Jasmine Jay: Reclaim the Street

Photo documentation added in another update.

7:42am: Laid down first mark. Man waiting for bus stared at me but said nothing . There are teens selling Ice cream donuts in front of Citigroup center. Also a newsstand is open there. In the morning there aren’t a ton of people walking around yet.

7:45am: put down 4 more lines, with stencil. A business man walked uo to me and told me he was going to “Call the cops” on me and that I “Had to be 5 ft away from private property.”

7:47am: I’m not sure my arrows are so effective. They seem a little thin in the large space.

7:49am: 3 more down

7:50am: 2 more. It’s a lot easier to work when there aren’t a lot of people passing by. They seem to come in waves, with quiet and busy periods of time.

7:52am: I see one pair of elderly people looking at the new marks I’ve made and also at me. They do not say anything. Someone walks into the e-trade building.

7:54am: I see a lady stop and look at the lines. I’m unsure if she sees me. I see another woman glance at them as she casually circles the sidewalk.

7:56am: More people are walking about, making it harder for me to find an empty space to work. There are two people milling around, the same woman and another man. I wonder if they are waiting for someone or something, could be one of the many buses that pick up and drop off here.

8:03am: There are more people walking into the Etrade building. I have started the next set of directional arrows.

8:05am: Sometimes I do sets on the ground and no one sees me or pays attention at all. A bus load of people have just left, but there is a man standing in the middle, on his phone. More people walking into the Etrade building.

8:12am: I have put down the next set of lines. It’s been quiet so far, and non responsive (except for that first guy) too.

8:14am: I see a man glance at the center marks, and continue walking by.

8:15am: A lot of morning city runners pass by here. Also there are a lot of business women that I’ve noticed. There is no bike community today, and I notice that the donut selling teenagers are gone. One lady grabs newspaper from the newspaper bin, second person today.

8:17am: I see a city worker with an orange vest sweeping the street and seeing the marks. He glances around but doesn’t notice me as the one who has done them. Another man sweeping without a vest walks slowly by and also comments on (not to me) and sees the marks. I don’t think he notices that I’m the one who put them down either.

8:19am: A man walks into the Etrade building. Now a lot of older ladies are walking about, with their shopping bags.

8:21am: A younger crowd comes by. There is a buildup of people standing at the bus stop.

8:22am: Another man grabs a newspaper from the box. People get on the bus, 10 and 12. More foot traffic has arrived. There are still a lot of people waiting for other buses.

8:24am: Another man grabs newspaper.

8:25am: SF Muni bus stops and another handful of people step on.

8:27am: I am leaving.

  11:10am: I return to the space and find it heavily occupied for the first time. There definitely is a bike community that at least stops here and a homeless community too. The bikers left, but it looks like the homeless are here to stay. They have large carts and chairs covered in stuff here. The Etrade guard was also standing nearby, and I think he may have recognized me.

11:14am: A SF traffic officer walks by, eyes, the large carts, but keeps on walking. Few other people passing by also give a glance, but do not say or do anything about the people.

11:15am: A third man bikes up in a small blue teal bicycle. He stops to chat with them. I’m noticing more people eyeing their hodgepodge furniture. Maybe what I’m lacking is actually extending into the third dimension. No one cares at all about the paint on the ground.

Play is important in urban design, but often overlooked in priorities by architects and designers. That’s where artists come in. Their ideas, "More often than not.. take up the task of creating playful urban designs" (37). With the argument though that adults need play more than they give it credit to, should there be more urban playgrounds for both children and adults? The mentality of Karl Groos is that “'Instead of saying animals play because they are young, we must say that animals have youth in order that they may play'" (40). The same applies to humans and adults, with all the lessons that can be applied and learned from simple play.

I’m scared of getting yelled at by people again. I dislike that part a lot.

I’m trying to focus on the people passing by, and seeing if painting chalk on the sidewalk does anything for them. Am I making a difference in any way? Does it change up anyone’s routine, making them see or do something new, with something they didn’t expect today?

I wonder if it would help to have reoccurring imagery or themes, with multiple locations or consistent days that it happens on. I wonder if it how large of a difference it would make to use multiple colors of spray chalk.

Photos documentation will be added in the next update.

