As a pedestrian and public transit rider, I spend a lot of time on the streets, yet they never fail to surprise me. A few weeks ago, a certain street did just that. The early morning commute of the 16x roared as usual down Oak Street and stopped quickly before it turned onto Franklin. Normally, passengers jump off and speed-walk toward Market Street, ignoring the mundane landscape of the public parking lot. But this particular morning in January, eyes were drawn to the image of "Eddie," the gorilla-faced policeman, his uniform carefully decorated with nonsensical badges and sweet name plate, stenciled on the parking lot's beige shack.
A stunning chap! I gazed with admiration mixed with curiosity. The day before it was a blank wall; now the shack had been done up with prankish style.
I was reminded of the work of Banksy*, and because I wanted to capture this solitary cop on patrol, I ran to work, where I picked up my camera and ran back out to take a few shots. Other pedestrians gathered too; a bunch of us talked excitedly about the possibility that yes, it looks like a Banksy, and yes, just in case it disappears, let's take a photo of this piece of street art. [* Postscript: But it really wasn't. After a little research, it turns out this piece was the work of local street artist Eddie Colla!]
Three weeks later it was gone. Painted over. But I have my photographs to remind me of a sweet fleeting moment in the life of the street. Now they're yours, too.
 |
| This is Eddie Colla's work. Next to 55 Oak Street (near Franklin) San Francisco, CA Painted over sometime in late January 2011 (photo by A. Grimes, 2011) |
Check out Banksy locations on San Francisco streets and "Banksy, Satirical Stenciling and a Graffiti Manifesto" on Mission Local. For more on Eddie Colla, read his interview on The Dirt Floor.
Comments
Post a Comment