Thought Paper 1

Savannah Armer

September 6, 2012

San Francisco Signage

Stacy Asher

Thought Paper: What do you Expect?

            San Francisco is a city of art. Everything from architecture to the pavement is used as a means of self-expression. It makes the viewer question their beliefs, explore possibilities, and connect to another person.  Public artworks create history, build communities, and at the least are visually pleasing. The become part of people’s life, burned into their mind. It defines the space. Public art pieces unite communities and shape people’s lives.

When touring around San Francisco I want to study specifically street art and its presence in the area. Street art comes in all different forms from the simple “tag” to painted masterpieces. The street art that is around tells you so much about an area, what people live there, how affluent the area is, what gangs could be in the area, and even the “vibe”. I’m really excited to see what exactly each area of San Francisco actually entails culturally. To really look deeper into the art piece and ask myself, “why did this artist create this piece? What was the deeper underlying message?” To really look in to what the effects intended are by the piece is the only method to really capture the artist. I look forward to our visit to Haight street because I know that it will be heavy in street art.

I look forward to the study of signage for getting to know the city and all the knowledge that comes with it. Firstly, as all realtors say, location, location, location, San Francisco is one of the best places to study culture and joining the atmosphere of city community. I’ll enjoy so much going out to my new city and creating my own mental map of where I live, to have memories and experiences in all different areas of the city. Secondly, I love learning and I’ve never studied signage before so I’m looking forward to everything that I’m going to learn about with signs and really exploring their meaning.  I can’t wait to feel in tune with the city, to actually become a part of the community and rich culture of the San Francisco bay.