15:25 I have arrived at the plaza. As I was walking up, I noticed that the sidewalk sweeping car was coming through, and had hit this plaza. I wonder how much the sidewalk chalk spray had lasted before the sweep (especially with the rain), and how often they come through. Regardless, It was pretty clean when I got here. I only noticed some light, faded partial foodprints, probably from when people stepped into wet paint Today the crème brulee cart is here. Interesting how on all of the other days I’ve done interventions, it wasn’t here. A street cleaning car drives by, and I wonder if today is street cleaning day. I’ve never come here on a Thursday. I feel like there is some sort of bike community here, as this is the second time I’m noticing same/similar bikes, that are not locked up and leaning against a trash can. Maybe they are waiting for the bus. There are many different types of people walking through today. I see business dressed individuals and groups, casual young adults, tourists with backpacks and maps/phones out, older ladies with designer shopping bags, average joes or joesettes walking with ear buds in, and bustling students (or young business people) with folders/ books and backpacks. And more. As of yet I have not seen any purchases at the crème brulee cart. Actually, as I’m writing this, I see a purchase. I also see someone drumming on the far ledge and another taking newspaper from the box up front. I also hope the rain doesn’t wash this all away immediately.

15:47 I have made a thin line around the boxes and also witness a second purchase from the cart.

16:00 I have added 3 more boxes. One person standing near the newsboxes approached me and asked me what I was doing. He thought I was vandalizing with paint, and I responded that it was for a class, though I didn’t talk about the intervention itself. People relax a lot easier when you say you’re a student. I wonder what people’s reactions would be if I dressed differently and worked on this intervention piece. Sometimes I wonder if I stand out a lot, sitting here. I haven’t been paying attention but I think the crème brulee cart has had at least two more purchases. Also, they fixed the clock across the street so it’s actually the correct time now.

16:09 Someone takes a photo of the crème brulee cart, someone else takes one of Citicorp building.

16:12 I’ve completed 15 boxes and rectangles of different sizes. I was watched by many people and stopped by one angry man. He bumped into me physically when I was marking my last box and yelled at me, saying I couldn’t mark the sidewalk, as it was “defacing property.” I tried to explain that it was for a class (like I had with the previous person that approached me today), but he didn’t seem to care and kept going on about how I didn’t have approval from the city and that he was going to call the police. During this time the crème brulee cart has had at least three more purchases.

16:20 I leave.

On this day that I have tried the intervention, I’ve been approached by more angry people than previous iterations. It’s the second time I’ve used the spray chalk, which does look a lot like regular spray paint, but I was approached by only one person about it previously, after I had finished marking the ground (the security guard from the ETrade building). The first time I used the spray chalk I had stencils, which I didn’t use this time, because I was mainly making boxes with lines. I feel like I still have not gotten enough reactions from the people passing by as a whole to count this iterations a success, even though I’ve covered a lot of the ground (in paint), and thought that people would respond in some way (aside from angry individuals yelling at me). I’m still unsure what exactly it takes for a larger amount of people to respond or play along with what I’m doing. It seems like their busy, commuting lives to and from work are more important than chalk on the streets.

Photos documentation will be added in the next update.

8:07 First mark down

8:10 Second marks made

8:18 Third marks made. There are significantly more people crossing this area than the last time I tried this intervention idea. The morning rush feels busier than the afternoon and evening one.

8:26 Several marks made, but they don't feel like a lot. Spotted stencils take a lot more to be able to cover the space. Also, I think I'm running out of spray.

8:31 More dots. The other stencils I've cut were not thought out very well, and are either too small or too close to edges. The next time I cut these out I'll have to rethink how I place them together. Also, cardboard as a material might not be the best. It gets soggy and starts to drip or leave smudges on the ground when I paint new patterns.

8:34 I have run out of white paint, and I still fee like the amount of space I've covered is not enough. At least I have yellow paint, which might stand out brighter.

8:37 The yellow is difficult to use, and the nozzle is constantly spitting. Regardless, I think the yellow pops more in a way that people are starting to notice and look on the ground/around to try to form a pattern.

8:42 I put up a (lasercut) sign that says "Public Art Ahead."

The second try for this intervention idea helped test run a few new logistics (spray chalk, stencils, patterns), but was not very successful in its execution. The spray can get messy fast, and the stencils need to be clear and bigger. The spray chalk also gets me noticed by the security from the etrade building, who warns me about spraying on their private property (the street corner is ok, just not on their ledge/wall).

