It’s been a confusing 48 hours between 555 Mission Street and local photographers…

Wednesday morning, I stopped by the plaza check out Jonathan Borofsky’s public art installation, “Human Structures,” and was told by a security guard from Universal Protection Service that I was allowed to photograph the installation, but not the building facade.

Wednesday evening, I emailed the property manager to get some context around their policy. My understanding is that as a designated PPOS space, the plaza property was open to the public. I felt the security were not clear on San Francisco civil code and asked for clarification.

Thursday morning, Jeremy Brooks was taking photographs in the same plaza and a: called a “terrorist” over walkie-talkies by the guards, and b: handed a “courtesy card” stating that photography of the building facade was permitted.

Thursday afternoon, I received an email response apologizing for the misunderstanding, “Our plaza is intended for public enjoyment during business hours.  If our officers questioned the purpose of your photography, it was only due to our obligation to the artist to ensure the photos are not taken for commercial use; otherwise, we need to obtain authorization and a release.” (Note: The security guard on Wednesday asked me none of these things).

I returned the property manager’s email indicating that I was getting entirely different versions of policy from various staff and asked her to clearly define what the policy actually is. I’ll update this thread when/if I hear back.

You can read more on privately-owned public spaces in San Francisco here.