Saturday, May 29, 2010

Street Art: West Oakland

Rode my bike around West Oakland this week to acquaint myself with the gears of my new-old bike. I'm just going to say this once more: riding in Oakland is beautiful. I feel empowered as I actively engage with neighborhoods, make "driving" decisions, and rely on my body for fuel. The physicality of it is... well, pretty sexy.

Of course, like most developments in my life, biking reminds me that some have access to information and others do not. I watch bikers of color make dangerous decisions on their bike-- Asian men riding against traffic as they collect aluminum cans, black homeless men hauling their loads at night without lights, Latino men riding to work on sidewalks. And did you notice? Male bikers out-number female bikers. I am hoping as biking becomes more popular, more women will take it up as a mode of transportation. Eventually so many people will bike that urban planning will prioritize the two-wheelers over the four-wheelers. By then, it will be difficult to make bad biking decisions because the roads were planned for us, as it should have always been.

"A quality city is not one that has great roads but one where a child can safely go anywhere on a bicycle." -Enrique Peñalosa, mayor of Bogotá, Colombia. His events have inspired many similar ones like Oaklavia.

In the present day, however, advocacy groups unfortunately prioritize areas where white, middle-class cyclists proliferate. Way to shoot the cause in the foot...

West Oakland is slowly seeing more bike lanes created. This is mostly due to the gentrification happening in Oakland. The photos below were taken on the same day. I would argue they were done by the same artists. One sees that the style of street art changes as a population changes. Sure, taggers of color use stencils and labels too... but rarely like what you see below. I would guess these pieces were created by someone who had more supplies and idle time on his or her hands.


If I had to name this, it'd be called "The Heart of Peace."


A critique of capitalism/neo-liberalism/neo-anarchism(?)


A close-up. What does the image of the bra and knives suggest?

Saturday, May 01, 2010

Loved Still

Once upon a time, I was young enough to want to be a writer. ...I hope I am aging backwards and recognizing and re-imagining possibilities. Below are some edited excerpts from my journal.

“I am also learning that I do not want to be loved as an anomaly. I always thought we were loved because we were special. I don’t want to be. I want to be loved as an equal, as not-exotic, as learner-teacher, as fallible, as human.”

I do not want to be held on a pedestal. I want to be recognized as imperfect, angry, horrible, and yet hopeful, changing, perfect.


I want to be seen--
as I am camouflaged in normality
as I float among faces like my own--
because I blend into a sea of humanity

I am noticed though
I am the same

I am neglected wildflowers
vased on
your table
beautiful one day
wilted the next
loved still
differently

I do not
cannot
sit still
on a pedestal

Love does not hold up
as exemplary,
it embraces
the everyday

I am the sun
shining through green-crystal leaves
random, indifferent, imperfect

I am not special
and you love me still
and you love me because

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