Archive for the 'San Francisco' Category

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Calendar. 02.17.09.

By c-monster on February 17, 2009 in C-Monster, Calendar, Museums, Painting and San Francisco. Closed

Chamboles les amoureuses, 1947 by Roberto Matta at SFMOMA. (Photo by C-M.)

In NYC: Roberto Matta: Five Decades at Pace Wildenstein, through Feb. 28.
In NYC: Tema Stauffer & Francesca Romeo at Daniel Cooney, opens Thursday.
In NYC: That’s Kinda Queer, video and film screenings, at Chez Bushwick, Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.
In NYC: Urban China: Informal Cities at the New Museum, through Mar. 29.
In NYC: Zdanek Kosek at Cavin Morris, through Feb. 28.
In Rochestor, Minn.: Experimental Geography at the Rochester Art Center, through April 19.
In Seattle: Cut: Contemporary Collage at Platform Gallery, opens Thursday.
In S.F.: Underground Newspapers from the ‘60s and the ‘70s at Babylon Falling, opens Thursday.
In L.A.: Nobhuito Nishigawara at Mark Moore, opens Saturday.
In S.F.: Jonah Lehrer, author of the new book How We Decide, at BookShop West, tonight at 7 p.m.
In London: Joseph Beuys, early works on paper, at Hauser & Wirth, through Feb. 28.

Tags: chamboles les amoureuses, roberto matta, sfmoma.

The Digest. 01.28.09.

By c-monster on January 28, 2009 in C-Monster, Installation, Museums, San Francisco, Sculpture and The Digest. 1 Comment

A random passerby molesting Jim Hodges’ fake flower sculpture No Betweens (1996) at SFMOMA. (Photo by C-M.)

The 50 Most Loathsome People in America. And you are on the list.
The Cisneros family is undertaking a strategic plan to decide the fate of their priceless Latin American art collection. Let the jockeying begin!
The Old Gold talks to Harry Shearer about his video exhibit, Silent Echo Chamber, at Connecticut’s Aldrich Museum of Art.
The New York Observer profiles the Brooklyn Museum’s “chief geek” Shelley Bernstein. (Art Fag City.)
Outrage continues to brew over Brandeis University’s plan to have a garage sale with its art. On the line-up today: Boston Globe, NY Times, NPR, Culture Grrl, Edward Winkleman, Modern Art Notes, Looking Around, Jen Graves and Sebastian Smee. Plus: A Q&A with the museum’s director, Michael Rush.
As part of “a deeper commitment to the arts,” the BBC will put images of every publicly-owned oil painting in Britain online.
Things great at Art L.A. — except for the sales.
Google is all Jackson Pollock today.
Remix Martha Graham.
The other day I linked to a list of porn stars who are on Twitter. Well, as my colleague Mlle. Connasse so helpfully pointed out to me, it was a totally gay-free list. So, to make up for the oversight (and avoid a kerfuffle with the C-Monster.net human resources department), here is a rundown of some hot gay porn Twitter feeds: Starrfucker, Queer Me Now, Rod Barry, and Pierre Fitch (who is currently looking for models for his website).
A visualization of Obama Wikipedia page edits. (jennydeluxe.)
A Q&A with Adrian Tomine. His advice to artists just starting out: “Shut the fuck up.” (NotCot.)
Neil Gaiman wins the Newbery Medal.
Today’s Graff: Saber in L.A.
The American Institute of Architects wants in on the stimulus package.
Paul Goldberger leads a tour of the revamped Alice Tully Hall, which he describes as “a radical reconstruction.” I’d be curious to know the source of that wall of Brazilian wood. (Unbeige.)
Visuals from the winning proposal for the P.S. 1 architectural courtyard installation for this summer.
Your moment of the Three Degrees — because it’s about three degrees outside. (Love the chiffon!) (Mercy, Mlle. Connasse.)

Tags: jim hodges, no betweens, sfmoma.

Calendar. 01.15.08.

