Seven by Siete by 七 by Pito by Bảy by семь by Sept
Here are the 8 artworks I created for the Muni Art 2018 project. Along with 4 other Bay Area artist my work is on display inside 100 San Francisco Muni buses. The poetry that inspired each peace is above, directly below are my thoughts on each piece.
Traffic
Woman warrior when stuck in traffic
sings love songs, screams, screeches her wheels
across the lost metropolis
puts locks on certain memories
to survive. She has nothing
to say to you
she has everything
to say to you
she sees you in the next
car—
forehead pressed to the steering wheel
stereo blaring
sweeping your mind with your eyeballs.
You’re a full-blown adult now—
blind as a hubcap to the unseen world.
By Brynn Saito
This first one came the easiest to me. Saw an emotive woman at a bus stop that became the subject matter. Her hair influenced the entire color palette. Spent more time on this one than any of the others.
LOVE POEM THREE AUTUMNS LATER
In East Oakland, in my temporary flat,
I wash your empty plant pot
at the kitchen sink.
In the dirt, loosened from the crevices,
tiny flecks of sand—the same
slant of auburn as the pot—
I gather and carry them to the lake.
The water is still. The sky
drifts to the left where memory lives.
Forty years a swamp, I say, opening my palm.
In East Oakland, in my temporary flat,
I wash your empty plant pot
at the kitchen sink.
In the dirt, loosened from the crevices,
tiny flecks of sand—the same
slant of auburn as the pot—
I gather and carry them to the lake.
The water is still. The sky
drifts to the left where memory lives.
Forty years a swamp, I say, opening my palm.
By Charif Shanahan
This was one of the last one I completed. I’d consider it unfinished overall. Maybe I’ll return to it at some point to revisit the background some. Like the character and water a lot. Knew exactly what I wanted to make from the moment I read this one.
Thich Nhat Hanh I Step With You
step breathe
step breathe
—peace flickers at the end of the flame
you sit you speak one word yet the word is impossible
rice brown and eggplant soup green violet
your mind still for peace
decade upon decade bowing speaking lifting the dead
from your shoulders our hands
this is how you walk— one step we walk with you
one step there
a breath as you go as we go
By Juan Felipe Herrera
This was one of the harder ones to interpret for me. Ended up sticking to what I pictured in the first two lines. Used my yoga instructor and friend Laxman as a subject here. My favorite quote from him that is in reference to yoga, but apply everywhere:
“Push yourself until you fall. When you fall you fall in love with yourself.”
“Push yourself until you fall. When you fall you fall in love with yourself.”
To a Student
POEMS ARE ANGELS
come to bring you
the letter you wdn’t
sign for
earlier, when it was
delivered
by yr life
By Diane di Prima
This was the piece that was started first and helped me win the contest. Read this poem over and over again before finally understanding what it meant.
Relief
We know it is close
to something lofty.
Simply getting over being sick
or finding lost property
has in it the leap,
the purge, the quick humility
of witnessing a birth—
how love seeps up
and retakes the earth.
There is a dreamy
wading feeling to your walk
inside the current
of restored riches,
clocks set back,
disasters averted.
By Kay Ryan
Had a lot of fun with this one. Setting based on ocean beach, and the main character based on 2 women. One met at a pool in Cabo, and the other a concert here in the city.
Each Morning
my skin is so dark
it makes night against your body—
my body, your first evening
By Kevin Dublin
This piece of poetry was by my close friend. Was wanting to illustrate one of his poems for a while. This one was straight forward, short and elegant which I like.
West of the Moon
This was the first planned one on the list. I’ve been wanting to do this piece for about 3 years when I first visited San Francisco. It’s called East of the Sun. West of the Moon will be coming soon Featuring the Brooklyn Bridge. Inspired by the jazz standard and the times I walked both bridges and saw an embracing couple on each.
