Features

Graffitirazzi – Evolving Walls

By Gar Smith
Saturday April 13, 2013 - 11:14:00 AM
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When Banksy's stenciled art first appeared in North Beach, grumpy SF officials ordered the "unauthorized" art removed. The destruction was halted when local residents pointed out that Banksy was an international artist of considerable fame (See Banksy's movie "Please Exit Through the Gift Shop"). Besides, they really liked the cheeky new images on their crusty old walls. But when a Banksy-style winged soldier appeared on one wall of the Alin Building parking lot, its days were numbered. (See "Banksy in Berkeley?" The Berkeley Daily Planet, June 20, 2010. http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2010-06-22/article/35656?headline=Banksy-in-Berkeley---By-Gar-Smith)
Gar Smith
When Banksy's stenciled art first appeared in North Beach, grumpy SF officials ordered the "unauthorized" art removed. The destruction was halted when local residents pointed out that Banksy was an international artist of considerable fame (See Banksy's movie "Please Exit Through the Gift Shop"). Besides, they really liked the cheeky new images on their crusty old walls. But when a Banksy-style winged soldier appeared on one wall of the Alin Building parking lot, its days were numbered. (See "Banksy in Berkeley?" The Berkeley Daily Planet, June 20, 2010. http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2010-06-22/article/35656?headline=Banksy-in-Berkeley---By-Gar-Smith)
Unaware of Banksy's fame, the building owners quickly tossed a coat of paint over the haunting image. (In other cities, Banksy's art has actually been removed intact by chisel-wielding art-thieves who then sold the painted part of stolen wall for beaucoup bucks.) The white cloak that blanked out Banksy's art eventually served as a canvas for this new art scrawl. I still haven't learned to "read scrawl," so the message remains a mystery. (Why the message was signed "Smith Anal," I've no idea.)
Gar Smith
Unaware of Banksy's fame, the building owners quickly tossed a coat of paint over the haunting image. (In other cities, Banksy's art has actually been removed intact by chisel-wielding art-thieves who then sold the painted part of stolen wall for beaucoup bucks.) The white cloak that blanked out Banksy's art eventually served as a canvas for this new art scrawl. I still haven't learned to "read scrawl," so the message remains a mystery. (Why the message was signed "Smith Anal," I've no idea.)
In time, that scroll vanished under a new tide of white cover-up.
Gar Smith
In time, that scroll vanished under a new tide of white cover-up.
But in mid-March, a new patch of graffiti burst forth on the Alin lot's western wall. It was an RIP memorial to a local celebrity known as "Big Bad."
Gar Smith
But in mid-March, a new patch of graffiti burst forth on the Alin lot's western wall. It was an RIP memorial to a local celebrity known as "Big Bad."
BigBad's tribute was short-lived. It lasted barely two weeks before the building owners grabbed a bucket of paint and dabbed BigBad's parting salute into oblivion.
Gar Smith
BigBad's tribute was short-lived. It lasted barely two weeks before the building owners grabbed a bucket of paint and dabbed BigBad's parting salute into oblivion.
Some graffiti lasts longer than others – typically because its artistic merit engenders communal respect. That may explain the long tenure of the stark black-and-white image on the corner wall at Black and White Liquors (Shattuck near Ashby).
Gar Smith
Some graffiti lasts longer than others – typically because its artistic merit engenders communal respect. That may explain the long tenure of the stark black-and-white image on the corner wall at Black and White Liquors (Shattuck near Ashby).
The image appeared several years ago, about the time Banksy was painting the town. But was this a Banksy original? Not according to the art-hip manager of Black and White who pointed to the message on the sign clutched by the rodent and noted: "Banksy don't use no felt-tip pens!"
Gar Smith
The image appeared several years ago, about the time Banksy was painting the town. But was this a Banksy original? Not according to the art-hip manager of Black and White who pointed to the message on the sign clutched by the rodent and noted: "Banksy don't use no felt-tip pens!"
Gar Smith

Parking lots are a tantalizing target for urban taggers. The setting offers the combined attraction of a drive-in movie and an al fresco art gallery. The parking lot at the Alin Building (northeast corner of Shattuck and Dwight Way) has seen its share of graffiti sprout up, only to be washed away by incoming tides of white-out. In the unceasing ebb-and-flow, some rare moments can arise. Like the time in June 2010, when the British artist Banksy visited the Bay Area and left a sample on the Alin wall.