[su_carousel source=”media: 34217,34219,34221″ limit=”60″ link=”lightbox” target=”blank” width=”800″ height=”540″ responsive=”no” items=”1″]<\/p>\n
The Precita Eyes mural at the corner of 24th and Lucky streets\u2014painted by neighborhood youth in 2015 as a response to gentrification\u2014was literally whitewashed on June 2 by artists commissioned by the building\u2019s new owner. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Painted on the side of the building at 2801 Folsom St. the mural depicting a calavera with the words \u201cOur culture can\u2019t be bought,\u201d had been buffed beyond recognition with white paint, leaving only a sliver of its original form. The building\u2019s new owner, and his hired artists, began painting over the mural without notifying Precita Eyes. The new design was intended to read: \u201cBe a good person.\u201d<\/p>\n The destruction of the current mural only stopped when concerned community members and Precita Eyes artists began gathering around it.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted something colorful on this, frankly. I\u2019m a fan of colors\u2014bright colors. This wall for me was way too dark,\u201d said Ali Rismanchi, who arrived on scene when the crowd began to grow. Several community members, including Mission activist Nancy Pili Hernandez, told Rismanchi that whitewashing the mural was disrespectful to the neighborhood and to the youth who painted.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t know I had to go through these processes\u2026 to redo the mural,\u201d Rismanchi said, in his defense. \u201dAt this time, it\u2019s done\u2026 this wall is yours. \u00a0It\u2019s the neighborhood\u2019s. Make it colorful.\u201d<\/p>\n But not everyone viewed was satisfied with his explanation.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just really shallow and empty to me, I think they were just trying to tell us what we wanted to hear,\u201d said Max Marttila, one of the Precita Eyes coordinators who worked with youth on the original mural.<\/p>\n Precita Eyes muralist Carla Wojczuk was giving a mural tour at around 11:30 a.m. when she saw a group with rollers and paint supplies standing in front of the mural.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I said, \u2018Hey you guys might want to wait on this. Because these are community murals and they\u2019re also protected, like legally,\u2019\u201d said Wojczuk.<\/p>\n The artists, according to Wojczuk, deflected any wrongdoing and said that the building\u2019s new owner instructed them to paint over it. Wojczuk left the mural to finish her tour, but came back to warn them again. After returning at 12:30 p.m., the crew had already started painting over the wall.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sad part is, I feel pretty regular about it, because this is kind of what’s going on in San Francisco,\u201d said Marttila. \u201cWe really take pride in our murals. It means a lot more to us. It\u2019s really the voice of the people, especially in a time like this, post-gentrification. We really need to keep what\u2019s ours.\u201d<\/p>\n Rismanchi said that he will involve the neighborhood in the creation of a new mural.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the resolution is I give the wall back to the community, and they can do a new piece.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [su_carousel source=”media: 34217,34219,34221″ limit=”60″ link=”lightbox” target=”blank” width=”800″ height=”540″ responsive=”no” items=”1″] The Precita Eyes mural at the corner of 24th and Lucky streets\u2014painted by neighborhood youth in 2015 as a response to gentrification\u2014was literally whitewashed on June 2 by artists commissioned by the building\u2019s new owner. \u00a0\u00a0 Painted on the side of the building at 2801 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":34217,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25122,7],"tags":[13918,3613,4017,5261],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-34216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en-en","category-news","tag-ali-rismanchi","tag-mural-en","tag-murals","tag-precita-eyes-en","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n