Non-Mart fun

I had such a great time at the Non-Mart event! Not knowing quite what to expect, me and my assistant (daughter) brought in the screens, ink, squeegees, some extra shirts and thank goodness some rags...
Soon we were set up and ready to go and wonderful people of all sorts were ready with their garments and enthusiasm. It all became a bit of a blur... I can't tell you exactly how many shirts were screened - I can tell you that I got a wonderful scarf, some great jelly, and some very cool artwork in return for the fun. Not only that but once we were finished and cleaned up I got to try an awesome rum ball (or two) and watched some gorgeous live logo-removal.
I packed up and drove home in high spirits. A special thanks to Sasha Petrenko for putting this together and Jeff King for hosting the space. Can't wait to do it again next year.



Over-Again

 
It's become a seasonal tradition for me to make some craftier items for the fine Holidayland festivities at Blankspace Gallery. This year I got my hands dirty creating a few silkscreens of local freeway intersections. I've been screening onto items that have already been loved, as to keep with the Over-Again theme of bringing new life to used items. The process is fun - a potential replacement for the now (somewhat) antiquated process known as printing in the darkroom.
I'll also be at Non-Mart's Stop & Swap on the 19th, happy to add a freeway intersection to any clean piece of something that you bring in for me to embellish.
I'm loving all of the local art/craft holiday events that are sprouting up each year - wherever you live, you should check it out - support local artisans and the local stores that show their work. It's fun.
To see more of the over-again work, you can check out that blog here.

Candice Breitz at SF MoMA

I suppose the irony is that after touring many fine famous museums in New York, and seeing many fine noteworthy things, I have not been shocked or awed until seeing a video that I stumbled upon without any expectations (this often being the way).
The stunner: a Candice Breitz video installation at SF MoMA entitled "Working Class Hero", in which John Lennon fans individually sing along with John's first solo album. Each separate video is then synched with 24 others to form a chorus of sorts, while each person maintains the sense of intimacy with the music that is so hard to convey in public. I loved this piece - go see it while you can - till dec. 20th.

intermission

"The larger struggle we are witnessing today . . . [is] an ecological drama where the outcome rests not only on our realization that the natural physical environment is one and the same as our bodies, but that nature itself is a form of Mind."
—Bill Viola

Goats in O

Novella Carpenter is my new hero. Her first book Farm City has recently been published - it's all about the adventures she's had while setting up an urban farm on squatted land in West Oakland. At the moment, I'm not sure what could be cooler.
I'm loving the new (non-violent) attention that Oakland is getting from this book, and I also love her stories of the wildly colorful neighborhood I once lived in. Her book is well-written and funny. She has a blog and an open-farm day next weekend on the 29th. Now I wonder why I never thought of this... well, at least someone did.

McEvoy, Installed!


I had a wonderful weekend that included a ferry ride to the SF MOMA. My new favorite hobby is pretending to be a tourist - fun on a budget.
This tourism came to a momentary lapse when we sought out the McEvoy store at the Ferry Building. Low-and-behold, they have used some photos that I took as part of their permanent display in the store. See the olive-tree tops above the shelving? Taken by none other.
Creating files large enough was interesting - I photo-stitched 10-12 digital files to create a solid 200 ppi file, 20' long. It was a fun project, great to see installed and looking beautiful. The McEvoy ranch -where they grow all of their olives- is tremendously gorgeous, and the olive oil is amazing too.

Magnum Photography Web Site

(photo: Brian Ulrich, Magnum)
It is not possible to consider the history of photography without mentioning the Magnum group of photographers, a cooperative of many of the most successful documentary photographers in the world. Established in 1947 and still going very strong today, you can meander through an amazing array of images if you've got the time:
Magnum Photography Web Site

A nice aspect to the site is a listing of updated photography contests and awards that you can apply for. A good way to stay motivated and to get your work out there. This is a big one, due Sept 30th (perfect timing!)
Magnum Expression (Documentary Photography) Award

Eggleston Movie

This very cool documentary on William Eggleston is now free to watch online!
Very exciting, this is the real deal- it's over an hour long, so grab a seat & some popcorn and get to know Eggleston more personally.


Bright lights

Here's to another wonderful evening at Yerba Buena! Colder than it looked, but beautiful none the less. Students took great shots and some even got in trouble with the security at the Jewish Museum!
The image above was shot at 1/2 sec. at f4, iso 400. The amazingly portable "elbows-planted" stabilization system as well as an IS lens for sharpness. All on my new & amazing 5dmark2. Below you will see the amazing part - even this detail is shown slightly below 100% of resolution. Keep those Mega-pixels coming! never enough as far as I'm concerned....

Frank!

I am lucky enough to have had the opportunity to both learn and mull over the story that is photo history. An image's relevance modifies with time - some work that once appeared remarkable now seems dated or overly-stylized. Other work that once seemed remote and irrelevant now appears intuitive, personal, and delightful. All things change when looked at through the lens of time.
Throughout my years of enjoying and considering photos, Robert Frank has been remarkable from beginning to end. His imagery is beautiful yet cutting, composed while remaining emotionally involved. He poured his intensity and his questions into his images. I can feel this while looking at a reproduction, to the point of them being too much too see at times. They are raw and open, and for this I love them. Above is one of my favorites photos ever. 
The good news is that SFMoMA must agree with me, as they have begun a Frank retrospective! This includes the many (hard to find) movies that Frank made as well as original prints from the Americas. Go Go Go! I will be there too.

