It's odd to have a photo of Freddie Mercury in all his unitarded splendor in City Hall, am I right? Or a poster of the Dead Kennedys or Marilyn Manson's shockingly lithe body on display as government employees amble by. This is the SF Art Commission's contribution to City Hall: an archive of posters and photographs from Bill Graham's collection of music legends.

The low-ceiling, sickeningly fluorescent lighting and eerily sterile and quiet corridors of the windowless below-ground floor make for an odd and uncomfortable exhibition. But an ironic one. In this setting, where the context is stuffy City Hall, where rules are made and followed, these portraits and images of musical and artistic movements show trendsetters and rulebreakers. The lawless even. Images of those who defied the status quo line these walls as ironic catalysts for social change. True social change.

Viewing this archive in a public yet government-operated arena is a reflection of the community, of the wide range of social contexts and definitions that exist in San Francisco. The inclusion of these images at City Hall show an understanding that is absolutely San Franciscan.

In what other City Hall would a portrait of David Bowie as Thin White Duke hang prominently? What other City Hall would recognize so honestly the connection between R & B and gospel ala Marvin Gaye and the black experience in America? This archive responds to free expression, to the artists that are the catalysts for change, and to the city that embraces it on the governmental level.

--Jolene Torr

(*Images: The Art of Change: the Influence of Rock Music on Social Change, January 9 - April 13, 2009; San Francisco City Hall, images courtesy of the San Francisco Arts Commission and Wolfgang's Vault, San Francisco.)