By c-monster on January 15, 2009 in C-Monster, Calendar, Mixed Media, San Francisco and Sculpture. Closed

System of Recovery, a sculpture made with First Aid tape, drinking straws, crinoline, cardboard and wood, by Kristina Lewis at Johansson Projects in Oakland, Calif. (Image courtesy of Johansson Projects.)

In Oakland: Collective Compulsions at Johansson Projects, opens Saturday.
In L.A.: Rob Sato, Dirty Paper Machines, at Giant Robot, opens Saturday.
In L.A.: Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef by the Institute for Figuring and Companions at Track 16 Gallery in Santa Monica.
In L.A.: Street Shots, by Martha Cooper, at Subliminal Projects, opens Friday.
In L.A.: Donnie Molls, an American Heritage, at Carl Berg, through Feb. 7.
In San Diego: Cerca Series: Javier Ramírez Limón at the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, opens Sunday.
In NYC: Delusional Downtown Divas, at the Art Production Fund Lab, through Sunday.
In NYC: Delineations and Know Hope at Ad Hoc Art in Brooklyn opens Friday.
In NYC: Things Fall Apart, curated by Joy Garnett, at Edward Winkleman, opens Friday.
In NYC: Don Bachardy: Christopher Isherwood, Last Drawings, through Feb. 7. (ArtInfo.)
In London: Voo-Doo: Hoochie Coochie and the Creative Spirit at Riflemaker, opens Monday.

Tags: Johansson Projects, Kristina Lewis.

The C-Mon Giveaway Extravaganza: SF MOMA Edition.

By c-monster on January 14, 2009 in Art Merch, C-Monster, Giveaway, Museums and San Francisco. 24 Comments

SF MOMA: Now you see it.

Now you don’t. (Photos by C-M. Click on images to supersize.)

It’s the new year, which means it’s time for a new giveaway, this one from the delightful City by the Bay. C-Monster.net roving correspondent (and younger sibling) E-Monster, picked up this spectacular piece of museo merch during an afternoon of ogling Martin Puryears at the SF MOMA. Tilt the pen to one side, and you see the museum’s underarm-deodorant form proudly displayed against the city skyline. Tilt it to the other, and the building is enveloped in fog. (If they’d managed to work in a half-naked bear in leather chaps then I seriously woulda kept this little beauty for myself.)

Leave a comment (with valid e-mail) below to enter the drawing, and before you know it, you could be signing the back of your unemployment checks with this inspired piece of artsy plastic. As is the rule on these regional giveaways: no San Franciscans (or Oaklanders, for that matter), need apply. Estimated retail value: $4.95.

The winner will be announced Monday.

Tags: SF MOMA.

The Digest. 01.13.09.

By c-monster on January 13, 2009 in C-Monster, Museums, San Francisco, Sculpture and The Digest. Closed

Fire, 2005, by Teresita Fernandez at SF MOMA. (Photo by C-M.)

Smell like Brooklyn. (Thank you, Joanne!)
The Vatican to exhibit at the Venice Biennale in 2011 to counter “blasphemous” modern art. This should be good. (Art Observed.)
The Getty Conservation Institute refines the art of dating photos.
Museum reinvention continues: Museum heads attend session on how to turn their exhibits into, literally, video games.
Speaking of which, 14 of the Prado’s masterpieces are now visible via Google Earth.
Juicy profile of gallerist Jay Jopling, of London’s White Cube. (Art Observed.)
Photos of empty theatres. Love the leopard print seats in image #9. (Edgar Gonzalez.)
Bernie Sanders ran a factcheck on wall text for George W. Bush’s portrait at the National Portrait Gallery. And it’s generated a correction. (Modern Art Notes.)
A painting of Yosemite will figure at Obama’s inaugural lunch.
Looking Around argues against the idea of a culture czar.
Photos of Maras by Isabel Muñoz.
Vintage travel brochure graphics.
Long-lost banners by Alexander Calder go on display in Philly. (Arts Journal.)
The carbon footprint of a Google search. (jennydeluxe.)
Dog of the Day.
Graffiti report cards. (Hrag Vartanian.)
Today’s Graff: LKSIR and HSH in Rouen, France.
Benetton launches architecture competition in Tehran.
A trippy (green) re-do of the Docks of Paris.
Your moment of Thank God His Term is Almost Over.

