10,000 Steps: A Quick Trip to SF MOMA

 Jim Goldberg, Rich and Poor series, 1982 
   
After an hour of walking around downtown, I entered the new SF MOMA to catch some of what I had missed (photography, outdoor sculpture) on my first visit.  Checking in, the desk associate suggested I also take the bathroom tour.    I wondered why anyone would apply for third floor bathroom docent.    One bathroom I entered was painted completely in the SF MOMA Orange, another was all in a blue/green.   Still not sure if this is a good idea, but it does eliminate bathroom monotony if one suffers from it.

Since the museum wasn't crowded this time, I went to the seventh floor and worked my way down. 

I spent some time looking over Brad Kahlhamer's large wire and bell sculpture Super Catcher.

 

 By the time I got to the photography exhibits, it was wall to wall people.   Jim Goldberg's series, Rich and Poor shows double prints of photographs of rich and poor persons together, first with one person describing in their own handwriting their happiness and relative wealth, then the other person.  Because of the crowd I didn't get very far into the exhibit. It is very moving and worthy of a first stop next time.

Jeff Muhs at The McLoughlin Gallery, 49 Geary Street        After SF MOMA, I headed over to Geary Street to see some of the remaining galleries there. At The McLoughlin Gallery, Jeff Muhs sculpture Penopeia convinced me completely that pink really does go with concrete.

This Huffington Post article about Frida Kahlo is worth reading:  How To Be More Like Frida Kahlo, As Told By Frida Kahlo

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/frida-kahlo-birthday_us_577c2871e4b0a629c1ab1edb

Posted by Phil Gravitt

Christian Marclay is the recipient of the annual SFMOMA Contemporary Vision Award

Christian Marclay; photo: courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York and Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco.

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art announces artist Christian Marclay as the recipient of the annual SFMOMA Contemporary Vision Award. Marclay will be honored at a dinner held in the museum on Monday, October 17, 2016. The award celebrates the extraordinary achievements of global leaders—creators, innovators and change-makers—whose work foregrounds contemporary art as a vital and  meaningful part of public life. Organized by the Modern Art Council, SFMOMA’s premier fundraising art experience group, this event supports the museum’s education and exhibition programs.

“We have a special connection with Christian—we commissioned Video Quartet in 2002, and his seminal piece, The Clock, closed SFMOMA in 2013 prior to our expansion, marking the end of one era and the beginning of another for our museum,” said Neal Benezra, the Helen and Charles Schwab Director of SFMOMA. “His understanding of what is visually compelling, combined with his ability to create powerful cinematic narratives, makes him an ideal recipient of this award.”

Born in San Rafael, California and raised in Geneva, Switzerland, Christian Marclay crosses the borders between genres and practices, combining and remixing aspects of visual art, music and performance. Spanning three decades, Marclay’s innovative work explores the juxtaposition between sound, photography, video and other media, and reveals the deep and lasting influence of his DJ practice in its playful and surprising sampling and collaging. His installations display provocative musical and visual landscapes and have been included in exhibitions around the world including the Whitney Museum of American Art, Venice Biennale, Centre Pompidou Paris and Kunsthaus Zurich.

In addition to featuring his internationally heralded masterpiece The Clock, SFMOMA has exhibited many key Marclay works, including the 2002 premiere of Marclay’s acclaimed four-screen video projection Video Quartet, which was commissioned by SFMOMA and the Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg, and is now one of the cornerstones of SFMOMA's media arts collection.

This will be the first SFMOMA Contemporary Vision Award dinner held at the newly expanded and transformed museum. The evening will be chaired by Modern Art Council member Florence Buatois, and will feature dinner and a conversation between honoree Christian Marclay and Rudolf Frieling, SFMOMA curator of media arts.

The 2016 SFMOMA Contemporary Vision Award is sponsored by Cadillac, SFMOMA’s Premier Sponsor and official automobile partner. Supporting Sponsorship is provided by Wells Fargo, who has renewed their long-standing support for the award dinner. In-kind support is provided by Official Wine Sponsors Kim Crawford, Meiomi and Ruffino; Official Spirits Sponsor Campari America; and Official Beer Sponsors Corona and Modelo Especial.

Ruscha and the Great American West at the de Young

Ed Ruscha and the Great American West includes 99 works that reveal the artist’s engagement with the American West.This exclusive exhibition has been organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and celebrates his career.

Nine sections reveal Ruscha’s fascination with the evolving landscape and iconic character of the “Great American West” in symbolic, evocative, and ironic renditions. These include works that depict gasoline stations, an important element of Ruscha’s work, as well as others that comment on Los Angeles and the film industry, such as his  “Technicolor” images of the Hollywood sign. The exhibition also includes works in which a word or phrase is the sole subject, often depicted in a variety of forms that simulate poured liquids, cut ribbons, or spray paint.

http://deyoung.famsf.org

Ruscha at the Getty. http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/focus_ruscha/ 

Predictable praise from an art critic: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/2-Ed-Ruscha-shows-explore-pop-artist-s-casual-8380519.php

Kubrick at the Contemporary Jewish Museum

Stanley Kubrick during the production of 2001: A Space Odyssey (GB/United States; 1965–68) at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco
Stanley Kubrick during the production of "2001: A Space Odyssey" (GB/United States; 1965–68) (©Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.)


The Contemporary Jewish Museum presents the first show dedicated to the legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick’s life and work. The exhibition presents materials from the private estate of the film director. His films are represented through annotated scripts, production photography, lenses and cameras, set models, costumes and props. Among the items on display are iconic objects such as the costumes for Starchild and the ape, both from "2001: A Space Odyssey," the little dresses of the sisters from "The Shining" (1980), the survival kit from "Dr. Strangelove" and the "born to kill" helmet of Private Joker from "Full Metal Jacket" (1987). Through Oct. 30.

"Boundaries of the Spirit' at Nanhai art

http://www.examiner.com/article/boundaries-of-the-spirit-at-nanhai-art-millbrae?CID=examiner_alerts_article

Memorial Day fun in the sun for the Bay Area

http://www.examiner.com/article/memorial-day-weekend-fun-the-sun-for-the-bay-area?CID=examiner_alerts_article

George Lucas may build his museum on Treasure Island

Lee Suzuki, The Chronicle

http://www.examiner.com/article/george-lucas-may-build-his-museum-on-treasure-island?CID=examiner_alerts_article

Celebrate SFMOMA's grand reopening on May 14

Andy Warhol does Elvis

http://www.examiner.com/article/celebrate-sfmoma-s-grand-reopening-on-may-14?CID=examiner_alerts_article

New SFMOMA now boasts of being the biggest art museum in the US

Courtesy SFMOMA

http://www.examiner.com/article/the-new-sfmoma-now-boasts-of-being-the-biggest-art-museum-the-us

Mark Bradford will represent the US in Venice in 2017

 http://www.examiner.com/article/la-painter-mark-bradford-will-represent-the-us-at-the-2017-venice-biennale?CID=examiner_alerts_article

'Edward S. Curtis and One Hundred Masterworks'

Palm Springs Art Museum is presenting the extraordinary "Edward S. Curtis: One Hundred Masterworks exhibition," featuring vintage photographs that represent an important historical documentary of the Indians of North America; and "Changing the Tone: Contemporary American Indian Photographers," which showcases works by living artists of Native American heritage. The exhibitions are on view now through May 29, 2016


http://www.examiner.com/article/edward-s-curtis-one-hundred-masterworks-at-the-palm-springs-art-museum