Have you seen these small plants that grow in the middle of the sidewalk, at the side of the road, in the cracks on the freeways, in any spot where there is moisture, and a little ray of sun falls?  Sometimes we go by them and we don’t see them. They grow without any hurry or attention. They are survivors of the urban catastrophes, always small, blooming again in the shadow of the super flowers, growing without pretensions of ending up in a vase or as part of a romantic evening.In Mexico, Aztec tradition honors the Malinali, the flower of Zacate or grass, the plant that appears without permission and survives in the Aztec calendar as the symbol of protection and strength of small things. Here in San Francisco, such plants have found a protector. Someone who has studied their form, color, and significance, amplified them to great dimensions in order to preserve them, making people take notice that in this world these tiny important things exist. Though sometimes we don’t know, they are next to us. Mona Caron, muralist, illustrator, activist, bicyclist, and careful observer, found a series of plants in the city that inspired her with a great idea for creating a mural. Caron had already painted murals exalting the importance of social change, and the beauty and poetry of the activities in a multicultural city that possesses a rich history. As a result, we have the Duboce Bikeway Mural, located on Duboce Street between Church and Market Streets, which we all recognize by its enormous bicycle destined for the beach, after a fantastic trip around the city.Also, we have the Market Street Railway Mural, located on the corner of Church and 15th Streets. It shows the history of the city of San Francisco through an original vision, by dividing a single urban landscape into eight time periods. These show us, through time, some important political events and urban changes that took place, as well a range of different ways people use public space in a city that has vitality. Now, a school that’s on the corner of Church and 22nd Streets wears Caron’s new mural.“When I saw this wall, which in the words of a teacher at the school looked like a warship, with grayness as its prominent feature, I saw that it had fantastic features:  the prominent corner, its sheer size, and the J-Church MUNI passing by it at a 45 degree angle,” said Caron. She continued, “It inspired me to create something with that corner as the focal point of the composition. I thought putting in these small plants, but in enormous dimensions, trying visually erase the corner,  as well as create a kinetic effect, in which the flowers appear to move or grow when seen from the moving MUNI train.”We can see this effect even when walking, though its recommended to view the mural from the streetcar. Caron seems to have forged a mural route on Church Street. She already has three there including this one.Caron explained, “I had an inner desire to draw little plants as giant sized. I think this topic was in my veins, my grandfather also loved wild grasses and illustrated them in highly detailed paintings. Also, I wanted to make something with lots of focus on nature but in a very urban place. My first idea was to create only one little giant plant on an unprimed, raw urban wall, full of texture, ‘tags,’ etc.  But I wasn’t able to find an available place like that.”In the future, surely such a wall with those conditions will give us the option of another beautiful mural by Caron. “It’s difficult,” said Caron, “to find walls for murals and this mural had the perfect size and texture.”Caron used the design of the city to re-dress it in a new aesthetic concept.“I like to find beauty in very simple things that appear in nature. Nature is so complex, she is infinitely more inventive than any artist on the planet will ever be.  To prove this point you can pull out any little weed that looks like nothing, but if you look closely, you’ll see its complexity and beauty,” she explained. “Complexity is a primordial form of beauty and is reflected in all the ornamental traditions of the planet. From the ornaments of the Alhambra, to any weaving, tapestry, or other crafts all across the world, the more complex the more precious,” she said. Caron continued, “Sometimes people see me painting these weeds and say this plant looks like something very exotic, and I tell them that it’s only a small, common plant you can step on without noticing.”Caron prefers to paint a lesser known but common flower rather than create a picture of a rose or a tulip, which are flowers that people buy and plant in their gardens. Using these plants with no commercial value, which anyone can find for free on city street corners, is way of reclaiming the power of small things, in a humanist metaphor. She invites us to share our sensibilities and time. Though in our hurried lives, we often don’t have time for it, we must remember to stop for a minute and observe simple beauties: a cloud formation, the flight of a butterfly, the hidden beauty of a little plant we almost stepped on. This Botanical Mural is an invitation to recuperate our sensibilities; an invitation to surprise ourselves with the beauty of simple things. ♦

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