14th Street gentrification

Upset the Setup makes some astute social observations here noting that this window display at the Mitchell Gold store on 14th Street speaks volumes about the gentrification of that neighborhood. I walk by that display 10 time a day and though I always thought it was an idiotic tagline, I never thought about it in the same way as Upset, who also adds:

And yo, I snuck into that $200/plate ‘arts’ dinner the Arts Development Corporation had. I have to say, the black tie fund raiser for the source theater in a ‘gritty’ urban loft, complete with graffiti ‘art’ on the walls disturbed me because I knew that the latinos working the catering and the artists who painted those walls weren’t going to see their share off that high brow arts development scam.

Thanks Vince Gallegos for this great image of the building in question.

Interesting commentary considering the recent rising tensions over several local arts organizations using the former Church of the Rapture at 14th and T Street (just up the street from the furniture store) for arty events this year. When Meat Market used the building for Performance Week in January (disclosure: The Pink Line Project was involved), a grumpy neighbor called the police numerous times when graffiti writers were invited to cover the building with colorful pieces before Performance Week began. The building's owners authorized the graffiti on their private property and in fact enjoyed showcasing the building as an art space. Most people saw it as a fun, temporary improvement while the developer went about obtaining proper permits and whatever else they needed to do to develop property.

In early May, the CuDC used the space for its annual fundraiser gala, meant to raise money to support development of sustainable spaces for the arts and artists. Again, the grumpy neighbor called the police. The event took place as planned but city officials were now on high alert.

Shortly after, when Transformer used it for a sculpture exhibit, the grumpy neighbor finally got his way: the city sealed the building, trapping all the art inside, including 104 innocent goldfish, due to alleged potential dangers within. The Transformer event would have been the last art event to take place there before construction was to have begun in early June. This short-sighted and spiteful intrusion by the grumpy neighbor may have delayed the building's development, which seems a fitting reprisal for someone whose chief complaint was that the building was taking too long to be developed and that it was an eyesore.

I might not have commented on any of this except that that same said grumpy neighbor has recently requested that *I* buff the graffiti. Asking someone who encourages the graffiti arts, nay, celebrates the graffiti arts to paint over graffiti seems a tad incongruous. My first reaction was, "No way. Are you the biggest jerk ever? Hell will freeze over before I take a roller to the side of that building."


But then Nathan reminded me of a movie called The Subconscious Art of Graffiti Removal in which buffing is compared to Rothko! And I got to thinking that this could be a fantastic art project. Hmmmm. Will keep you posted.