Oooh my gawd this is an SF Lit class, why include a bunch of videos concerning Oakland graffiti? Why not SF graffiti like in Reclaiming San Francisco where we read about SF murals, tagging, rewriting of billboards, and the early presence of art in Chinatown? Well, though these portions of the text touched upon SF art, it didn't really get into the nitty gritty of say, the now, when it comes to what exactly has become of the street art scene. Yes, it does show a few modern examples as the chapter ends, but it doesn't depict truly what has happened to most of the art in SF. Don't worry though, as protocol those weirdos across the Bay Bridge have provided an answer in a four part documentary series focused around the iconic graffiti artist named GATS.
WHO IS GATS? GREAT GATSBY? I KNOW THAT.
Well, no he's a graffiti artist in Oakland whose real name is unidentified because of legal problems that could arise if he was open about his identity. GATS is an acronym for "Graffiti Against the System," which in the spirit of Oakland post Occupy and post Oscar Grant can be taken to mean A LOT of things.
In the context of this class and the first segment, one of the many things GATS is against is the gentrification of SF, which has steadily displaced countless artists that were once crucial components to SF's appeal. So naturally to remain close to the imperial hub, these artists end up moving to Oakland, where critically analyzing how one can go from getting paid to do a mural for SF, to moving because rent is too high to be covered by such a dismal pay can happen with no bounds. What's interesting about GATS is his subverted fame, which has spread nationally online because of the way his faces challenge or disrupt one's thought processes or emotions. At first glance, they all seem the same, but in reality they all vary, especially if one notes how the beard progresses as time goes by.
The second chunk delves into Oakland post Oscar Grant and the Occupy movement, which sparked the beginning of the Pig Stars that tend to accumulate alongside a myriad of slaps. (Slaps are the tagger's name or art in sticker format, usually on postage slips if one can't print their own sticker or if one prefers to change the art up each time.) These Pig Stars in the same manner as the GATS mask/face, challenges, but in this instance it's the preconceived notion of police officers being helpful. Before, during, and after Oscar Grant's murder, then the Occupy Movement and riots that it sparked, the treatment of the people by Oakland Police was the epitome of militarization. So much so that outside forces from neighboring stations, especially from San Francisco, were called into "contain" the situation and "control" the "rioters". So the reminder over and over again that the police are not there to protect and serve the people, but to use or neglect the people, is a constant thought through the use of the Pig Star. The commentary on OPD's policies or lack of is pretty rich- the key chunk being that tagging is a felony in the happy state of California...
WARNING: THIS VIDEO DOES HAVE POLICE BRUTALITY IN IT. THE ENTIRETY OF THE EVENTS OF OSCAR GRANT'S MURDER AND CLIPS OF THE POLICE HARMING PROTESTERS OR BYSTANDERS ARE UNCENSORED. THOUGH THERE IS NO BLOOD SEEN, THERE ARE SHOTS FIRED AND VIOLENCE. SO. TRIGGER WARNING (NO PUN INTENDED).
This third segment showcases through montage and interview the work behind successfully putting graffiti up, without getting caught. The risk factors involved varies in a myriad of ways, but the utilization of the poem in the graffiti itself is the standout feature. The fact that GATS in conjunction with his musician friend are determined to showcase that Oakland is the city of the people and that they will not let it go is not only "fucking beautiful;" rather, it emphasizes a blatant fight against gentrification, police brutality, and artistic suppression. Unlike SF where artists are quickly getting kicked out to make room for the wealthy Dot-Commers, where art is nothing more than an inherent expression of capitalism or gentrification, and where the facade of communal open mindedness is shattering, Oakland residents old and new strive to defy all of these notions. Through the locations chosen in this clips for the poem segments, especially First Friday and the gathering shown at the end, Oakland as San Francisco's other in a binary of what it claims to be versus what it truly has become is shown. Also frankly, the poem is pretty awesome.
If any of this is TL;DR to you, then here's the final segment that's about four and a half minutes long, where GATS spoon feeds the audience exactly who he is, what he stands for, why he does what he does, how he'll face the cops when he's eventually taken down, and why his work is so crucial in this moment.
Graffiti is supposed to say the things that no one is bothering to say because of fear or suppression by the state and federal government, which adds to it a grittier edge than that of a commissioned mural or quirky signs. Not to discredit these forms of street art, but simply to emphasize that the illegality of graffiti heightens its significance and disruption of the public sphere. It's one thing to appreciate the intricate details of Lord Nychos the Weird's commissioned fixtures throughout SF and Oakland, but it's another to know that a mysterious figure like GATS is out there in the evening, fully awake in multiple planes, trying to speak up for the impoverished, oppressed, people just like him. Oakland in juxtaposition to SF has always been the dirtier, little, tatted dumping ground of a city whose main use value is the Port of Oakland for all of the materialist goods that SF beasts cannot wait to get their claws on to consume. The glorification of SF's street art in contrast to the belittling of Oakland's stems purely from the hierarchical structure of imperialist power between the two, where Oakland comes out on bottom as a voiceless brute. In a word, GATS and his crew are the closest thing Oakland has to a laureate, one that speaks back to those in charge within the city and outside of it, with the voices and words of the people. Without the crushing force of SF and society as a whole, there would be no GATS!
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