Xara Thustra

Both an activist and artist, and a key player in San Francisco’s “Mission School” (alongside Barry McGee, Margaret Kilgallen and Chris Johanson), Xara Thustra has been pushing the envelope socially and artistically for 15-plus years in San Francisco. Thustra’s ever-evolving creative media have included graffiti, screenprinted posters, calendars, murals, paintings, video, music, performance and protest. Socially, Thustra has been responsible for anti-war actions, gay activism, feeding the hungry, anti-capitalist actions, squats such as 949 Market and much more. This handsome 500-page book surveys Thustra’s work, with cameos from Xylor Jane, Chris Johanson, Barry McGee, Emory Douglas, Erick Lyle, Kyle Ranson, Ivy Jean, Sy Loady and a cast of other San Francisco punks, artists, queers and activists. Friendship Between Artists Is an Equation of Love and Survival overflows with life, salvaging from oblivion the raw, visceral feel of 15 years of ephemeral underground freedom.