Graf Trux 9: Return of the Original Graf Trux....

San Francisco, CA - moebius rex - Wednesday, July 27th, 2005 : goo

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three years ago i put together a whimsical article for citynoise titled "graf trux", never suspecting that it might somehow catch on and inspire a multitude of similar citynoise articles in the years to come. since then, it's been pretty humbling to see others take up the baton and present graf trux from all over the country and the world, including new york, brooklyn, portland, paris, and even russia. each successive graf trux article has delivered surprise and delight.

anyway, at long last, after a too-long interval, i'm returning with a new sampling of SF's best graf trux--or at least the ones i've managed to catch when i've had my camera in hand. (some amazing specimens have thus far evaded my lens...but i'll get 'em soon enough!)

san francisco has more than its fair share of chilly grey days, and oddly enough, many of them seem to find us in midsummer. which is why we honor those graf trux that know how to let the sunshine (and starlight) through.

ribity's perpetually surprised (and increasingly controversial: www.sfist.com/archives/2005/02/08/has_ribity_gone_too_far.php ) frog glyphs were ubiquitous in in SF throughout 2003 and 2004 (i even ran across one on a chalkboard waiting list in a posh downtown restaurant once). here he's left a couple of his oversized amphibian calling cards on an already hyper-painted bread truck. (mo' ribity: www.flickr.com/groups/ribity/)

she's a flamboyant girl, always dressed too loudly for the quiet, demure neighborhood in which she resides. her block is otherwise occupied by staid, conservative family vehicles that can only admit to envying her dramatic bohemian flair in their deepest, wildest, automotive dreams.

meanwhile, in the mission district, even so-called "mommy vans" have an opportunity to get dressed in polychromatic krylon finery for all to praise and admire. every time this car rolls up to the elementary school, all the kids cheer.

the streets of san francisco shiver and quake when big steel rumbles into town....

like a street character with tourette's syndrome, this truck puts an unsubtle slice of subconscious rambling ("cry me a river! twister! i got five on it! dry hump!") out on public display, along with an odd bit of quasi-avian dream imagery. i can't wait to see what it will say next.

believe it or not this appears to be a commissioned piece for a moving van. if we ever buckle down and decide to move out to the suburbs, i'd like to hire this guy to move our belongings, if only to give my prospective neighbors a shock. "honey, look across the street! i think we got a pimp moving in!" who knows, maybe we'll end up having the whole cul-de-sac to ourselves....

well, as you know, what goes around, comes around. so we'll conclude this small display with a bit of "graf trux graf." and that's my challenge going forward, folks: now that we've figured out the art of painting delivery vehicles, it's time to put the trucks themselves back on the walls (or, in this case, fences). let the "graf trux graf" articles commence!

cheers, moe

for more photographs of urban art and street color (plus also an eclectic selection of music mp3s and commentary about same) see my mp3blogjournalthing: moebius_rex.livejournal.com/

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Chino: Love that graf. "HOT"

ea: I care, nice!

SuShI_hp: that steel looks cool

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