Going into Intervention try #2, I’m thinking about the results from last week, and what to improve. The big issues I noted from the first try was that the chalk felt too light (and maybe took too long) because it was hand drawn. I am going to stop by Center Hardware before I start my intervention to check out their supply of spray chalk, hopefully in different colors. Also to help with the issue of speed and accuracy, I intend to laser cut stencils, which will aid the process. A thought that was brought up in class was the idea of making the intervention intuitive, and leading people to understand what exactly they’re supposed to do with the piece of work (which I wasn’t really doing beforehand). So also on the laser cutter, I’m hoping to (have enough time to) cut out some signs that I could possibly mount (tape or hang) to poles or ledges to inform people of what’s up ahead.

Photos documentation will be added in the next update. 14:52 The last time I was here for observation it was significantly less sunny, very overcast, and on the chillier side of temperature and wind. Today the area has 1/3 sun exposure, and there are more people sitting on the ledge (where I am now, looking onto the space). Today I’ve brought white and colored chalk, and I’m hoping to create some sort of work on the ground that might make people stop or talk or notice (triangulation?)

15:12 I’ve drawn the first chalk marks, about the size of a 20”-24” disk. There is a protest passing by (on Market St.) for the Tibetan National Uprising Day. The police are escorting/ following them in bikes and motorcycles.

15:19 I’ve drawn the second part of the pattern. Most people do not seem to notice anything yet, though a child accompanying a parent stops for 2 seconds to take a look.

15:28 I’ve drawn the third part. One person stopped to watch me scribble, maybe trying to read the scratches, but I have no profound words for them. People still walk by and on the piece, without a care. Most of the people walking by are a mix of casually dressed and suit-ed. There is a high abundance of street people.

15:34 The fourth mark has been made, still no attention. Maybe my work is too irregular, or small. I will continue adding to it. The sun has shifted to cover pretty much all of the area/plaza now.

15:42 5th mark down. Used a whole stick of white. Maybe I need to be coloring them more solidly. One person looks at it as he passes by. Maybe I need to add text. Would it make a difference? I should probably work faster and put more marks down.

15:51 I put down another segment, adding text, and hear two people reading it out loud, “What if?” Everyone else passes by without noticing or reading. Maybe people never look down at the ground. The sun is shifting back on to the plaza, though in strips, catching space from between the buildings up high.

By writing “What if?” I’m trying to pose a question that could start a dialogue, “What if?” what? What if people…? What if we could improve the relationship between us people and these concrete walls? What if? What if? What if? You Paid Attention? What would you notice about this city?

16:03 The pattern now reads “What if? You paid Attention?” A few people (like 3) stopped to watch while I was scribbling away. Two people read it as they pass by. I think the key to noticing it is text, or it could be size. Sparse people notice still. Most people are on their phones or staring at eye level. Nobody really looks aimlessly around. One guy is even standing right above it, but on his phone.

16:12 I’m about to make a mark and street cleaning passes by. Good thing they’re only on the street and not the sidewalk. More people are walking by, getting off work?

16:21 People are noticing the work, mostly when I’m working on it. One old woman asks me (as I’m filling in lines), “Pay attention to what?” I tell her I’m not finished with the piece yet, and how I’m putting work on the ground because everyone’s always on their  phones or looking straight ahead and don’t notice the ground, an dhow I wonder how many people do/will now. As I’m working on the piece, I feel a bit rushed when many people walk by. I feel like as it gets bigger, it’s looking worse, as I can only eyeball my angles and distances, and it looks a lot different being up close and stepping back. As I’ve never drawn anything bigger than 18” x 24,” this piece incorporates a lot of new things for me.

16:28 Google maps car drives by.

17:12 I have now finished my work (for now). I was stopped by a military veteran, Wardorf (?), who talked with me for about half an hour. After I finally put down text, more people started to notice, though many still ignore it. Two young people, probably early 20s, stop and take a picture, and also stop to talk to me. Since more people are getting off work, more people are passing by.

17:18 Embellishments added. The piece takes up a substantial amount of space. People notice sometimes.

17:22 I add another layer of embellishment. I get in more people’s way now that the edges are extending more into where people walk. A man on the ledge watches me draw. He is probably waiting for the bus though. All of this has mostly been line work, and I wonder if it would pop more if they were solid, or with cleaner edges. It’s still being passed by by pretty much everyone, with the occasional person giving an extra two seconds.

17:28 Another young person takes a quick snapshot as she passes by (on a run).

17:33 A touristy looking couple stops and reads it.