Spotted: The Mission, SF
What are you up to today?
I'm running errands. I have to return a movie to Lost Weekend Video, so I'm just walking around.
Do you mind me asking what you rented?
Not at all! It's a film noir movie called Slightly Scarlet [shows the DVD case, which has a '50s pulp novel-style illustration]
Ooh, I love the cover!
Isn't that great? It's a film noir and it's all in color. They have bright red hair the whole movie, and everything is green. It's beautiful.
So how did you come across that movie? Was it just something you saw there?
Yeah — I just picked it out. One of my favorite film noirs is called Scarlet Street, so I figured there might be some kind of scarlet theme there and it looked good.
So, noir-ish — was that right on the cusp of color film happening?
Yeah. This is one of the later ones — it was in the '50s — so it was that first kind of lurid Technicolor where the colors are too bright! [laughs]
Lost Weekend Video has been around for a while! I'm glad they're still going!
Yeah, they just did a thing where they combined with 1-2-3-4 Go! Records from the East Bay, so now they're retaining their lease. It's half-record store, half-video store which is awesome!
I forgot to ask, what's your occupation?
I'm a curatorial assistant at the Museum of Craft and Design, which is in the Dogpatch.
How did you start out?
I started working in the store and then worked my way up, which was great!
What types of craft and design to you tend to gravitate toward?
That's a hard one. I just like people that are doing something a little subversive or a little against the grain.
Have you seen anything recently that's caught your eye?
Today, while on Valencia at that little parklet with the podiums, one of my favorite artists, Guillermo Gómez-Peña did a performance as I walked by! He's one of the reasons I moved here — I love his work so much. He was a big part of that Galería de la Raza on 24th. I studied art history and wrote a lot about him and a lot about border politics at the time. I knew that if he were based here, it would be a place that had a lot of creative input.
What do you like about his work?
I think it's just that he takes race and has a very comical, over-the-top way of presenting it — because he does that Border Brujo character that wears a sombrero. It's over the top and it's a way of dealing with race that isn't so dark, you know?
What's something that's inspired you lately?
Running into that performance on the street, and the idea that in the city you can find things. You can randomly find yourself in the middle of something that's been going on that has so much weight and history to it. And you're just passing by and kind of get swept up into it — that's what inspires me about living here specifically and something that I love about this place. Every day, you can find something new that you just stumble into.
I also wanted to ask you a bit about your personal style. I just noticed you have an awesome John Waters pin!
John Waters is huge, so that's part of it! [laughs] I like vintage styles, and I like mixing them with current styles. I like finding one piece that can fit into everyday clothing, but also has more interest to it. Also I like making my own stuff, like pinning up jackets or re-sewing pants.