Art in Storefronts Artists Talk and Art Walk June 15, 2011

A group of talented San Francisco-based artists recently transformed vacant storefronts and neglected, boarded up buildings in the Central Market corridor. Join the Art in Storefronts artists for a lively discussion about their temporary projects and discover how they each addressed the neighborhood's specific culture and history in their work. Then take a stroll through the neighborhood to check out the projects on a guided Art Walk.
Alexis Arnold fills a Market Street window with old bike rims encased in glinting crystals along with a series of gold-painted U-locks. Vanesa Gingold presents colorful sculptures and mobiles inspired by interviews with individuals from the Central Market community. Madeline Trait's presents a pile of discarded aluminum cans that magically transform into gracefully flying butterflies. Erik Otto depicts the openness for lasting change through metaphors symbolized by clouds, houses, and a circle of neon light. The Indigenous Arts Coalition project looping images of historical footage and appropriated images to represent the "double life" of individuals straddling cultural identities. Cat U-Thasoonthorn reanimates photos of defunct commercial buildings into a panoramic fictional street view with the insertion of neon lights.

Robert Harris creates an abstract urban landscape of Market Street looking towards the Ferry Building. Paz de la Calzada covers the old Strand Theater with a charcoal drawing of tangled strands of hair. Vicky Knoop and Beatrice Thomas celebrate iconic sites of Central Market with their mural rendered in the style of vintage tourist postcards. Rafael Landea's mural pays homage to the historic theaters that once lined Market Street, depicting a swirl of old theater seats swept up into tornado-like activity. Amber Hasselbring brings to life the story of the Western Tiger Swallowtail butterfly and the London Plane tree, two indigenous species found on Market Street.

Official Website: http://www.sfartscommission.org