The artists of the Clarion Alley Mural Project (CAMP), led by Aaron Noble, collaborated with The Lab and residents of the Redstone Building to create a series of murals in the building’s lobbies that reflect its history and many uses. The Lab had recently moved into the Redstone at the time the grant was awarded. The artists planned to create three murals, but ended up painting 12 small and large pieces. Most of them were executed in acrylic and are on permanent display.
One of the first steel frame buildings erected in San Francisco, the Redstone was built as a labor temple by unions in 1914 and used for labor meetings for five decades. Later it housed government unemployment offices, a Filipino dance hall, and accommodated many other uses. At the time of the CAMP project it housed an array of nonprofit arts, social service, and environmental organizations.
CAMP was a collective of artists, many of whom lived in the Mission District–close to the Redstone and along or close to a derelict alley between 17th and 18th Streets and connecting Mission and Valencia streets. Together, they had transformed Clarion Alley into a public art corridor. The artists were: Carolyn Castano, Matt Day, John Fadeff, Susan Greene, Alicia McCarthy, Barry McGee, Ruby Neri, Aaron Noble, Rigo ’96, Isis Rodriguez, Chuck Sperry, and Scott Williams. Many of the murals they created were executed by a single artist or a small team. Six reflect the building’s labor history and the rest were conceived in collaboration with current tenants.
The Lab is an interdisciplinary artists’ organizations that supports the development and presentation of new visual, performing, and literary art. It was founded in 1983.
Pictured: Aaron Noble’s mural of Dow Wilson’s throwing a corrupt official out of the Redstone Building.