The year was 1979. San Francisco was adorned with beautiful hand-painted wall murals by local artists, many of which were pertinent social commentaries of the time. These images, being painted on exterior walls and exposed to the sometimes harsh weather conditions of San Francisco (rain, wind, fog, and sunshine), were ephemeral. Many faded away and/or were painted over, others were subject to building demolition or restoration; none survived more than a few years.
I was living in the Bay Area in 1979 and one day while driving around San Francisco looking for subject matter for a series of photos called The City, I noticed a wall mural; I stopped and jumped out to shoot it. It happens that a good friend of mine was with me and he informed me there were many murals throughout the City and he knew where most of them were; with his collaboration I was able to shoot the images you see here.
Shooting them was often difficult due to their proximity to various obstructions, poor lighting, dark shadows and so on; it was also a challenge to get the total image in frame and I sometimes had to settle for a cropped version of the painting. Still, my time was limited and I did my best with the gear I had with me and the lighting that was available. You will notice that the artists usually incorporated the building’s features into the painting.
Click any image for a slide show. As always, serious photos and art should be viewed on a large screen, not a phone. To view a full-sized version, click on an image and scroll down a little—on the right side you will see a link to do so.
