Witness to History
SAN FRANCISCO – For the San Francisco Arts Commission’s latest Art on Market Street Poster Series, Bay Area artist Taraneh Hemami created nine photographic collages that highlights the way Market Street has played a central role in the civic lives of generations of San Franciscans.
“Taraneh Hemami’s Posters Series certainly emphasizes Market Street as an epicenter of public engagement,” says Director of Cultural Affairs Tom DeCaigny. “Viewers will enjoy Witness because it reminds us of San Francisco’s rich history of collective action.”
On view on Market Street between the Embarcadero and 8th Street through January 31, 2020, Witness illustrates the major artery of the City, bringing Bay Area citizens together for parades and celebrations, for protests and demonstrations, as well as the everyday. Hemami roughly cut figures out of newspapers and other printed media and inserted them into images of public gatherings and protests. This layering effect signifies overlapping lives and histories, revealing new connections across time and producing a complex portrait of place.
Events covered in Witness include antiwar protests, the Occupy Movement, Black Lives Matter protests, Victory parades, Pride rallies, the Women's March, and Climate Change marches.
The San Francisco Arts Commission is the City agency that champions the arts as essential to daily life by investing in a vibrant arts community, enlivening the urban environment and shaping innovative cultural policy.