The residents of 645 Haight Street have commissioned artist Sam Flores to create a mural for the front of their building. And the design is being kept a secret — even from the residents.
The artwork is replacing a mural made by elementary school children which had adorned the property since 1994. As one resident put it, “if you have seen the murals, and you can’t miss them, I’m sure [you] can understand our motivations for wanting to replace them.”
Apparently that was a feeling echoed by all of the building’s tenants, as desire to replace the mural was described to us as “unanimous.” Eight residents then formed an “art committee” tasked with researching possible artists to create a new work for the building. Some of them knew of Flores’s work, and considered him a longshot, but through a chance personal connection they were able to get in touch with him and show him the site. To their surprise, he agreed to do the project.
Flores is a well-known illustrator and muralist who has worked extensively with Upper Playground and has shown his work all over the world. He most recently dropped by Outside Lands to do some live painting during Friday night’s line-up. Check out Upper Playground’s pic to get a sense of his work.
Because of their faith in Flores, the residents decided to give him complete creative control over his design. That means they have no idea what he’s making — and they want it that way.
As one resident puts it:
“[A]ll of the neighbors–not only people on the committee–agreed that it would be best to give Sam total artistic freedom with the project… We do not know what Sam is painting, and he kindly offered to send us working sketches and updates, but we are looking forward to the surprise.”
All will be revealed next Thursday, August 25th, when the panels that Flores has been working on will be delivered and affixed to the building. We’ll report back with photos once the mural is up.
(And yes, in case you’re wondering: the mural is expected to get a healthy dose of anti-graffiti paint — you know, just in case.)