Nicholas Gibney Hernandez
Hum 225
Professor Zupan
April 22nd, 2015
Victorion: El Defendor de la Mision I was extremely excited to go visit the Mission Murals mostly because I have never seen them before. I didn’t know what to expect heading down there. When I arrived in Balmy alley I was not disappointed. I was immediately drawn to the very first mural I saw. I knew right then and there I was going to choose this mural. Even though I had yet to see many more murals my mind was set. The mural I chose was “Victorion: El Defendor de la Mision,” by Sirron Norris. I was immediately drawn to Norris’s mural mainly because of his focal point. In the center of his mural is what I believe to be a giant transformer made up of San Francisco Victorian style houses. I was immediately drawn to the transformer or “Victorion” because of its massive size in the mural. Also how the small people are all looking up to it. Norris didn’t use a massive change in value or contrast to draw the viewer’s eyes to Victorion but just its massive scale in the mural. I was also drawn to his cartoon style that he uses in this mural. It was different than all the murals that I saw that day. His style is a little bit surreal but mostly cartoon, which I thought was interesting. The way he created San Francisco in this cartoon style was really cool to look at. He puts recognizable landmarks and elements that are from San Francisco. For example he has Sutro Tower in the back and also has a cable car with wings. With this he is able to connect to community making his mural more attractive. Norris uses a lot of bright colors in his cartoon mural. He also uses mostly grey in his buildings, making a good change in value. This change in value you draws you too the bright cartoon animals in the upper left, and also to the people in the street. This element really makes the bright colors really pop towards the viewer. There is also a lot of movement in this mural. You have the street car and bus moving along the street. Also you have the people moving along the street and they are effected by Victorion’s presence. You get the feel this is a city with all the movement. Norris uses both organic and geometric shapes in his mural. You see organic shapes in the faces of the people and also in the animals. Then you see the use of geometric shapes in the houses and buildings. He mostly uses rectangles for the buildings. Norris’s cartoon style makes him different than all the other muralists I saw. The style really fit San Francisco in my eyes and separates Norris as a muralist. At first it was hard for me to interpret the narrative that Norris was telling in his mural. I just thought it was a really cool mural with a transformer in the middle. As I looked closer in the mural I could see little subtle hints to the narrative of the painting. I came to the conclusion that this mural was about the issue of gentrification. I had to really look and analyze to see that Norris was talking about gentrification in San Francisco. He doesn’t make it clear but he puts little subtle signs in the mural that leads to the ultimate meaning. First I noticed that Victorion was stepping on a person with a cell phone and the above the cell phone was a bubble. In the bubble it said, “Preston when are we building those condos.” In gentrification there is an urban renewal that will replace an existing neighborhood and demographic. The phone is talking about new condos and replacing the Victorian style homes and changing the area. Victorion who is the Defender of the Mission, as it is said in the title but in Spanish, squashes this man to protect the area from gentrification. Victorion is there to protect the area from new condos and the price of living to go up. This narrative really connects to San Francisco because the price of living is so high in the city. You see neighborhoods completely changed with new condos everywhere to attract more rich people to reshape the area.
Norris goes on to hint towards gentrification with the small signs he has on the buildings and signs on stores. One sign says “New Organic Fair-Trade Condos.” Here I think this how Norris shows how people sort of justify the gentrification. That these are organic and healthy condos and they will improve the area. When there are actually destroying the area that was once there. Also back to the title “Defendor de la Mision,” means defender of the mission. That this transformer is defending the mission from being effected by gentrification. This transformer has to protect the mission and keep it unique and full of diversity. Although it is not totally clear but with a closer look you can see how Norris is main focus is gentrification.
Norris really puts his style into his narrative. You can tell that he views San Francisco as this cartoon city. His style doesn’t take away from getting across his message. He takes a kind of serious topic and livens it up with his unique cartoon style. He created this mural to connect to the people of San Francisco. He did this but using a topic that effects the area, and also by painting about the Mission District as well. After leaving the Mission I was not disappointed. There were so many great murals from great artists. They all focused on issues that relate to the ordinary people of San Francisco. Walking down the alley ways I was able to use what I learned in class and dissect all the interesting murals that filled the Mission. All the murals had deep meanings and each told a different story. I was amazed by the size of some of the murals and how clear they looked. Going through the Mission made me really love murals. Murals are my favorite form of art because of their size and how they are able to tell a story. I love how all of them are different in their own way. Also that murals are for all types of people to enjoy. The fact that I didn’t have to buy a ticket to enjoy these works of art was awesome. I am also really happy with the mural I chose. It was the very first mural I saw and I remember saying, “Woah! This is hella sick!” It was unique and really connected to San Francisco and some of the issues it has. That’s why I enjoyed the murals so much because they all had a message and were unique. I will definitely make a trip back to the Mission Murals.