Kickstarter

One person who will be integral to our project to map San Francisco's art is Bhautik Joshi, a research engineer by day and a street art photographer by night (and weekends).

Since moving from Australia to San Francisco five years ago, Joshi has developed an extensive collection of images of street art in San Francisco which he posts regularly to his Flickr stream. Along the way, he has met and befriended many of the artists behind the work he photographs. Like an art historian, Joshi can tell you about the process, and the story behind the works. His enthusiasm is contagious and we feel lucky to have met him.

For this update, we wanted to give Bhautik Joshi room to speak a little bit about what he does and why he does it. Read his thoughts below:

When I moved to San Francisco, I was impressed by the amount of art in the city - I spend many weekends exploring new  corners of the city to find it. Downtown, right at the center of things, it's staggering to see the amount of art that has been commissioned by the city and individuals. All the way from bold architecture to abstract, often large sculptures, these pieces leave a strong impression that accessible art is of great importance here.




In the time that I've been living in San Francisco, I've seen aspects of the soul of the city reflected in the many pieces of publicly accessible art that live in it. San Francisco plays host to a remarkable variety of pieces, all the way from giant, sanctioned sculptures from well-known artists to a vibrant, frequently-changing street art scene. All these pieces represent a snapshot of the feelings of a city at a particular time and exploring them gives many hints of the complex character of San Francisco.




Near where I live, in the Mission District, there is a rich collection of murals and street art. The many colorful murals are a snapshot of history, telling stories from a particular time and place. In an area that struggles with identity and social upheaval, these pieces offer a place for people to express: this is who we are, here and now.




All over the city, there is a frequently changing, colorful and active street art community. From city-sponsored to completely unsanctioned illegal walls, these are vibrant expressions of the feelings of those who create them and in some ways serve as a barometer for the mood of the city. They provide a means of mass-communication for the artists, pushing out messages that may otherwise go unheard.




It would be fascinating to see how art in particular areas has changed and developed over time. Most significantly, it would be awesome to have a guide to what is nearby, facilitating the connection between yourself and the many artists who express themselves in San Francisco.