THE SWEEPER is a snapshot of a daily activity in my neighborhood. With a salute to the street artist JR and a high level of frustration, I’m making a statement about trash. I work in the Mission near College Hill and far from being the trashiest sector of the city, it is littered morning to night. Being seen while cleaning up the sidewalk makes for small change. A new friend, the Cobra drinking dude stopped using my tree wells for a trash can, the restaurant now tethers their debris, and 311 the city agency now responds within a few hours to pick up the unsweepable bumpers, bed springs, and bags of garbage.

In this piece, my portrait looms over the sidewalk with broom and dustpan in hand. It’s a big graffiti project, but I plan to attack this with a little billboard paste in the dark of night. Then ask forgiveness rather than permission from the building owners.