Wednesday, March 07, 2012

A new artwork, an artwork not labeled art--Mission Street without busses from 16th-ish to 24th-ish.

Still many bustling people on the sidewalk, still many cars, but it somehow feels like a relative meditation hall. Without those lumbering, articulated, almost full, full, packed, here comes another one 14 buses and 49 buses, Mission feels odd.

The buses aren't there for six months to make way for roadwork, make way for making Mission less bumpy. The less effect that started on Saturday, March 3 with no buses won't last long.

It will be replaced by the other kinds of noise effect, when all that bus noise that is gone is compressed into the rat-a-tat of breaking up the old street surface and the grinding and scraping of making and putting down the new.

South Van Ness, where the 14's and 49's ore complex, detailed and various to see now that lumbering, articulated busses take many, including me past it all fairly slowly.

Mission 16-24 is all retail all the time. People who live on that part of Misson live over retail, or over something not a home.

South Van Ness 16-24 has lots of residences, residences 3 and 4 stories high and all residential, including the first floor. Lots of Victorians. Many more buildings with a unified look than Mission. Mission has the store first floor and the residential, more sober, often a different less interesting color floors above.

Also on South Van Ness, in addition to the residences, there many businesses, some food places like on Mission, but also, places for a less important street. For example, there's a wholesale plumbing supply place that takes about a third of a block and wouldn't be two short blocks over on Mission.

South Van Ness near 17th has a fencing club, the sport, with blue on white painting of people fencing on it. So it isn't too wild to think that because of the re-route at least one person will take up, or re-take up, fencing, get in shape, getting or touching up skills had by many in the old days and by few now.

That's part of the artwork, if it happens. And thinking about it is part of the artwork, either way.

"I didn't know there was a fencing place so close."

Will passing many unified looking houses on basically the same commute instead of looking at split first floor/everything else buildings make 14 and 49 riders feel strangely, subtly more unified?

Just getting jostled out of the routine, waking up a bit, in the first part of the six months, is artful, might make someone think of art not otherwise thought of.

49 in the I Ching is the hexagram of revolution. Turning a bit and turning again and going in the same direction two blocks over isn't revolution, but when you're not used to it, it can feel that way for a moment, which might be helpful.
I Ching says, under Revolution, 49, "On your own day, you are believed." What does that mean? Maybe it means start with believing yourself, and see what happens. More places to live. More ways to think about living.

Excel Plumbing Supply and Showroom is at 659 South Van Ness. Halberstadt Fencers' Club is at 621 South Van Ness. The Richard Wilhelm/Cary Baynes translation of "I Ching or Book of Changes" at 49 says "Ko Revolution (Molting) The Judgement--On your own day, you are believed. Supreme success. Furthering through perserverance. Remorse disappears."