Art and San Francisco

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/44cf10_a69e8bead49441d9ab2514d16efb8773/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Song is edited by me; Olivia Dean—Lady Lady

I say it with pride but being from the Bay is one of the coolest things ever. There's really no place like the bay, or like the people from her. Big ups for Oakland this year, for artists like; Kehlani and Ryan Coogler and Alyssa Liu. Oakland is a place that has so much talent and culture, and I think its impressive it's seen so much success for Oakland natives and it's only march. But, I'm from the city, so that's what Im gonna be talking about, because San Francisco, she inspires me greatly. I think that is in part to the beauty of the city, the culture and the people, and the nostalgia because she isn't the same. I think it's very bittersweet that the city has changed so much, and that she's always gonna change. Currently, it feels like bad change after bad change—I'm not a fan of Daniel Lurie at all as an FYI. Despite that, despite the cost, and the lack of respect for people and people that grew up here—I really do still love this place, and I find that it holds a very special place in my heart as a storyteller and artist.

My first ever digitally animated film was a short black and white mixed media film taken at Ocean Beach. I utilized still black and white 35mm film landscape shots, hand developed, from Ocean Beach. Simple 2D animation of two figures in grayscale with minimal pops of color to be more interesting visually, drawn in adobe animate. And subtitles. I played around with the sound to really build the aura of the beach, waves, sounds of people talking, wind, etc. It was a really simple project, but it was deeply inspired by my childhood growing up in the sunset. At different points in my life I was a ten minute walk from Ocean Beach; simultaneously the foggiest and one of the most beautiful beaches ever. I am biased, I don't care. I would go there with family, our dogs, and then in highschool it was trips with my girls, and in adulthood I still go out to that beach with friends, to enjoy the sun, the closed great highway, the great food spots, and to soak it all in. For nearly 30 years I have been going to this same beach in this same city, and it is immortalized in my very own short animated film, and it will always be a special place for me. The short film is still on my vimeo, a bittersweet story about an grandparent and grandchild visiting Ocean Beach, and how places can hold memories of our people even after they are gone. I think that is also another reason why the city is so bittersweet and nostalgic because it's built off of that constant memory of people that have left us. Of buildings that have left, shops that have closed down, people that have had to move out because of rent, all of it. It's a changing tapestry, but not in a way that us that were born here appreciate. I miss my old gas station, the old thrift shops on mission, the diners, the energy.

Later on, still at SFSU (San Francisco State University) I made another animated film about the city and this time specifically about the changing San Francisco that I was seeing around me. This was for a stop-motion class and specifically using paper as my main material. I talked to close friends and had them help me on this project, by telling me about some of their places that they grew up going to that were no longer there. For me, it was the gas station on Ocean ave. This was a small business type place, where Gina the owner would even have her own commercials airing to help generate business. I remember countless times growing up seeing her there interacting with customers, and it really was community. I was a kid at the time so I don't know if the business was good or if they had the best mechanics, but it's better than the 4 story expensive housing units they put in that nobody lives in. My friends talked about the old mission building on 22nd and how it burned down and became an empty lot for years, or about their favorite local coffee shop that got bought out and changed as well. I could also talk about red doggie diner that still stands as a memorial for the popular bay area food chain that my parents would go to before I was born; I remember looking up at the big red dog head over in the sunset by the zoo and hearing about it growing up. I remember feeling sad that such a cool original bay area place closed down because of bigger wealthier fast food chains. I hate it. Part of what makes the bay so iconic and what makes it hold such a special place in my heart is its originality. There is no place finer than the bay in my eyes, and sure there may be, but there isn't. They wont ever hold a candle to the magic this expensive place holds.

I spent the past two years working on a script for an animated film that is based in San Francisco and specifically the Fisherman's Wharf and Downtown areas. I chose those spots because that's where my mom worked when I was growing up. I'd visit her at the diner she worked in all the time, and eventually went on to have my first job there. Working in an around tourists isn't for the week, but it also gave me so much more love for the city. When people would be in awe and love the city I would geek out and feel the same way, sharing my favorite sandwich shop, or my favorite place to catch the sunset. When people would hate on it because of costs or homelessness or whatever they were complaining about I would argue with them; because like the movie Last Black Man in San Francisco says, "You don't get to hate it unless you love it." And I love this city, I love every part of it, and that's why I can criticize it now as it's changed and as it remains this nostalgic memory that I know we may never get to see again. That's why I put Fisherman's Wharf and some downtown spots in my script because I'm starting there, but my goal is to memorialize the city I remember and love and wish to have back. And it is that deep, to grow up somewhere and love it and have it become part of you, and to see it change and it not be for the better; it makes it deep. It's why my art and San Francisco are tied and will be forever.

Getting back into editing and creating short films again is a big goal I have for this year. Right now it feels like a muscle that I haven't stretched out properly in years, but I hope by the end of the year I have a new bag of tricks and hope it has helped me get back into the creative swing of things. That goal is being accompanied by a monthly edit that I want to make. Recording small clips of the city or friends or whatever I'm doing in the bay area, and memorializing this sf and this bay area before it too changes. That's what the video for this post is, a small fragment of public transportation, parks, people, and great memories that I've made in the bay area this past month.