July 27, 2006

[Originally published in the 2005 Expo newspaper]

[Read about other guerrilla art interventions in the Expo DIY Library.]

In many U.S. cities, surveillance cameras are being placed throughout downtown areas. Anti-graffiti campaigns are actively underway. Chain stores are replacing local businesses, which simply cannot compete.

We are witnessing a general sanitization of culture. The effects are subtle, yet severe, as new generations are subject to overtly commercial spaces devoid of creativity and lacking any local input. Counter-response is necessary.

In the fall of 2002, I initiated a series of space reclamations in the Mission District of San Francisco. Each began with a city-installed U-shaped bicycle rack on the sidewalk.

I enlisted friends and together we removed the racks at night and took them back to my metal shop. There, I added welded ornamentation following themes of disempowerment.

The first one depicted items of physical labor, such as a pipe-threader, a railroad spike and a factory gear, reflecting the transition to a service-oriented economy. Another depicted stuffed animals that were incarcerated.

I would usually reinstall the altered racks that night, watching for police cars and delighting in the thrill of harmless subversion.

Surprisingly, no one ever stopped to ask what we were doing. If we were caught, I would have no excuse other than that we were making a custom art project. I knew that the consequences would be slight.

Today, all of the modified bicycle racks are still in place. Since they carry no overt propaganda or critique to them, they look like they could be a city art project and will probably remain for some time.

Reactions to the changes were difficult to gauge. They were designed be subtle and integrated into the city environment. Most people absorb them on a subconscious level and hopefully feel that their environment is not completely dictated by commercial interests.

Sometimes I would see bicycles locked to them, and was happy that they were properly being used. The effort and cost was minimal for a lasting change. As a socially conscious and fun-loving artist, this was a fitting project for altering our urban space.