reâ‹…bus [ree-buhs] Origins: 1595–1605; rÄ“bus by things (abl. pl. of rÄ“s), in phrase nÅn verbÄ«s sed rÄ“bus not by words but by things.–noun, plural -busâ‹…es.1. a representation of a word or phrase by pictures, symbols, etc., that suggest that word or phrase or its syllables.2. a piece of writing containing many such representations.The Rebus Project is a collective portrait of San Francisco assembled over a 30-month period by photographers and writers who live in the city. Conceived by Jasper Sanidad and hammered out over beers and shots with five other founding contributors at The Tempest Bar and Restaurant on Natoma Street, Rebus is a multi-dimensional urban documentary with the aim of defining San Francisco beyond its accepted pop-culture parameters.Dividing the city into 30 square quarter-mile grids, Rebus observers converge every month on a designated square to explore, photograph, study and document the life of that area over a one-month period. The project began in August 2009 with an exploration of the Mission, the Castro and parts of Upper Market—all of which fell within the first grid. In September, the grid encompassed areas of the Outer Sunset and Ocean Beach. In October the Financial District, Moscone Center and the Embarcadero. San Francisco is a city of small, but distinct neighborhoods in close proximity—thus each grid will reflect in microcosm the diversity of the city as a whole.When, in February 2012, the last quarter mile is documented, the project will present a classic rebus combining pictures and words to form a single, unifying narrative and a wide-angle mosaic of San Francisco.~ Text by Al McKeeTo learn more about the Rebus Project, San Francisco, please visit http://www.rebus-project.com/.