As seen in the Tenderloin district.

One of the most common questions I get via Flickr Mail (outside of group invitations) is “Why do you title so many of your graffiti photos “Click Here To Add Title?”

The answer is simple: Although I appreciate and respect the letter forms and colors, I don’t know the name of every graffiti artist in the Bay Area. So I leave the text until another photographer is able to help me ID the artist. To be clear, I am not a graffiti photographer. I’m an outsider, looking in.

That said, 3 of my favorite Bay Area graffiti photographers are Funkandjazz, Everydaydude, and Heart of Oak. These guys are doing it, and doing it well, and if graffiti/photography is your thing, I’d encourage you to visit their photo streams. Their collective dedication is both comprehensive and admirable, to say the least.

As seen at 1AM SF

Fernando Carlo (also known as Cope2) is a graffiti artist from the South Bronx, New York. He has been writing graffiti since 1978-79, and has gained international credit for his work. Though he is now known worldwide, he didn’t receive recognition in the mainstream graffiti world until the mid 1990′s.

Cope2 has been one of the main targets of the New York City Vandal Squad due to his high profile status in the graffiti world and has been arrested for vandalism, theft and drug charges. He has served a total of 4 years in prison.

Five moving canvases, as seen in the Bayview district.

Barry McGee (born 1966 in San Francisco, California) is a painter and graffiti artist. He is also known by monikers  such as Ray Fong, Twist and further variations of Twist, such as Twister, Twisty, Twisto.

McGee graduated from El Camino High School in South San Francisco, California. He later graduated from the SFAI in 1991 with a concentration in painting and printmaking.

McGee rose out of the Mission School art movement and graffiti boom in the San Francisco Bay Area during the early nineties. His work draws heavily from a pessimistic view of the urban experience, which he describes as, “urban ills, overstimulations, frustrations, addictions & trying to maintain a level head under the constant bombardment of advertising”.

McGee’s paintings are very iconic, with central figures dominating abstracted backgrounds of drips, patterns and color fields. He has also painted portraits of street characters on their own empty bottles of liquor, painted flattened spray cans picked up at train yards and painted wrecked vehicles for art shows.

McGee has had numerous shows in many kinds of galleries and was also an artist in residence at inner-city McClymonds High School in Oakland, California in the early 1990s.

He was married to the artist Margaret Kilgallen, who died of cancer in 2001. The couple has a daughter named Asha.

The market value of his work rose considerably after 2001 as a result of his being included in several major exhibitions. As a result, much of his San Francisco street art has been scavenged or stolen.

The Elusive Long-Necker, seen tonight in the Upper Haight at Giant Robot.

Some would argue that this is less of a blight than this.

As a photographer, what do you think?

As seen on Treasure Island.

San Francisco, you disappointed me today:

“The people of San Francisco expect The City to deliver innovative, cost-effective ideas to address ongoing issues like graffiti,” said Mayor Gavin Newsom. “We’re partnering with artists; we’ve set up straightforward systems to report graffiti through 311; and now we are focusing on tagged trucks.”

Under the City’s plan, owners of graffiti covered trucks registered in San Francisco can apply to have their vehicle painted green by DPW, if they agree to keep graffiti off their vehicle in the future.

“Graffiti is an unnecessary eyesore that hurts our quality of life. The Clean and Green Trucks Pilot Program is a proactive approach that reduces the constant financial burden for our local truck owners; especially during tough economic times,” said Board of Supervisor President David Chiu.

Are you telling me that this is not art? I respectfully disagree.

I’ve been seeing letters such as the above sprout up around The City for the past year. The first one I found was a ‘W’ one day while photowalking in SoMa.

I recognized the letter style as that of REYES (MSK/AWR), a living legend in the world of California graffiti. Internet research revealed a website and Twitter account for tracking the progress of this project.

The artwork of Victor Reyes took root and grew out of Southern California street culture and graffiti art. Now residing in San Francisco, Reyes has parlayed his aesthetic ideals and work ethic into printmaking, fine art paintings, illustration, commercial design, and mural work – all while striving to remain unique and diverse.