Tags: SF MOMA, Teresita Fernandez.

The Digest. 01.12.09.

By c-monster on January 12, 2009 in C-Monster, Museums, Painting, San Francisco and The Digest. Closed

Seawall, 1957 by Richard Diebenkorn at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco. (Photo by C-M.)

The mysteries of American Chinese food. Fascinating.
A stellar piece — with video — by the L.A. Times on the Felix Gonzalez-Torres go-go box at the Hammer. (Which I saw last week, but without the dancer. Grrr.)
Jerry Saltz is on Facebook! (Hrag Vartanian.)
Robert Capa remixed.
The NYT reports on museums in the age of uncertainty.
Plus, more on the economic gloom and doom: Denver Art Museum slashes budgets, as does Chicago’s Field Museum. And Christie’s gets ready for layoffs.
LACMA trying to sell its only piece by Lucas Cranach the Elder.
Why art needs a recession. (Arts Journal.)
Should all looted art be returned? No, says a former exhibition secretary from England’s Royal Academy. (Arts Journal.)
From the Department of WTF? The Washington Post argues that Walt Disney deserves museum space. Because what the art world really needs right now is a Mickey. (Modern Art Notes.)
The Seattle P-I is in the ICU. Regina Hackett does a visual tribute.
Updated gun targets.
Today’s Street Art: Momo1030 and Mascaras in Austria.
Louis Vuitton + graffiti + skateboard=Gag.
San Francisco in Jell-O. (Hrag Vartanian.)
Greg Lynn, talking about architecture’s mathematical roots. (architecture.mnp.)
Deathwatch for Frank Gehry’s Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn.
Neat-O Infographic of the Day: Watch Wal-Mart invade the country. (Life Without Buildings.)
Your moment of Zen.

Tags: DeYoung Museum, Richard Diebenkorn.

Calendar. 12.16.08.

By c-monster on December 16, 2008 in C-Monster, Calendar, Graffiti and San Francisco. Closed

Romanticism, by Chor Boogie. (Image courtesy of Chor Boogie.)

In S.F.: Chor Boogie, Romanticism, at Project One, through Jan. 3rd.
In S.F.: Brought to Light: Photography and the Invisible, 1840 to 1900, at SF MOMA, through Jan. 4. See a slideshow. (Arts Journal.)
In L.A.: Glenn E. Friedman, Idealist Propaganda, at Subliminal Projects, through Jan. 9.
In L.A.: Chema Madoz at Duncan Miller, through Jan. 17.
In L.A.: Kathleen Henderson at Rosamund Felson in Santa Monica, through Dec. 20.
In Denver: Colorado and the West at David Cook Fine Art, through Jan. 31.
In Pittsburgh: David Ellis gives a talk at the Mattress Factory, this Thursday at 7p.m.
In NYC: Keith Haring, Robert Indiana, Bast, Elbow Toe, Michael De Feo, Judith Supine, and many others in Piece Process, at Anonymous Gallery in NYC, opens Wednesday.
In London: Magnificence of the Tsars, at the V&A, through March 29. Love the boots.
In Munich: Wassily Kandinsky, Absolute Abstract at Lenbachhaus, through Feb. 22.

Tags: chor boogie.

Photos: Mahjong at the Berkeley Art Museum.

By Gay Swan on October 9, 2008 in Gay Swan, Museums, San Francisco and Sculpture. Closed

Forget G.I. Joe: Yue Minjun’s battalion of smiling men at the Berkeley Art Museum are action figure-ready. (All photos by Gay Swan.)

