On the plywood of a boarded up building, artist Chor Boogie spray paints hexagons on the outer edges of his mural. Waves of geometric patterns intersect three eyes that watch over Market Street. Pedestrians stop to watch Boogie work as the fluorescent shapes glow in the setting sun. Some take pictures with their cell phones and others give praise and ask questions.

Boogie's mural, entitled the "Color Therapy of Perception," is located at 1028 Market Street. The piece is part of the Art in Storefronts pilot project in which several local artists were given five hundred dollar grants from the city to produce installations and murals in vacant storefronts in an effort to bring more foot traffic to the area, improve street safety and aesthetics, and attract new business.

Open drug dealing, homelessness, and public drunkenness are typical of this area, known as Central Market, where boarded up or barred windows are as commonplace as open businesses -- which are mostly strip clubs, electronic stores, and pawn shops.
Most of the installations on Central Market were complete by the end of October, but Boogie is spray-painting daily on his piece until mid-December. "Colors are controlling like stoplights," he says. "People kill over colors--the color of your skin or the color you hang out of your back pocket because you think you own the street. When it comes to racial prejudice [my art] also has a healing aspect towards that because I use any and all colors that have an effect on society. And when you have many different races looking at it, the positive feelings unite every character and that brings them together as one."

Locals agree the art unifies and uplifts the neighborhood. "It's healing when you're watching an awesome artist," says Tracee Finch, assistant manager of the San Cristina, a single room occupancy hotel next to Boogie's mural. "It brings the neighborhood to life and it doesn't matter who is standing next to you. You're just enjoying it. Everyone is on a level playing field when it comes to art."

A San Francisco resident of twenty-two years, Marceline Trimble remembers previous incarnations of the space housing Boogie's mural, from the most recent Secrets Adult Super Store all the way back to Hollywood Billiards, whose signage remains on the front of the building. His mural gives her peace when she is frustrated with life. "Today I was having a bad day, until I noticed something different on [the mural] and then I actually saw him painting on it," says Trimble, noting how the patterns remind her of snake scales.

Tourists who happen upon the installations by accident enjoy the vibrant colors. "It's totally unique and it just made me stop and look," says Sal Baldenegro from Tucson, Arizona. He does not consider Central Market a bad neighborhood, but said he noticed more homelessness and boarded up windows the further he walked west. "The loan shark is a pretty strong statement," says Baldenegro of the installation, entitled "Don't Give Up Ship," by Alexis Amann and Jonathan Burstein. "I really thought it was a loan place and I had to do a double take."

The installation illustrates the current economic situation through an ocean theme with a deep-sea diver reading a newspaper. One headline reads, "Homeowners underwater - a tsunami of foreclosures." Directly above the door is a painting of a shark with "Loans" painted over it in gold letters.

Though the public's response is positive, some business owners are skeptical as to whether the project will improve the safety of the neighborhood. Kyongson Pak has owned businesses on Central Market since 1988. He appreciates the art, but he says it cannot deter street crime or minimize many homeless peoples' use of the area as a toilet and trash can. "If the street does not feel safe, it is just more of a waste," says Pak.

Boogie was stabbed twice one evening in early November near the site of his mural after three men attacked him for confronting a girl who stole some of his spray paint. He has recovered from the minor wounds and police are looking for the suspects. "What's causing the problem on the street really are those that are buying and selling (illegally)," says Pak. "The neighborhood will not improve until those people are gone." In the last two months, the police department has increased uniformed foot patrols to the area, according to the Mayor's office, and efforts to revitalize Central Market continue.

Other Art in Storefronts installations can be seen on Third Street in Bayview and lower 24th Street in the Mission. The installations will run until January 2010. [X]