Within Victor’s work, the inherently impossible search for perfection is explored, and the obstacles to this perfection are painted in, layered among fluid organic forms woven within solid, seemingly unmoving shapes to create dynamic graphic images that are self-explanatory. Reyes’s work seeks to encapsulate and even to reconcile the seemingly disparate or opposing forces of failure and triumph, the process ultimately being the most important and rewarding aspect of his art. Hard work, dedication to the craft and to the community in which it is created, these are the focus of Victor Reyes as painter and designer.

I look forward to finding the other 25 letters in existence and/or after they are created. If you know of any more locations of these beautiful works of art, drop me a line with the details.

As seen while out shooting with photographers Aaron Durand and Steve Rotman.

One of the most interesting things about shooting graffiti are the characters. Second only to GIRAFA, MUSK is one of my favorite to stumble upon.

This image is best viewed large and on a black background, as its smallest detail is the most important in the composition.

Previously.

There currently exists a small but growing movement on the internet, whereby photographers are photographing abandoned couches. I first learned about this growing subset of image collectors one afternoon while shooting in Oakland with Petalum.

You can see more abandoned sofas in my Flickr set and/or this website based out of Los Angeles.

As seen at The Krate in Santa Cruz, CA: skateboarding, graffiti, streetwear, vinyl and art exhibitions all under the same roof.  I’m really stoked on what these guys are doing.  Definitely check them out if you’re in the area.  Special thanks to John Schlesinger for the hospitality.

In re to Troy’s “Fantastic Damage” post from yesterday, I concur that said location is by far the grimiest spot in all of San Francisco, and I’ve seen (and unfortunately been forced to live) in some pretty ghastly places over the last 14 years I’ve called The City home.

Now Troy confessed to discarding his shoes when he got home, but what I want to know is if he also thoroughly disinfected his tripod, namely the legs.  The muck was six inches deep in some places.

“And what did you do with your shoes?” asked my my wife, who works in healthcare, after reading Troy’s post and seeing the above photo.

“They’re in the garage,” I replied.

“Did you bring your tripod?” She asked.

“Nope, just a flash.”

“I hope he thoroughly disinfected the legs on that tripod,” my wife said shaking her head,” ‘cause that place looks like it’s infested with all types of bad stuff.”

Now I can’t look at this photo without wondering the same thing…

“I long to have such a memorial of every being dear to me in the world.  It is not merely the likeness which is precious in such cases — but the association and the sense of nearness involved in the thing…

I would rather have such a memorial of one I dearly loved, than the noblest artist’s work ever produced.“  – Elizabeth Barrett, 1843

As seen on recent trip to the south end of Ocean Beach with Travis. I am confident that this is both the most grimiest and filthiest location in The City of San Francisco. I threw away the shoes I was wearing that day when I got home.

874 more here.

Or, you could say, “Everything happens for a reason.”

HOUR/ABNO as seen on the side of Pier 36 along with JAST, SURF, SOK, STENZ, SLAPS, GUSH, PEPSI, and KODE.

See more San Francisco graffiti here.

As seen in the men’s restroom at Double Dutch in the Mission District.

As seen on a recent photowalk in the Dogpatch with Aaron Durand.

As seen in Mexico City, outside of the Palacio de Bellas Artes.

Julia Margaret Cameron:

“I longed to arrest all beauty that came before me, and at length the longing has been satisfied.”

 

The above picture is featured in today’s printed and online version of The San Francisco Examiner, which talks about the current felony criminal charges against one of my favorite San Francisco artists for the crime of graffiti.

Roman Cesario of gallery 1:AM SF adds some perspective:

“To catch a felony for painting a wall, something that can be fixed, that’s a tough pill to swallow,” he said. “When I saw something from ‘Girafa,’ it was never somewhere offensive, like a church or someone’s house.”

The City of San Francsico spent $3.7 million this year on graffiti removal and abatement — while struggling to find $8 million to prevent the layoffs of public health workers and the $45.1 million deficit of the SFMTA.

Photographer Steve Rotman adds some perspective:

“I think it’s nuts,” he said. “Here we are during a time of recession. Libraries are being cut back. And meanwhile The City is spending this enormous amount of money to get rid of what little graffiti is left.”