San Francisco’s Honey Bears: Harmlessly Cute, or Symbols of Gentrification?

Ifyou’ve lived in San Francisco in recent years, you know about the honey bear. These cute, stenciled icons are smattered on building exteriors throughout the city. Sometimes, the honey bear wears a cozy beanie. Other times, it’s disguised with 3D goggles and popcorn. Recently, it’s been spotted wearing a Black Lives Matter sweatshirt and mask in response to Covid-19. For many, the honey bears are a harmless, fun splash of pop art — a symbol of San Francisco’s quirky art scene and the city’s playful appeal. The artist behind the bears, who remains anonymous and is known simply as “fnnch,” has enjoyed a large following, especially on social media, even being dubbed “<a href="https://www.bobcutmag.com/stories/issue-7-fnnch" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">the Banksy of San Francisco</a>.” He’s responsible for other lighthearted works, such as stenciled dogs (including an origami corgi and a balloon wiener dog) and a series of vibrant lips. <blockquote> Sign up for <a href="https://mailchi.mp/thebolditalic/newsletter" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">The Bold Italic newsletter</a> to get the best of the Bay Area in your inbox every week. </blockquote> Since moving to San Francisco from St. Louis in 2011, fnnch has made a name for himself by painting all over the city. His collaborations with galleries and major companies, including J.Crew, LaCroix, and Toms Shoes, have helped to establish his success and reinforce his vision to make art more widespread. His easy-to-digest brand has been quickly embraced — particularly by his <a href="https://www.instagram.com/fnnch/?hl=en" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">85,500 followers on Instagram</a> — and he has since been heralded as one of the top artists in the Bay Area, <a href="https://abc7news.com/fnnch-artist-sf-honey-bear-store/6154207/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">gaining praise and recognition</a> for his fundraiser during the coronavirus. <a href="https://thebolditalic.com/san-franciscos-honey-bears-harmlessly-cute-or-symbols-of-gentrification-a1cdf925b1f1">Website</a>