xSacto sends another historical stencil artifact. Mad Magazine inserted about a dozen stencils in their fifth Mad Follies (1967), with illustrated instructions by Al Jaffee. The illustrations encouraged kids to alter signs, dupe adults, and create mischief with the cut outs. Oddly enough, I found a stencil of Alfred E. Neuman up on Haight St. a few weeks ago that was made from this 40+ year old stencil!

xSacto is always submitting stencil oddities and artifacts.

Here's a link to the Office Museum's page of "Antique Mailroom Machines"

Scroll down a bit and you'll find the "Elliott Stenciling Machines"

Anti-Graffiti Super Huddle
April 23, 2009
Chinatown, SF, CA

From Mohammed Nuru, Chair, SF Graffiti Advisory Board
(also called "Graffiti Czar" by David Chiu, Ed Reiskin, and Bevan Dufty)

• "groups of taggers taking over SF"
• "what is appropriate punishment for property defacement, vandalism?"
• we "will do anything to protect assets of SF"
• "graffiti hurts all of us"
• "$22 million a year for graffiti eradication (dollars spent constantly growing)"
• "join hands to defeat vandalism"

From David Chiu, President, SF Board of Supervisors

• "graffiti is an incredible issue"
• "Mad as hell and not going to take it anymore"
• uses disproved "broken windows" theory
• "takes a village to deal with the problem" of graffiti
• working on a new law to buff vacant buildings that the Board will most likely pass
• 10,000 calls to 311 (SF info center) about graffiti

Splashes of vibrant color burst off of the buildings and depictions of multi-cultural icons gaze down on the busy commuter corner of 24th and Mission.

For more than three decades, the walls that line the vital community of San Francisco's Mission district have been visual feasts for those who see the versions of surreal, pop, Chicano, urban, graffiti, and cartoon artwork.

Such artists as Las Mujeres Muralistas, Gronk, Barry McGee (Twist), R. Crumb, Swoon, Sam Flores, Juana Alicia and Andrew Schoultz have made the Mission their eternal community gallery, often referred to as Mission Muralismo.

Jan Olav Forberg, Stencils Oslo Cityhall Gallery

"OPPLEV LARVIK" Open to May 10. 2009