Art - The Streets

Mo' Banksy, Mo' Problems

— By Patric Fallon |

 So I’m risking a bit with my first post for this blog being both about the the totally-not-cool, touristy subject of Alcatraz and the thoroughly covered, over-analyzed subject of Banksy in SF, but fuck it. It’s just the Internet.

Today, my lady friend and I went to Alcatraz on a lark. It ruled, especially the part where you’re in “The Hole,” and the dude is talking about tossing a button around to save his sanity. I love that shit. Anyway, we got to the part where we could go chill in the rec yard. We traipsed about, and climbed the huge bench-stairs, and at the top we found this:

OH SHIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!! Why the fuck WOULDN’T Banksy hit up one of the most well-known historical monuments our city can offer? Really, I’m not into graffiti, at all, but this rules. And don’t try to tell me a stencil of a rat trying to dig its way out of Alcatraz ISN’T the work of Banksy. Here’s a close up for the skeptics:

Hopefully, the powers that be won’t see this and remove it. I’m kinda stoked now. This is like when you were a kid, and you would check every Tootsie Pop wrapper for the Indian shooting the star. But this time there’s no rumor of free candy, and no kids lying about that one time the guy at the store totally gave them a free sucker. Maybe now we should go check under the Golden Gate Bridge and in Janis Joplin’s house’s bathroom, or something. Anyway, hopefully I can keep posting after this.

Previously on Uptown Almanac: 

A little piece of the Disney classic Pocahontas

— By Jane Parton |

… right here in the Mission! Grandmother Willow Whatever Kind of Tree That Is can be found in Garfield Square. Maybe if you ask, she can give you some super wise advice, like not to marry Kocuom, that those “strange clouds” are in fact from the rubble of those boxy condos being built along Bryant, or just that ironic wolf shirts are in fact 100% played out.

I just wish that the chalk instead read “this tree is HELLA wise.”

STOP HATIN': New Mural on 24th and Capp Covered Up

— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |

Remember that new mural on 24th + Capp we internets about on a couple of days ago?  Apparently some dick property owner or the DPW painted it over and now the taggers of the bay have united to make this building ground zero for vandalism.  Seriously bad move property owner.  First off, what went up actually looked nice; way better than the orgy of amateur penmanship that has graced that building for at least the last 2.5 years.  What did you really achieve by painting it over?  Being dicks?

Previously on Uptown Almanac: 

Are You a Sausage?

— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |

I’m really digging the brilliant Spy vs. Spy / Phallic food hybrid even I don’t eat sausages (unless they are made with sun-dried tomatoes and wheat gluten).  Can vegetarians be sausage people?  I sure hope so.  Sausage people have the best hats.

"Banksy" Tagged

— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |

I’m confused guys.  On one hand, a piece of “historic” graffiti has now been trashed.  On the other hand, it’s just graffiti getting tagged over.  Should I feel bad for Banksy?  Should I feel bad for Brad Pitt who now won’t be able to pay $600,000 to remove this piece of Valencia Street history and bring it to LA?  Should I feel bad for SF graffiti artists who are getting upstaged by immigrant graffiti labor?

Is Otter jealous of Banksy’s fame and knew he could get some mad press coverage by acting out?  Maybe he’s just the ultimate hater.

Anyways, I like bikes.  I like Banksy.  I like Otters.  It’s a match made by God himself.

(photo by Sean Reynolds)

UPDATE: Rachel in the comments informs us that Otter defaced the one in Chinatown as well.  Not going to lie, I kinda like what he did there.

Previously on Uptown Almanac: 

Blek le Rat Show Opens Tomorrow

— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |

Blek le Rat, the Godfather of stencil art, is having an opening at White Walls this Saturday at 7pm (warning PDF).  There have been a few comments on UP/AL that have claimed that all the stuff that went up around the city the other week was not all Banksy but actually Blek le Rat.  Eh, I’m not qualified to make that call but it’s definitely interesting timing.

Anyways, SaffronSicko offers a solid preview:

Come all you Hippies, Trippy’s & Beaubippies. Calling all Hipsters, No Shifters & Culture Sifters. Listen up Bohemians, Fauxhemians & Banksy Maniacs. The Godfather is Here & Now.
Blek Le Rat will be showing at the White Walls this coming Saturday night May 1st from 7-11p. So head on down to Myrtle & Larkin for some fun and Street Ed. British graffiti artist Banksy has acknowledged Blek’s influence saying “every time I think I’ve painted something slightly original, I find out that Blek Le Rat has done it as well, only twenty years earlier.”  (link)

Sidenote, has fauxhemian officially replaced “Cool Kid” as the new word to describe a hipster?

Anyway, be sure to check out SaffronSicko’s preview of the show on flickr.

Ice Cream Cart at the End of the Rainbow

— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |

There’s a mural up on my block.  Luckily, a reader who provides a more interesting narrative than that chimed in:

The jackass who owns the graffiti magnet apt. building on 23rd and Capp finally figured out if you can’t beat ‘em, join him.  He got tired spending $1,000 a month on paint and hired a crew to put up a mural on his building.  Actually, not a crew, he got Francisco Aquino a.k.a. Twick to do the mural. Nice.

I’m definitely interested in seeing this when it’s done, especially since I don’t have to go very far to check it out.  That said, I don’t see a lot of cowboys selling ice cream.  Herding ATMs on the other hand….

The neighborhood is VERY EXCITED.  WITH CAMERAS.

Pages