Barcelona artist Aryz working out a new wall in SF, Saturday. Aryz will be in attendance Friday April 19th for his solo show, Style is the Limit at Fifty24SF Gallery on Fillmore.

Congratulations to Christian Acker for a well-deserved mention and praise in the New York Times today:

“Graffiti is now so closely linked to branding products that it’s lost its edge, but FLIP THE SCRIPT: A Guidebook for Aspiring Vandals and Typographers (Gingko Press, $35), by Christian P. Acker, is an admirably researched oral history and tribute to its rebellious roots.” – Steven Heller, NY Times

Pick up your own copy of Flip the Script and get ready for a West coast book tour coming soon to an Upper Playground store near you…

Photo by Handselecta. From Article: Punk’d – The Best of Punk Magazine and More

The San Francisco Heritage Preservation Society would like to pay homage to the queen of corn-husked gold, with the official “Tamale Lady” Tamale Tray. Always on the move, her legendary tamale cart caters to residents of San Francisco’s Mission District and beyond. Upper Playground is proud to have supplied the official Tamale Lady Tamale Tray, for patrons that know— one tamale just isn’t enough. Follow the Tamale Lady on Twitter.

A counterpoint to the term “Sky’s the Limit”, referring to the idea it’s always possible to work beyond boundaries. The statement “Style is the Limit” addresses the need for an artist to recognize that boundaries and limitations exist in any chosen art form and that artists need to have boundaries in order to develop a style. Aryz argues that in reality, artists are subject to the boundaries implicit in their chosen technique and that these boundaries are the critical factor informing the way that their style and it’s individuality, is perceived by the viewer.

Aryz (pronounced ar-eez) is a young artist hailing from Barcelona, Spain, where he moved from Palo Alto, California, when he was a child. He has achieved widespread acclaim in recent years, due in part to his artwork being featured on Aesop Rock’s recent album “Skelethon” and a recent January 2013 cover and editorial featured in Juxtapoz magazine. Perhaps most astonishing of all, a string of stunning large-scale contemporary murals across Europe, South America and North America. Aryz has been regarded by some as a transformative figure in contemporary muralism, an artist who has taken the ideals of heavy metal illustration and a legacy of European street art and combined them into a completely new and unique form of public art. He returns to the Bay Area, the place where it all started, for his highly anticipated sequel and first time showing at FIFTY24SF GALLERY.

The Heritage Preservation Society would like to honor the iconic fast-food restaurant chain, the Doggie Diner with the commemorative DD Collector’s Plate.

Established in San Francisco in 1949 by local entrepreneur Al Ross, the Bay Area chain featured colossal wiener-dog heads wearing bow ties and chef hats atop each doggie stand. The Doggie Diner soon became a sensation and eventually found itself synonymous with the city by the bay.

The Society celebrates this iconic fast-food stand with our limited edition commemorative plate, remembering one of San Francisco’s finest treats in town. Only 75 plates made. Get yours at DOGGIE DINER