A recently completed mural by artist Emily Fromm on the wall at the Judah bathroom on the Great Highway was graffitied over the weekend.
“It’s painful to see something meant to uplift the community and celebrate our history be treated with disrespect,” said Fromm in a statement. “It's my sincere hope that we can turn down the temperature and show our neighbors and local art the respect they deserve."
Fromm reported that she was verbally harassed while she was painting the mural, as was another artist in the area, by opponents of Prop. K, which authorized the conversion of the Upper Great Highway into a linear beachfront park. This weekend was the official start of the transformation, with motorists now permanently diverted.
In addition to the destruction of the mural, wayfinding signs were sawed through.
This is concurrent with a lawsuit by Prop. K opponents who are attempting to overturn November's decision by San Francisco voters, despite it winning by a comfortable 55 percent. As readers are surely aware, there's also an effort underway to recall District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio over his support for Prop. K.
“While I did not support Prop K, San Francisco voters as a whole did,” said Malcolm Yeung, the Executive Director of Chinatown Community Development Center and Sunset resident, in a statement, “In the face of national developments that are dangerously ignoring or intentionally trying to destroy democratic processes, it’s important now more than ever that we as San Franciscans uplift these principles.”
Streetsblog made multiple requests for comment from Mayor Daniel Lurie. For now, a spokesperson for the mayor said Phil Ginsburg, the general manager of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, speaks for the administration on this issue.
"Vandalizing a beautiful mural to protest a park is a bit like slashing your own tires to complain about traffic. It just doesn’t make sense,” said Ginsburg in a statement. "Public spaces should be places for creativity, community, and joy–not pointless destruction."
From Streetsblog's view, while Ginsburg's statement is obviously heartfelt, the Mayor, who opposed Prop. K, really should give one of his own. As Yeung suggests, in the current national atmosphere local leaders need to underscore the importance of civility and respecting the democratic process. Given the anti-Engardio messages included in the graffiti and the timing of the attacks, it's clear that these were not random acts of vandalism. It needs to be made clear again and again that vandalism and threats are unacceptable.
“We are living in a time of deep frustration, where tensions run high, and too often, that frustration is misdirected at one another,” said Shannon Riley, founder of art production company Building 180, who is managing the temporary art installations. “Public artists–like all of us–are human beings trying to make a living, and they choose to do so by bringing beauty and creativity into shared spaces for everyone to experience. Instead of turning against each other, we should recognize our shared humanity and focus on building a more respectful, creative, and compassionate world.”
