It often seems like San Franciscans view our neighborhoods as small countries (besides the different ethnic communities here, we also all know people who practically need a passport to travel more than 10 blocks beyond their apartments). So SF Arts Commission's latest campaign is brilliant for being visually striking and coming off a bit tongue in cheek. The city agency commissioned Bay Area artist Lordy Rodriguez to create visuals for its Market Street kiosks and he came back with Strangerhood, a series exploring six neighborhoods as if they were independent nations, a twist on your typical 'hood guide that I really love.
Rodriguez has been exploring issues around identity politics since he was a kid, and cartography is one of the ways he gives that theme a visual form. The vibrant pieces he created for the Mission, Castro, Haight, North Beach, Fisherman's Wharf, and Chinatown are on view as you walk between the Embarcadero and 8th St. (from now until April 11) – you can also see them all as a collection below. Rodriguez says he collected his inspiration for the maps by walking around each neighborhood and noticing the signage that really popped out. That's the other theme I can really relate to in Strangerland– that we often view our neighborhoods as a collection of places we patronize. I live in the Upper Haight, so I associate my 'hood with Amoeba, Zam Zam, Wasteland, and the Haight Street Market as much as I do with Golden Gate Park. Great work here.
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