SFist Hangs out In Clarion Alley
On our way to work a few weeks ago, we noticed a group of punk kids painting in the alleyway around the corner from Community Thrift on Valencia Street. They were painting bunnies on the walls. In broad daylight! We thought to our selves, "Look at those ballsy punk kids!" and continued on our way.
As we passed the same spot on our way home a few days later, we saw what looked to be the same group. For this round, however, many were dressed in slightly grubby bunny costumes -- not at all unlike the one forcibly worn by Ralphie in the 1972 cult classic A Christmas Story.
Conventional wisdom might encourage one to ask why, pray tell, a group of young kids would spend an evening drinking Tecate in an alleyway while wearing bunny costumes and circling one another on tricycles. But this party didn't take place on just any Mission side street. Rather, it went down in the Clarion Alley, home to the Clarion Alley Mural Project, as established in October 1992 by a volunteer collective of six North Mission residents: Aaron Noble, Michael O'Connor, Sebastiana Pastor, Rigo 92, Mary Gail Snyder, and Aracely Soriano.
Directly inspired by the long, rich tradition of Central American political murals—most specifically by the group in SF's Balmy Alley—CAMP decided against choosing social struggle as a singular theme, instead focusing on emerging artists from all backgrounds.
Over the years, over 100 murals have graced this alleyway, while the tradition of labor muralism has been continued by CAMP's sponsorship of many off-site projects around San Francisco. For a nice cache of photos, visit CAMP collaborator Megan Wilson's website, which also features a long list of artists and community groups who've been involved in with CAMP's far-reaching social and artistic initiatives.
Though an established bohemian enclave since the 1960's, 47 Clarion—along with the murals gracing its sides, and those of other nearby properties—took many hits during the dot-com boom, when several buildings around 17th and Valencia were torn down. In 2002, it looked as though the project might not survive the city's mass exodus, as lots lay vacant around the mission and the city remained cash poor.
CAMP made a comeback though—the announcement for its 10-year anniversary party still graces the corner of Clarion and Valencia, where a communal bulletin board allows for such postings. New work graces its walls regularly, including the recent piece painted by our rabbits, whose identities remain unknown to us (anyone?).
A banner proclaiming "Bad Behavior in Bunnyland" waves over the carnage below, as floppy friends fight and fornicate in a nightmare junkyard, commercial America's version of Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights. Indeed, contemporary political murals are alive and well in San Francisco, as is the Clarion Alley Mural Project.
Visit the Clarion Alley Mural Project, located in the block formed by 17th & 18th and Mission and Valencia Streets (parallel to 17th). It's an alleyway, so you can go whenever you'd like!