Hospitality House

Hospitality House is a progressive, community-based organization located in San Francisco’s Tenderloin Neighborhood, Sixth Street Corridor, and Mid-Market Area that provides opportunities and resources for personal growth and self-determination to homeless people and neighborhood residents. Our mission is to build community strength by advocating policies and rendering services which foster self-sufficiency and cultural enrichment.

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The Impermanent Art of Found Objects

John Mason Myres III (“Gigot”)

John Mason Myres III is a nomad with a vision. Known by his street art name “Gigot,” he turns found objects into wood sculpture and collages. A leftover piano crate, broken pallets, discarded canvas banners and design flyers serendipitously placed where had can find them become the materials for his works of art.

His art is as impermanent as his daily life. Homeless for most of the past 2 ½ years, Myres doesn’t sit still. He’s always scouting for new materials and constantly constructing something. His works reflect what he finds on the streets, recombined and reimagined. “I’ve been working on different strategies for how to adapt to whatever is made available to you, whatever you can find and how to quickly build and quickly un-build shelter in case you have to be moved,” Myres said.

His personal studio is an outdoor nook under a bridge near San Francisco’s design district, where he also seeks shelter. His large outdoor works frequently get swept up and held by the city’s public works department during street cleanups. He knows the routine for recovering them inside and out, and he builds his sculptures modularly so he can easily reuse pieces in new works if they get damaged.

“If they take something, even if I’ve worked hard on it, I’ll just start again and make something new out of what I’ve got,” Myres said.

That was the story behind how he started his work called “Leather Cowboy,” which depicts the leather scene on the city’s South of Market neighborhood. It started as a depiction of his favorite playing card, the king of clubs, but then fell apart after being moved and restarted without success. He reused the pieces for the “Leather Cowboy” sculpture.

“I was building myself a portrait of the perfect husband,” Myres said.

Finding the Community Arts Program

Myres was looking for a place to keep some of his art safe, when an acquaintance told him about Hospitality House’s Community Arts Program. It not only gave him a place to hold some of his art, but it’s also become his indoor studio space. In particular, Myres is able to work on graphic design and typography for his pieces, such as cutting and pasting found type, that is difficult to do outside.

Having his art at CAP’s studio has proven beneficial. CAP was able to put some of it on display for a show last year, and he also has sold a couple pieces.

“If they ever need art to be put up all of sudden, I’ve got art right here,” he said. “You just never know when something like this could be needed.”

Moving to San Francisco

Myres moved to San Francisco from Eugene, Ore., five years ago, after studying graphic design at the local community college. He was looking for a city with a better gay culture.

“Eugene was nice but it really didn’t quite suit me as far as the pace of life,” he said.

He was working two jobs in the city and renting a room when, about 2 ½ years ago, everything changed. He lost his jobs, and his roommate kicked him out.

Beyond the joy he gets from creating art, Myres hopes it also can help out others facing homelessness.

“My approaches with design might help people come up with their own shelter solutions because of what designers leave [behind],” he said. “Their leftovers become our staples for survival.”

Get to know THHE AUCTION’s Community Artists