomas. “I’m not going to send my three year old daughter to a state school just so I could blow some people’s minds. That’s just irresponsible.” Thomas has plans to open a chain of furniture stores.

Gabriella Martinez, Director of Admissions for UCSF, has seen the impact first hand. “We have had a 153% increase in enrollment for our MBA program while the Art department is struggling to fill enrollment for next year,” says Martinez. “We can’t thank the Nevada Highway Patrol enough.”

The next Burning Man will begin on October 1st, 2012. There are preliminary plans to change the venue to the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Brian Barneclo's 600ft-Long "Systems" Mural Comes to Life

— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |

After years of setbacks and a long campaign to raise the requite $70k to start painting, Brian Barneclo has finally begun painting the 600x40 foot mural along the Caltrain tracks at 7th and Townsend.  The idea is this will be the first landmark Caltrains passengers will see when arriving in San Francisco and cause us to question the systems around us.  From the project's website:

Systems Mural Project will explore the concept of interconnectivity via a 600 foot panoramic mural painted by San Francisco artist Brian Barneclo.  Systems are found in nature (the water cycle) and systems are created by man (the government).  As we move into the 21st century, what have we learned about sustainable systems-what works and what doesn't.  Should we revisit ancient technologies?  Is the Industrial Age over?  It's through this conversation that we gain an understanding of, perhaps the most complicated systems of all, our systems of belief.

All that sounds nice and all, but it's the awe of seeing something so massive that makes it the marvel that it is.

Unfortuantely it was impossible to shoot the entire mural from the street, but you can see check out some panos of the design here.

Previously on Uptown Almanac: 

Chad Hasegawa Hits Clarion Alley

— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |

Local photographer Bhautik Joshi caught up Chad Hasegawa painting his defining layer cake bear in Clarion Alley and shot him some questions about the process:

“If you don't mind me asking - how did you end up with wall space in Clarion Alley? Did you apply?”

“No way - they get in touch with you. It's awesome to get the chance to paint here - so many people come here to see this alley, is so busy.”

“And how does it work? Do you get a commission?”

“Nah. Even if they offered something, I wouldn't take it - I'm just honored to be invited to paint here.”

Read on.

Dan Plasma's Tiger Mural Replaced by Rad Mural of Sharks and Octopi Ambushing Tiger

— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |

Looks like the drama on Valencia's Pica Pica wall between Dan Plasma and nearly every other graffiti writer in San Francisco has finally been put to bed with a fresh mural commemorating The Beef!  For the unfamiliar, Dan Plasma had a large mural of a tiger along the side of Pica Pica for a year or two.  Then back in April, Pica Pica let a bunch of writers put up a bunch of maize-related pieces/advertisements over the Tiger mural, which apparently made Dan Plasma upset.  So he painted over the new maize mural with a rehash of the original tiger theme, which predictably spent the entire summer getting vandalized by The Righteous Crusaders Against Plasma.

All of those subculture theatrics has left us with a bad ass mural of a gang of sharks and octopi attacking a Dan Plasma-style tiger with battle axes, daggers, and gold Ray-Bans.  I can only assume the tiger sitting on a bed of flowers with a bunny on his lap because Plasma, as other graffiti kids commonly allege, is a “weak faggot,” which means this mural will last about a day before Pica Pica paints it over because of its unfortunate homophobic overtones.  Regardless, this is the best the wall has looked in years.

Blow it up real big to take the whole thing in.

[Photo by Kewlio]

Previously on Uptown Almanac: 

Katz Bagel Alien Found Wasting Away in 16th Street Garage

— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |

It has been nearly three years since the marketing wizards at Katz Bagels tore down their hamburger-esque bagel alien spacecraft one fateful November morning.  Perhaps it was a wise decision, as no one as been pulverized by sesame seed signage plummeting towards the sidewalk since its removal.  Then again, no one had been crushed before its removal.

Regardless, its removal came as a shock to everyone, and for good reasons.  The Katz Bagel Alien, along with The Roxie's neon tower, the departed 17 Reason's roof-top billboard, 500 Club's glowing cocktail, and Bender's fire-soaked Victorian overhang, had been a pillar of the Mission District storefront iconography.  Fears that the spaceship would become another tragedy of Burning Man never came to fruition, but its apparent fate was far worse: The Tenderloin Geographic Society came across the old signage tossed in the back of some 16th Street garage.  As The Society notes:

I was shocked to see it, but really glad they didn't throw it away, which means I guess they *sort of* know the value of it.

It was in a garage literally adjacent to where it used to be.  I didn't take down the addy, lest someone actually try to make off with it a la Mr. Pickle.

But shouldn't someone liberate this thing?  Aren't we better off with the bagel getting covered in playa than dust?  Sure, we're all glad the bagel alien isn't rotting in a landfill, but it deserves a more dignified death than this.

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