End of the month picks

Not that I can't think of a dozen more shows well worth seeing...

Ann Weber at Dolby Chadwick. @the artist. photograph Nancy Ewart

http://www.examiner.com/article/dolby-chadwick-calligraphy-sf-arts-commission-asian-art-museum?cid=db_articles

Raunch and irreverence at the San Jose Museum of Art

Bawdy irreverence, iconoclasm, parody, and puns are hallmarks of the work spawned by the art department at the University of California, Davis, in the 1960s and 1970s. In keeping with the counterculture of the time, the tone of this humor was often aggressive and transgressive......

Walter Robinson’s larger-than-life, hot pink and melting animal cookies point to the realities of global warming, part of the current exhibit at the SJMA.
http://www.examiner.com/article/renegade-humor-at-the-san-jose-museum-of-art-thiebaud-at-the-berggruen

George KrevskyArt of Baseballcontinues

Robert Marosi Bustamante
Lincecum's Stride

The George Krevsky Art of Baseball exhibit continues at 550 California St. until mid July.

posted by Phil Gravitt

Nina KatchadourianSeat AssignmentCatharine Clark Gallery

Wigeon

I stumbled across Catharine Clark Gallery in the alley next to SFMOMA. The name sounded familiar, so I asked if they used to be somewhere else. Turns out they moved to 150 Minna Street five years ago from 49 Geary. So much for my motto, "Always on the Pulse of the Local Art Scene."

Katchadourian's creativity is boundless. She is possibly the most productive airline passenger ever to ask for more peanuts. Many of her photographs may have been staged right on her tray table, using airline magazines overlaid with peanuts, straws, black fuzz, whatever.

Self Portrait in the Flemish Style

Lavatory lines are already too long, however her photos and videos of Lavatory Self Portraits in the Flemish Style are worth the wait.

Gorilla Sweater

The Katchadourian show closes on June 9. If you go in the next 48 hours, suggest wearing fireproof suit and welders helmet left over from recent eclipse viewing, as I had to wade through a Milky Way of flying sparks to get to the Gallery.

The molten light show eminated from the middle of the street, where McGyver was adapting the ends of large black metal pipes with a power saw.

Upon further review, my clothes are intact; the sparks just seemed closer than they were. I'm sure Katchadourian would have captured the sparks and turned them into something special.

posted by Phil Gravitt

16th Avenue & Moraga Tiled Steps Project

For a little exercise, great views and beautiful tile work, visit The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps Project in San Francisco. The 163 tiled steps are an extention of Moraga Street between 15th and 16th Avenues, leading to Grand View Park.

The project was started in 2003 and completed in 2005. The design for the steps was created by local SF artists Aileen Barr and Collette Crucher. The San Francisco Parks Trust, now called the San Francisco Parks Alliance, sponsored the project, with the support of the Golden Gate Heights Neighborhood Association.

There are plenty of landings on the stairway for resting on the way up. The 10 to 15 foot wide open space on either side is filled with an interesting variety of plants, donated and planted by many people and groups, including the San Francisco Succulent and Cactus Society.

It is kind of amazing to think of the time, effort and cooperation it took to create this project, and still takes to maintain it.

It is worth a trip, or just an easy and fun detour off 19th Avenue if you are passing through.

Factoid: There are more than 1000 public stairways and paved paths in the Bay Area.

posted by Phil Gravitt

INTERNATIONAL ORANGE: The Bridge Re-imagined

Kids from 2 dozen SF public schools reimagine and recreate the Golden Gate Bridge with artworks in various medium.

Through August 4 at the Mills Building, 220 Montgomery Street, San Francisco.

The exhibition curator is Richard Olsen. Presented by The San Francisco Arts Education Project in cooperation with the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.

posted by Phil Gravitt