This will only begin a much larger project: we aim to revitalize, beautify and historically enrich the Mission District of San Francisco.
Please see the latest, as in the San Fransisco Sentinel http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=109826
Wednesday 23rd of February 2011
Local Artists to Resurrect Hidden 18th Century Mural - Mural Project to beautify San Francisco Mission District
22 February 2011
Seven years after the rediscovery of a hidden mural, concealed for over 200 years in the Mission Dolores Church in San Francisco, local Mission artists are partnering with the Mission Community Market to recreate the mural on Bartlett Street in the Mission.
“We’ve found the location, we’ve found the artists, now we’re looking for commission money,” explains Ben Wood, the artist who originally brought the “Mission Dolores Mural” to the modern world’s attention in 2004.
“Eric Blind and I were able to digitally photograph a large section of the mural without moving the altar. It’s quite extraordinary,” he said.
The replication of a section of the Native American-painted mural will be about 20 feet wide by 5 feet tall, and include original art around it by notable local muralists. Jet Martinez, Ezra Eismont and Bunnie Reiss hope to begin painting this March to kick off a new mural gallery on Bartlett Street, part of the community improvements organized through the Mission Community Market.
“We’ve all got different styles so that should make it visually interesting,” says Martinez. His website reveals that his “work, conceptually, can be summed up as an obsession with nature, pattern and color.
The history of the mural dates back to 1791 when Spanish missionaries converted Native peoples to Catholicism. The exposure of this art will allow historians and the public easy access to the mural. “It’s significant because its shows the relationship between the Ohlone and the Franciscans in the period of first contact. It is evidence of their collaboration,” Wood explained. Mission Dolores curator, Andrew Galvan has also described the mural as, “the best-preserved example of art from the period of first contact with Europeans”. The mural is the original decoration from the old mission’s first altarpiece.
We hope to find experts at audio curation to collaborate and make the mobile app audio guide for the piece.
The Mission Community Market (MCM) director, Jeremy Shaw, has worked with local building owners to revitalize Bartlett Street, starting with this historic mural. “This block of Bartlett Street has unlimited potential to demonstrate that a street can be a community space. The Mission Dolores Mural is the perfect first step in that direction. This mural will tell one of San Francisco’s oldest stories in a very public space. The neighborhood and MCM are very excited to see it come to life.”
Shaw sees this as the first of many street improvements the Mission Community Market can implement to address community concerns and create a positive public space for the neighborhood. MCM is currently raising funds for these improvements as well as community programming at the market. MCM will resume its Thursday afternoon program of fresh produce, street food, local crafts, music and after-school programs on April 14th, 2011.
Wood says supporters can donate to the mural project at kickstarter.com and receive free thank you gifts like posters and prints, or they can make tax-deductible donations at missioncommunitymarket.org/p/donate.
“Kickstarter is fantastic. It’ll let people donate small amounts and stay connected to our progress,” says Wood. “This is an amazing story and treasure that we’re going to preserve and expose for all to enjoy. We need to raise a minimum of $8,300 to paint the mural.” But the collaborators are aiming for $14,000 so the artists can fully invest their time in re-creating the mural’s most intricate details, work with an Ohlone apprentice, purchase high quality materials and have the budget to maintain the mural.
Supporters who step up and pledge $2,000 or more get all of the goodies plus receive a signed copy of the book “Mission Dolores, the Gift of St. Francis” by former curator Guire Cleary, receive a video of the unveiling event, and be a VIP Guest at the unveiling ceremony and given the honor of cutting the ribbon,” says Wood.
WHAT: The re-creation of San Francisco’s oldest mural for public view. Online fundraising campaign through kickstarter.com.
•Mission San Francisco de Asis is the oldest surviving structure in San Francisco. Inside it is a mural painted by Ohlone artists in 1791 under the supervision of Spanish Missionaries.
•Hidden from public view for over 200 years, it is San Francisco’s Oldest Mural.
•Ben Wood and Eric Blind rediscovered and digitally documented the mural in 2004.
•This project will transform their digital documentation into a physical public mural in the heart of the Mission District.
•The project will recreate a significant piece of Native American and California history as part of a neighborhood revitalization project with the Mission Community Market, blocks away from the original mural in Mission Dolores.
•The project is raising awareness and funds on kickstarter.com
WHERE: The site of the weekly Mission Community Market. On the Mission Market building at 85 Bartlett Street at 22nd St.
WHEN: Fundraising now, Paint in March, Opening in April.
Saul Fleischman is assisting with PR and social media marketing. Contact saul@osakabentures.com or Tweet @osakasaul
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Kickstarter >> Mission Dolores Mural: 39 Days to Complete a 7-Year Project
See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/brjo6
