Documents the San Francisco Bay Area's contemporary street-art scene, showcasing the innovative art against the Northern California landscape and including dozens of artist profiles.

A follow up to the highly successful examination of Bay Areas contemporary graffiti scene, this book gives the history of two decades of graffiti as seen throught the eyes of two graffiti artists. Veteran graffiti writers SFaustina and Jocelyn Superstar have collaborated on a history of the graffiti scene in the San Franscisco Bay area from the early 1980s to the late 1990s. The result of their collaboration, Bay Area Graffiti: 8090, provides a glimpse into street art history that is seldom seen: one that is authored by a pair of writers who have 40 years of graffiti experience between them and provides an insiders view on the history and relevance of graffiti. Bay Area Graffiti: 8090 will include interviews with a range of the periods artists, including BIGFOOT, ESKIMO, MQ, and REVOK.

A must-have for any street art enthusiast, this book presents the most mind blowing examples of renegade creativity in San Francisco. San Francisco's vibrant street art scene exists in areas off the city's well-worn tourist paths. The alleyways and hidden side streets of the Haight, the Tenderloin, and especially the Mission district's Clarion Alley offer unexpected treats to visitors lucky enough to stumble upon them. For more than five years, photographer Steve Rotman has obsessively documented this scene as it evolved on walls, sidewalks, billboards, fences, doors, and other public spaces. Culled from thousands of images, the result is a collection of work that attests to the artists' personal and stylistic diversity, from Mars1's robotic depictions of alternate universes which reflect the local counterculture spirit, to Neck Face's whimsically ghoulish creatures that serve as a testament to entrepreneurial hipsterdom, to Bigfoot's friendly green primates inspired by the area's rich graffiti culture. San Francisco's charm as an international destination also causes foreign artists to contribute to the street dialogue--Brazilian duo Os Gemeos, Londoner D*Face and German painter Dome have all graced the city's walls with their unique points of view. An enterprising photographer, Rotman has forged relationships with many of these often-reclusive artists, allowing him access to some of the lesser-known corners of the street art world.

The San Francisco East Bay is home to a large and expanding variety of graffiti artists. In this collection of cities, you can find their expressions and experimentations in secret places that hold surprising bursts of color, pattern, and texture. This area is centered in two bustling cities: Oakland and Berkeley. These two adjacent cities hold a diverse population of over 500,000 people. But to locals, it also includes tiny Emeryville, which is pocketed in between these two cities; the quaint island city of Alameda, which is a short bridge away from Oakland; San Leandro on the outskirts of Oakland to the South; and the gritty city of Richmond to the north of Berkeley. This geographic area is lovingly called "the East Bay." Xan Blood Walker resonates strongly with the aesthetic these artists bring to the area. Coming from a background of being a homeless, drug addicted punk rocker in the 80s, she transformed herself into a recovering psychotherapist, art therapist, and photographer. In these hidden spaces, she finds the magic and tragic beauty that was once her world.

Is it fine art, social commentary, or simply vandalism? This highly illustrated book probes the issues surrounding the proliferation of graffiti in American cities. 108 photos, 48 in color.

Book description to come.

"A beautiful coffee table book celebrating the Maestrapeace Mural that adorns San Francisco Mission District's Women's Building, in time for the 25th anniversary of the mural in 2019"--