Godfather of street art Dan Witz hides his work in plain sight

Comments (0) By Jonathan Curiel Wednesday, Jan 19 2011

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Image courtesy of Dan Witz.

Black Rubber Mask (SF).

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Through Feb. 5 at White Walls Gallery, 835 Larkin (at Geary), S.F. Free; 931-1500 or www.whitewallssf.com.

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There's no denying that Witz, Banksy, Shepard Fairey, and other street artists have widened the public perception of what art can be, and where it can be displayed. Witz's paintings look as good on highway walls as they do in galleries. Some of Banksy's San Francisco paintings have been painted over, but others are still up, including the giant one in Chinatown of a doctor and two hearts, which has been covered (by the building's owners) with protective hard plastic. Prestige and money have followed all worthy street artists, including Witz, whose painted photos at White Walls are fetching $900 to $5,000. Those who've grabbed them from the sides of off-ramps get them for free, though he scribbled on the back of each freeway work, "Not for Fucking Sale!" It's a game he plays. He is a partly a performance artist. His freeway theater of the absurd adds a benign layer of art where monotonous space would otherwise reign. For that, we should be happy, even if it makes some people (anti-graffiti authorities, et al.) angry as hell.