San Francisco, being the gay mecca that it is, has world-renowned art galleries and museums to get lost in. But the city’s appreciation for art and culture spreads out far beyond the museum and gallery walls and can be found right on the streets. (The work of Jeremy Novy, whose stencils are featured here and on our home page, is a prime example.)
Recently, our sister site GayCities tracked down the works of five major Bay Area artists using the city’s hidden alleys and unexplored sidewalks as their canvas.
Check out a special compilation of the artist spotlight in the following pages.
FIRST UP: Wendy MacNaughton
Dinostore by Wendy MacNaughton
This shop has designer sneakers in every color. But if you lift your gaze you’ll find that the walls, in just plain black and white, are what give the store its artsy flair. The black-marker stylings, pointing to different directions of the SF “street” community, were done by out illustrator MacNaughton, who also created GayCities’ The World According to Gays map.
NEXT: Jeremy Novy
Pride Bears by Jeremy Novy
Not to be outdone by the Teletubbies, the Care Bears have always been a little gay. These guys appeared overnight on a construction site on the three-way intersection of Market, Noe, and 16th Streets in the Castro. Below is a different take on the cuddly cartoon characters.
NEXT: Homo Riot
Homo Riot Stickers
Los Angeles artist Homo Riot does most of his work in Southern California, but luckily for SF street-art aficionados, he’s taken several trips up to the City by the Bay.
NEXT: Eddie Colla
“We’re Queer, We’re Here” by Eddie Colla
During Pride season, local street artist Eddie Colla did all the out-of-towners a big favor by stenciling arrows pointing towards the gay festivities at the Civic Center. “We’re Queer; We’re Here; We’re Glittery, Feathery, Half-Naked Men,” was probably too long to fit in the stencil.
NEXT: Pixelstud
Pixelstud Stickers
Artists can draw inspiration even from the tiniest items: For the artist known as Pixelstud, pill bottles have long been a recurrent theme—this one juxtaposes a lighthearted illustration with a strong anti-barebacking message.
His stickers—which also include squirrels and Lego figures—can be spotted all over the Castro, if you look carefully.
Why hype no-talents?
Why the asinine promotion of this certified violent nutbag’s crappy “art?”
It’s mostly seen in the gutter, where it belongs, next to dog shit.
And how hypocritical of this website’s editor to continually censor critiques of deranged Novy’s ongoing vandalism?
You encourage ugly tagging that costs businesses money in fines and repairs, yet you’re too precious to take an online tag?
Idiots.