The First Angel-Headed Hipsters?
Godforsaken pimps, prostitutes, tramps, cutthroats, scoundrels, murderers, swindlers, ruffians, rowdies, drunkards, harlots, wretches, sinners, pickpockets, addicts, scallywags — these were the inhabitants of the Barbary Coast. They came for the Gold Rush, stayed for the lawlessness, and committed incivilities unchecked until the early 1900s, when they were finally done in by the machinations of the anti-vice movement (the cops shut down the brothels, basically). As a city, we don’t nearly praise these pioneers nearly enough -- they’re our original disreputables. Artist Jeremy Fish is changing that. After burying himself in research (and perhaps following the bronze Barbary medallions on the street?), he’s emerged with 35 pieces for his solo show, “Ghosts of the Barbary Coast,” honoring the area’s lower companions and their notorious behaviors. Someone had sex with a pig!
Dec. 11-30, 2008
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