These walls can talk
The history of wall art in San Francisco begins with Diego Rivera, who is best remembered for his murals—and the political messages they contained. Some of his greatest works can be seen at City College, the San Francisco Art Institute (see p. 98), and the Pacific Stock Exchange. He also influenced the murals found throughout the Mission District.
To see Rivera’s legacy—now in the hands of a new generation of artists who may have never even heard his name—you need go to Clarion Alley. Located between 17th and 18th Streets, the alleyway connects Mission and Valencia Streets, two significantly different environments. Mission is filled with reminders of the longtime Latino community, who were the primary residents of the neighborhood until the late-nineties tech boom. Meanwhile, Valencia is the picture of order, with high-end shoppers and vested hipsters.
Info
Address Clarion Alley, San Francisco, CA, 94110 | Public Transport Bus: 22 (16th St & Valencia St stop); 33 (18th St & Valencia St stop); 49 (Mission St & 18th St stop) | Tip If you like innovative spicy Asian-inspired dishes, try the acclaimed Mission Chinese Food at 2234 Mission Street just around the corner—but be prepared to wait on line!
The alley itself is narrow and runs about 150 yards. The murals are naturally of mixed quality, and unfortunately some of the best work has been tagged, but if nothing else, this dazzling exhibit offers an organic history of the city. For instance, there are murals honoring the Black Panther movement and the Compton’s Cafeteria riots in 1966, the first recorded incident of “militant queer resistance” in US history. The newest artworks reflect ongoing unrest between the city’s working class and Silicon Valley’s commuting class. “Bomb Condos Not Murals” and “Tax The Rich” are more recent themes in response to the changes in the neighborhood. Among the “message” murals is one by Mike Reger and Erin Amalia Ruch, titled Narcania vs. Death. It’s a comic-book depiction of a young “heroine” struggling with heroin addiction who is saved from an opiate overdose by being given Narcan, or Naloxone. In the last panel, her concluding revelation is: “I don’t know if there’s anything worth living for but at least now I’ll get the chance to find out.”
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