Like many other San Francisco tech companies, Google has yet to return to its offices. With its campus on Embarcadero going largely unused, conceptual artist Danielle Baskin got to thinking about what type of business might swoop in on that kind of vacant real estate.
Given that Oct. 31 is just a little over a month away, the answer was obvious: Spirit Halloween, the costume store that moves into strip malls every year in the months proceeding the holiday.
Baskin, best known for her viral fake website Blue Check Homes or her app that connects strangers for phone conversations, happens to own a commercial-size printer from a previous sign-making business. So she put it to use by printing out a 10-foot vinyl replica of the Spirit Halloween logo, then ironed it onto fabric purchased from Mission Fabric Outlet. There wasn’t vector art of the logo online, Baskin said, so she hand-rendered it.
Conceptual artist Danielle Baskin temporarily installed a Spirit Halloween sign at the Google offices on Embarcadero.
Courtesy of Danielle Baskin
Then with the help of a few friends, she installed the banner over Google’s logo at the company’s San Francisco office. The group also put up official-looking construction signage and other Spirit Halloween ephemera, such as job flyers. It was largely done for a laugh, but the prank does have broader significance.
“Right before the pandemic, I had a studio space on Market Street and we got kicked out because they were changing ownership of the building,” Baskin told SFGATE over the phone from outside the Google office. “I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about unused real estate in San Francisco. So many people wish they had a wood shop, or space to make things. And there’s just so many empty weird lobbies with chairs that no one sits in, and offices where the employees don’t even come to work because they’re welcome to work from home anytime.”
A prop used by conceptual artist Danielle Baskin while recreating a Spirit Halloween store at Google’s San Francisco offices.
Courtesy of Danielle Baskin
Once they had installed the sign, Baskin and her crew of 10 pretended to be Spirit Halloween staffers. Dressed in construction uniforms, they carried around boxes and pretended to argue about their manager, hoping to have some silly interactions with pedestrians.
“We thought we would be doing a lot of interaction with people who work in the area, but it is a ghost town here. Which is actually where Spirit Halloween comes in. It’s like the grim reaper of dying industries,” said Baskin.
After about two hours, Google finally caught wind of the prank and a security team arrived … in the middle of our phone interview.
“Oh … someone with a walkie-talkie is approaching the sign,” said Baskin, while standing next to a dolly and stack of boxes. “OK great, I get to watch this unfold in real time. I wonder if they’ll come up to me and think that I did it. We should probably leave. OK, we’ve got a lot of security coming. I’m going to get off the premises, just casually.”
Conceptual artist Danielle Baskin temporarily installed a Spirit Halloween sign at the Google offices on Embarcadero.
Courtesy of Danielle Baskin
Corresponding later via direct message, Baskin said that Google took down the sign and reported the incident but took no further action. She tried to convince the eight security guards on the scene to let her keep the sign to repurpose it, but as of time of publication, the location of the sign is unknown. Although the sign may be lost for good, the prank lasted longer than Baskin expected.
“It’s just a joke to point out all the empty space that sits here,” Baskin wrote. “It’s in a beautiful location too, this building overlooks the bridge and its such a beautiful area, but it’s totally unused. No one’s even in this courtyard, because I don’t think people feel welcome to hang out at Google headquarters.”
Danielle Baskin and the team of artists behind a temporary installation at Google’s San Francisco offices.
Courtesy of Danielle Baskin
As for the actual Halloween holiday, Baskin isn’t yet sure how she’ll celebrate it, but the experience at Google was a nice teaser for Oct. 31.
“I feel like I got to dress up with friends and pretend to do a load-in. So, that was like a mini Halloween,” she said.
