So, that happened.

Yesterday the 600 block of Divisadero was taken over by a small army of artists commissioned by Absolut Vodka to transform the streetscape. By the days end, there were new murals, living walls, yarn-encased sculptures and other installations up and down the street. Our lady in the streets, Rose Garrett, surveyed the scene and snapped the following photos of the art in progress. According to Rose, the street had a "nice buzzy vibe," with "lots of people walking through looking flummoxed" and "LOTS of people... toting gigantic photo/video cameras looking self-important, totally out of proportion to the scope of the the project." Here are Rose's photos from the day's activities. And here are some photos of the finished products. (Well, mostly finished -- some artists will be returning today to wrap things up.) An obtuse message on the side of Rare Device: Oversized air fresheners hung from the branches of a tree outside of City Nails II. A hot pink wall of abstract color smears (?) on the side of the Harding Theatre. A mountain scene strung from the theatre's peak: Depictions of graphic tees and faux wood backdrops outside the Independent. An interlocking blue pattern outside Alouis Auto Radiator shop. Two living walls of plants installed in the grating at the radiator shop. On the other side of the street, Bean Bag Cafe got some colorful extensions. Mojo's parklet features some new pieces of artwork on its street-facing side. The windows of Cara Glass & Sash are now obscured by a rust-colored mural and the words "Boys Don't Cry." And finally, on Grove Street, a multi-piece crocheted banner reading "$$$$$ DON'T ♥ YOU BACK", atop which sit two crocheted mannequins. Ironically, perhaps, just across Divisadero on Grove Street, there's a new billboard advertising the project's sponsor, Absolut. So, that's the Absolut Open Canvas project right there. The various pieces will be up for about a week, with the individual landlords deciding whether they'd like to keep the art up thereafter. We don't fancy ourselves art critics, so we'll leave the analysis to you.