Drama Masks: Taking an inch... and finishing the hat - 48 hills

City Hall says it loves artists but does not provide representation. A missed mini-seminar about how artists can live in San Francisco reflects a broader paradox of support without political power. The piece questions what such gatherings can offer when artists already face policies that favor the wealthy and make housing unaffordable. It argues that nothing is truly apolitical, and that artists and institutions are treated as less necessary than corporate development. It cites a supervisor race involving opposition to rent control and weaker livability regulations. The piece avoids attacking organizers personally, but argues that repeated gatherings rarely deliver change, while direct action is more effective.

"City Hall says they love artists, but refuses to give us representation. Honestly, I was hedging my bets anyway. Sure, the gathering's motivation seemed honorable, but what would they tell me that I didn't already know? What program could they recommend that Mandelman, Mahmood, and Dorsey wouldn't vote against? And what is their political stance? That last one may seem unfair, as food as housing are often argued as being apolitical ideas, but 1) nothing is truly apolitical, and 2) the reason so many artists can no longer afford to live here is because of policies that favor the wealthy."

"Artists and institutions weren't seen as necessary as a Starbucks. Hell, right now Supervisor Connie Chan is running against a guy bragging that he "built homes in SF" without mentioning he tried to kill rent control and shirked regulations that make buildings are actually livable. I don't say this to cast aspersions on those who put on the gathering. As far as I can tell, I don't know any of them. But I have been around long enough where I've seen such gatherings come and go a million times before."

"Everyone thinks they've got the surefire solution to economic inequality, but only direct action can bring about change. I'd rather take to the streets with the folks proposing the Marie Antoinette solution. Matisse's Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal at SFMOMA All this fuss over a hat. In 1905, Henri Matisse painted his wife Amélie in one of her favorite crowns, gave it the painfully-simple title of Femme au chapeau (Woman in a ha"

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