Sirron Norris

Sirron Norris is an American illustrator, muralist, and arts educator.[2] He is known for his work on the FOX animated television show Bob's Burgers and for numerous cartoon-style[3] public murals, including ones at Balmy Alley, Clarion Alley, and Mission Dolores Park, and galleries around San Francisco.[2][4][5] His murals often include political messages, local themes, and his signature blue bear.[6][7][8] He has worked with several local non-profits, including SPUR and El Tecolote.[8][9]

Sirron Norris
Born1972 or 1973 (age 50–51)[1]
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materArt Institute of Pittsburgh
Occupation(s)illustrator, designer, muralist, arts educator
Websitehttp://www.sirronnorris.com

Norris' studio and gallery is based in the Mission District, San Francisco.[2][4]

Early life

Norris was born in Cleveland, Ohio.[10][11] He is from a Black family, and has cited in interviews how living in the Midwest was a difficult experience.[12]

Norris graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and moved to San Francisco from Pittsburgh in 1997.[2][13]

Career
From Clarion Alley
From Clarion Alley Mural Project

Murals

Norris began painting murals in 1999 as a means of advertising his work.[14] His first mural is located outside a corner store at the intersection of 20th and Bryant Street.[6][15] Prior to this, he worked in video game graphics and had no formal training in painting murals.[8][15]

Some works can also be found indoors, such as his murals in the pediatric emergency rooms of the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, funded through the support of the San Francisco Arts Commission, and SPUR.[16][8] Norris was commissioned to paint a Mickey Mouse mural at the Walt Disney Family Museum in 2019.[17]

Bob's Burgers

Norris was the lead artist on the television pilot of Bob's Burgers and designed the backgrounds for the show.[18] The exterior buildings were inspired by the homes around him in the Mission District.[10][19] Show creator Loren Bouchard lived down the street from him and was hiring local artists to work on the pilot, which included the show's character designer Jay Howell.[3][20] In 2016, he painted a mural of Bob and Linda Belcher from the show on the outside of the house he resided in while working on the show. It was removed by the homeowner in 2017 due to copyright concerns.[21]

Illustration and design work

Norris designed the poster for the San Francisco Public Library Summer Read SF program in 2012.[22][23]

In 2013, Norris collaborated on a line of wristwatch bands for an activity tracker with the now defunct health start-up Basis.[24] In 2017, he was commissioned by Whistle Labs to paint a mural outside the Dog Eared Books bookstore for a charitable promotional campaign.[25]

Norris was featured in the 2018 collection of Hearts in San Francisco benefitting the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation.[26]

Reception

His critics have claimed that since his work is commercial in nature, he is "selling out or betraying the street art tradition" and perceive him to be a "gentrification" artist."[8][27] Some have vandalized his works with graffiti.[28] However, while he has been commissioned by large companies such as Mitsubishi and Sony,[29] Norris is a self-proclaimed commercial artist and doesn't describe his murals as "street art."[27] His "Victorion: El Defensor de la Mission" mural, painted in 2007, features an anthropomorphized giant robot assembled with Victorian homes tackling the issues of gentrification within the Mission District.[11][30]

In 2010, he was met with community backlash when he was commissioned to paint over an existing mural in the Mission District. He has also since apologized about repainting the existing mural and has worked with the original artist on a new piece at the same location.[31]

Awards and recognition

In 2000, he was the artist-in-residence at the De Young Museum. In 2002, he was the artist-in-residence at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.[13] In 2005, he spent three months as an artist-in-residence at Recology.[32]

In 2017, he received the "Greater Bay Area Journalism Award" for "Kaepernick" in El Tecolote, a part of his ongoing political comic series entitled "Cityfruit".[33]

References
  1. Eskenazi, Joe (2021-07-10). "The strange and terrible saga of Sirron Norris' backyard". Mission Local. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  2. Rodriguez, Abraham (2019-11-12). "Sirron Norris exhibit to open on Saturday — his first in seven years". Mission Local. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  3. Cartoon Style with Sirron Norris | Season 1 Episode 6 | Art School, retrieved 2020-03-01
  4. Scerrato, Alisa (October 21, 2019). "Sirron Norris to open pop-up gallery, offer free community classes in the Mission". Hoodline. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  5. Krsmanovic, Laurie Buenafe (2010-02-28). "Artist Sirron Norris". Mission Local. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  6. Waxmann, Laura (2016-07-13). "SF Artist Plans a Mural "The Disruption"". Mission Local. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  7. Waxmann, Laura (2017-04-03). "Sirron Norris reacts to Trump with Clarion Alley 'Bad Hombre' bear". Mission Local. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  8. "Urban Field Notes: A City in the Stairwell". SPUR. 2013-02-08. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  9. "El Tecolote Vol. 48 issue 5". Issuu. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  10. Alexandra, Rae (June 11, 2019). "8 Ways 'Bob's Burgers' Is Pure Bay Area". KQED. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  11. "Victorion: El Defensor de la Mission – Balmy Alley, Mission District, San Francisco, California". ipernity. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  12. "The strange and terrible saga of Sirron Norris' backyard". Mission Local. 2021-07-10. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  13. "SIRRON NORRIS". 836M. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  14. Street Art SF Team (February 13, 2013). "Sirron Norris Interview". Street Art SF. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  15. "Sirron Norris: Murals With a Mission | PopFront". popfront.us. October 14, 2014. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  16. "San Francisco Arts Commission". www.sfartscommission.org. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  17. Celestino, Mike (2019-02-08). "Disney Legend Andreas Deja Provides More Details On Upcoming Mickey Mouse Exhibit at Walt Disney Family Museum". LaughingPlace.com. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  18. Bartlett, Amanda (2022-05-26). "This SF restaurant was the blueprint for 'Bob's Burgers'". SFGATE. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  19. "Artists – The 3.9 Art Collective". Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  20. Wong, Vic (May 14, 2013). "You should be stoked about Mission cartoon artists". Mission Mission. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  21. Laura, Waxmann (2017-02-23). "SF Landlord Orders Removal of Bob's Burgers Mural". Mission Local. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  22. Library, Excelsior Branch (May 31, 2012). "Excelsior Branch - San Francisco Public Library: We are excited about Summer Reading!". Excelsior Branch - San Francisco Public Library. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  23. Jeffers, Michelle (May 21, 2012). "Summer Reading for All Ages" (Press release). San Francisco Public Library.
  24. Bravo, Tony; Sanders, Lorraine; Zinko, Carolyne (2013-07-05). "Von Teese's teasing over with SF start of 'Strip'". SFGate. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  25. "Juxtapoz Magazine - Sirron Norris and Whistle Labs Team Up for New Mural". Juxtapoz Magazine. July 18, 2017. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  26. Yasuhara, Shayna (December 14, 2017). "The New Iconic Heart Sculptures are Here! Bay Area Artists Team Up with SF General Hospital for Annual Fundraiser". SF Station. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  27. NeonMob (2014-02-25). "The Blue Bears of San Francisco". Medium. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  28. Montgomery, Kevin (April 4, 2012). "Is Sirron Norris Not an Artist?". Uptown Almanac. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  29. "SF muralists feel betrayed after work found in Zephyr calendar". The San Francisco Examiner. 2015-01-14. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  30. "Victorian (2007) by Sirron Norris". The Mission. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  31. "A Letter of Apology to the Mission Community". Mission Local. 2010-06-10. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  32. "THIS WEEK". SFGate. 2005-10-16. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  33. "2017 Greater Bay Area Journalism Award Winners – San Francisco Press Club". Retrieved 2020-03-03.
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