Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Society for the Preservation of San Francisco Scenery


I'm sure that you have seen the iconic San Francisco view of the beautiful painted ladies across the grassy park, with the San Francisco skyline in the background. And, by painted ladies, I don't mean ladies of the night, but those beautiful Victorian era houses that are colorfully painted.
You know which sight I'm talking about because it shows up in movies set in San Francisco and was the opening scene for that family sitcom, Full House. This is one of the most photographed sights in the city.
Ashley and I have been brainstorming about our Intervention Project. She told me that that iconic view is seen from Alamo Square Park, the highest point in the neighborhood known as Alamo Square.
So, she wondered, what would happen if we told people that photography was prohibited in that space? What would their reaction be? How could we do this without getting in trouble? Of course, we would have to let people know that our action is only an intervention. We wouldn't want to ruin someone's visit and let them know that if they wanted to take photographs it is legal to do so.
We would make signs that say "Photography Prohibited by order of the Committee for the Preservation of San Francisco Scenery". We'd mount these signs on pickets and place them around the park. Then, we would record people' reactions to the signs. Would people be upset? Would they ignore the signs? Would they remove the signs? Would they laugh at our signs?
We'll just to have to go, do and see!

1 comment:

  1. Ha..ha..! Now that you've mentioned it out in the open, I am going to ignore any such signs on my next visit.

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