Larry Fink is coming to town

My professor from Bard will be here this weekend and will be lecturing as well as teaching via the graduate school of journalism at UC Berkeley. This is pretty exciting news as Larry must be one of the most completely unique, shockingly fun and yet somehow still professional people i've yet gotten to know. And now you can meet him yourself-- he's lecturing this friday night and then teaching a seminar all weekend. Both events are guaranteed to be wonderful, you should go. Click here for more details. 

Pride Parade

 
One of the weekend intensive classes managed to align itself perfectly with the pride parade. It was a perfect opportunity to get outside and take some pictures. This one I was particularly proud of. 

Monster Drawing Rally & Me


I will be drawing for the first time this year in the Monster Drawing Rally at Southern Exposure. 
Will I make some freeway drawings or something else? Honestly, I'm not quite sure... but come on down to stand and watch as many talented artist draw and draw-
This Friday, Feb 27th. 6-9 (I'll be on from 7-8pm) @ the Verdi Club 2424 Mariposa Street, SF. $5/donation.
See you then!

That time of year



For those of you who don't know, once a year the wonderful Blankspace Gallery puts on a gift / art show. 
Not only are there a bunch of cool handmade unique gifts for sale at the show just in time for this holiday gift-giving season (including some made by yours truly), but in addition it is just a generally great place to see. 
The gallery is open F, S, S, from 12-7 up till christmas. And in case you missed the first one, there is another fun party coming up on sunday the 14th- So all should proceed at full speed. If you are really lucky, you may even be able to have your picture taken with a bearded hot-dog or two.

Hot Damn! Things really are looking up


Well it turns out this truly is a most terribly fabulous world after all.
I'm still trying to get used to the fact that our country actually voted in a seemingly dreamy president that I personally am in total awe of. Despite this craze in the economy, things are looking bright. A brilliant & well balanced man is about to be officially inauguratedto run this gigantic country of ours and here I stand in a state of wonder and excitement and plain old this-must-be-too-good-to-be-true disbelief.  
But thats not all!  There is word from up high that things have suddenly gotten much, much, much better. According to the NYT (always my favorite reference point) it appears that we've suddenly had even more wonderful news. Overnight (literally) we've managed to end the Iraq War, indict Bush for high treason, repeal the Patriot Act, pass a national health insurance act, expand the NY city bike path system, pass a maximum wage law, while the United Nations passed a weapons ban and nationalized oil has decided to fund climate change efforts. 
& just in time for the holidays.
For validation of these amazing facts, check out this fine web site here. This web site is thorough and wonderful and worth checking out for the adds alone- so go! 
Brought to you, it is believed, by my very favorite pranksters The Yes Men.
And if you haven't yet, you should most definitely watch the movie.

Some writing

I've always loved the photos of Henri Cartier-Bresson. What's not to like, they have an amazing ease and sense of balance. Did he create or discover his decisive moments? Like all masters, he makes the nearly impossible look easy.
Still, I was happily surprised by this short introduction he wrote in his own book: The Mind's Eye (Aperture). Without further ado...
Photography has not changed in it's origin except in its technical aspects, which for me are not a major concern.
Photography appears to be an easy activity; in fact it is a varied and ambiguous process in which the only common denominator among its practitioners is their instrument. What emerges from this recording machine does not escape the economic constraints of a world of waste, of tensions that become increasingly intense, and of insane ecological consequences.
"Manufactured" or staged photography does not concern me. And if I make a judgement it can only be on a psychological or sociological level. There are those who take photographs arranged beforehand and those who go out to discover the image and seize it. For me the camera is a sketch book, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity, the master of the instant which, in visual terms, questions and decides simultaneously. In order to "give a meaning" to the world, one has to feel oneself involved in what one frames through the viewfinder. This attitude requires concentration, a discipline of mind, sensitivity, and a sense of geometry - it is by great economy of means that one arrives at simplicity of expression. One must always take photographs with the greatest respect for the subject and for oneself.
To take photographs is to hold one's breath when all facilities converge in the face of fleeting reality. It is at that moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy.
To take photographs means to recognize - simultaneously and within a fraction of a second - both the fact itself and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms that give it meaning. It is putting one's head, one's eye, and one's heart on the same axis.
As far as I am concerned, taking photographs is a means of understanding which cannot be separated from other means of visual expression. It is a way of shouting, of freeing oneself, not of proving or asserting one's originality. It is a way of life.
Anarchy is an ethic.
Buddhism is neither a religion nor a philosophy, but a medium that consists in controlling the spirit in order to attain harmony and, through compassion, to offer it to others.
- Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1976

McEvoy Ranch


I had the good fortune to be asked to take pictures at McEvoy Ranch for their store at the ferry building. I must admit, I did not know much about McEvoy before we got there, but basically it is a gorgeous little organic olive oil orchard in Petaluma. Here are a few out-takes from the event- as the official subject matter was the trees themselves. This first one is of a ring that appeared around the sun- we don't know why- but it was there for a good hour or so. The other is of a large and happy (and all organic) bunny which lives amongst these olive trees. I've gotta say, as far as being a rabbit goes, that's got to be about as good as it gets these days. 
It ends out that they give tours of the ranch, and they sell their amazing olive oil at Whole Foods- so you can check out this amazing place yourself. 

What it is



I went to properly dispose of the asbestos piping that was hiding in the walls of our home. Turns out the closest dump that will take the stuff is in Livermore, by the Altamont Pass. It was windy and hot and there were plastic bags floating everywhere in the sky. Not to mention the strangely sweet smell of fermenting garbage. Funny once I paid for the special disposal fee I was told to just throw it in with the rest of the garbage. So, thats what I did.
Now it turns out that the fine folk at free range studios have started a environmental cartoon for kids. The first episode of which is called "bag the bag"- or something like that. It's only 7 minutes long, so it's easy for you to check it out.