Gente De Tu Barrio: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 00:04, 9 December 2015

EDIT PAGE

Artist: Victor De La Rosa

Year: 2015

Date of Action: September 2015

Region: North America

Location: San Francisco, United States of America

Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion, Racial/Ethnic

Medium: Public Art, Public Speech

Confronting Bodies: San Francisco Bay Area Transit Authority

Description of Artwork: La Gente De Tu Barrio / The People of Your Neighborhood [The Mission Suite], by Victor De la Rosa, engages the subject of gentrification of the San Francisco Mission neighborhood by featuring four local residents and their statements on four textile panels.

A panel featuring a photo of local resident Micky "Tiny Loca" Martinez prominently states, "Bitch, you're not from here!" in bold typeface. Each panel has a border of typed contrasts, such as "Us Vs. Them" and "Pour-Over Vs. Nescafe."

The Incident: De La Rosa was commissioned by the City of San Francisco in February 2015 to create artwork regarding the Mission neighborhood. His panels were intended to be placed in the plaza at the BART 16th St. Mission station in September 2015.

However, the Bay Area Transit Authority (BART) rejected the "Tiny Loca" panel due to the use of the word "bitch" and confrontational tone. The agency stated they were still developing a public art policy and held the work to the standards of their advertising policy. Blurring the word "bitch" was rejected by BART because they stated it would not revise the "overall demeaning tone of the message in that panel." De la Rosa would not have participated in any edits.

BART offered to feature the other three panels, but De la Rosa refused, viewing the contested panel as integral to the work. In late October, De la Rosa and supporters placed copies of the contested panel on plaza display cases and spoke with locals.

On December 4, 2015, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the National Coalition Against Censorship submitted a letter to BART, arguing the refusal to place the "Tiny Loca" panel was viewpoint discrimination and contrary to the First Amendment.

Results of Incident: As of December 2015, BART still refuses to place the "Tiny Loca" panel.

Source:

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 |artist=Victor De La Rosa,
 |subject=Political/Economic/Social Opinion, Racial/Ethnic
+|confronting_bodies=San Francisco Bay Area Transit Authority
 |medium=Public Art, Public Speech
-|description_of_content=La Gente De Tu Barrio / The People of Your Neighborhood [The Mission Suite] (italicize) consists of four textile posters portraying local residents by text based on quotes Victor De La Rosa overheard in the Mission or on stories told by the residents (NCAC.org).
+|date_of_action=September 2015
+|location=San Francisco, United States of America
+|description_of_content=La Gente De Tu Barrio / The People of Your Neighborhood [The Mission Suite], by Victor De la Rosa, engages the subject of gentrification of the San Francisco Mission neighborhood by featuring four local residents and their statements on four textile panels.
-One panel "features Mickey “Tiny Loca” Martinez saying in bold letters, “Bitch you’re not from here.” Martinez is surrounded by words and phrases echoing her feelings about the changing Mission: “start up, forced out, moved on, fed up, cleaned up, bussed in, bought off and taken over” (SFGate).
+A panel featuring a photo of local resident Micky "Tiny Loca" Martinez prominently states, "Bitch, you're not from here!" in bold typeface. Each panel has a border of typed contrasts, such as "Us Vs. Them" and "Pour-Over Vs. Nescafe."
-|description_of_incident=Victor De la Rosa, a San Francisco State University art professor, was one of five artists commissioned by the city to depict life in the Mission (SFGate). The transit agency said this week [week of December 7, 2015] it approved the other three panels, but [the panel featuring Mickey "Tiny Loca"] violated its standards (SFGate).
+|description_of_incident=De La Rosa was commissioned by the City of San Francisco in February 2015 to create artwork regarding the Mission neighborhood. His panels were intended to be placed in the plaza at the BART 16th St. Mission station in September 2015.
-|description_of_result=A compromise that included blurring out the word "bitch" was rejected by BART, with the agency spokesman explaining that the issue was the “overall demeaning tone of the message in that panel.” (NCAC.org)
-|image=920x920.jpg
+However, the Bay Area Transit Authority (BART) rejected the "Tiny Loca" panel due to the use of the word "bitch" and confrontational tone. The agency stated they were still developing a public art policy and held the work to the standards of their advertising policy. Blurring the word "bitch" was rejected by BART because they stated it would not revise the "overall demeaning tone of the message in that panel." De la Rosa would not have participated in any edits.
+BART offered to feature the other three panels, but De la Rosa refused, viewing the contested panel as integral to the work. In late October, De la Rosa and supporters placed copies of the contested panel on plaza display cases and spoke with locals.
+On December 4, 2015, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the National Coalition Against Censorship submitted a letter to BART, arguing the refusal to place the "Tiny Loca" panel was viewpoint discrimination and contrary to the First Amendment.
+|description_of_result=As of December 2015, BART still refuses to place the "Tiny Loca" panel.
+|image=Tumblr nw0wtuekNl1szfav0o1 1280.jpg
 }}