I had visions of China as I strolled through Mahjong, the exhibit of contemporary Chinese art currently on display at the Berkeley Art Museum. Maybe even visions of Chinatown, of commodities bought and sold. Personally I was relieved. I did my time with Chinese art chaperoned by my parents. The natural shanshui landscapes and watercolors were a yawner. The historical and spiritual implications were so vast, I just couldn’t get into it. But here at Mahjong was a consumer vocabulary I could understand. There were fun clothes and bright constructivist posters and plastic tchotchkes, all sensationally over-obvious in their message. I wanted to buy, buy, buy!

Then I began to get bored. And a little panicky. That spiky-haired, black-shirted Chinese museum security guard who busted me taking pictures didn’t help matters. I suspected Triad ties. So I escaped to the Urban Outfitters next door for some retail therapy. As I chilled out on the Anywhere Sofa ($325), under a speaker blaring rap as if it were nationalist slogans, I realized that the wares that surrounded me were all made in China. I had left the Mahjong exhibit, only to find myself in its American mirror image. Heck, the museum and Urban Outfitters even sport the same warehouse chic. And all I could think was, ’Wow, these faux vintage tees and graphic bedspreads would look great with Chanel No. 5 by Wang Guanyi or Mao/Marilyn by Yu Yuhan printed on them.’

The show is up until Jan. 4th, 2009.

Click on images to supersize. More after the jump.

Continue reading ‘Photos: Mahjong at the Berkeley Art Museum.’

Tags: Berkeley Art Museum, Chinese Contemporary Art, Mahjong.

Photos: Lydia Fong (a.k.a. Barry McGee) at Ratio 3 in S.F.

By Gay Swan on October 6, 2008 in Galleries, Gay Swan, Graffiti, Installation, San Francisco, Sculpture and Street Art. 1 Comment

Having Fong at Ratio 3. Baby not included. (All photos by Gay Swan.)

Barry McGee serves up his signature urban flavors, topped with a few new sprinkles in a surprise show at Ratio 3 in San Francisco. (Bring your own funky glasses to view the infinitely precise 3-D hand drawings in more than one dimension.) The rest is classic McGee…or “Lydia Fong,” as his current alias goes. Color exercises crawl aggressively up three walls like deboned Rubik’s cubes. Contrast that with the sad faces, a gaggle of meticulously rendered masks, hair monsters, and framed napkin doodles. In between the human and the abstract, other urban detritus bubbles up: surfboards, cardboard, a decomposing orange with fruit fly, a baby in bubblegum pink. Oh wait, the baby’s mine.

But what’s outside the Ratio 3 Gallery is just as cool as what’s inside. It’s a one-way alley in McGee’s own Mission Street neighborhood. Next door a woman rescues half-wolf dogs that shelters won’t take. Down a ways, murals and motorcycles take up the sidewalk. All around, there’s weed smoke and freeway noise, Chinese dollar stores and taquerias amid super-eco-chic shops. Welcome to Barry’s world.

The show runs through October 18th.

Click on images to supersize. Much more after the jump.

Continue reading ‘Photos: Lydia Fong (a.k.a. Barry McGee) at Ratio 3 in S.F.’

Tags: Barry McGee, Lydia Fong, Ratio 3.

Photos: Dale Chihuly at the De Young in S.F.

By c-monster on July 16, 2008 in Art for stoners, C-Monster, Museums, San Francisco and Sculpture. 3 Comments

Reeds, by Dale Chihuly. (Photos by C-M.)

Last week, Kenneth Baker at the San Francisco Chronicle gave the Dale Chihuly exhibit at S.F.’s De Young Museum a serious inverted atomic drop. I figured that if the show was truly that bad, then I definitely had to check it out.

It was, indeed, a saccharine-fest. But it’s so over the-top that it’s worthwhile if you happen to be in possession of some Grade A Cali medicinal. There is so much color and so much light and it’s so relentless that you leave the exhibit feeling as if you just spent a binge weekend in Vegas: your brain is slightly numb and you can’t quite remember what happened, but you’re certain you had a very good time.

Chihuly is up through September 28th.

Click on images to supersize. More after the jump.

Continue reading ‘Photos: Dale Chihuly at the De Young in S.F.’