Francesca Woodman at SF Moma

Francesca Woodman committed suicide at the age of 22 in 1981. Her works are obviously that of a still-young photographer and it is sad that we will never see what caliber of imagery she could have produced, had she lived a "normal" life. And sadly, I wonder if she would have had a show of this magnitude at a major museum, if she hadn't committed suicide.

This huge exhibition contains all black and white prints, rather on the small side, mostly centered on the female human form, nudes - many set-up shots of her own body. Long exposures, vintage dresses, montages, blurred movements and stark, lonely abandoned rooms. Some stuck me as obvious student shots, amatuer in their subject matter and composition, not really museum quality. However, others were extraordinarily powerful, speaking of a woman's despair - about self doubts, body image, sexuality and isolation. These pieces are strong feminist rejections and obsessions of the male induced beauty image. Many are accompanied by hand written captions and commentary from Francesca which lead us to ponder the damage done by stereotyping, media and advertising.

  

The show at SF Moma is up through February 20, 2012 and we strongly recommend this powerful and haunting exhibition.  

 

"The Air We Breathe", Gay Marriage at SF Moma

Over the holidays we visited SF Moma and were very pleasantly surprised by this exhibit, covering one long wall as you emerge from the stairs. You don't often see "gay art" in a museum and I guess SF is the place to do it. Sad that it is edited out or censored elsewhere, art is art, wherever and whatever it conveys. It was refreshing to see same-sex imagery, thrust in the art-going public's face and confronting the inane bigotry around who-marries-who. 

 The show is up thru Feb. 20th, 2012. From the museum's website:

"The Air We Breathe brings together visual artists and poets to reflect on the subject of equal rights for same-sex couples, including the right to marry. The exhibition features works by artists including D-L Alvarez, Simon Fujiwara, Robert Gober, Raymond Pettibon, Amy Sillman, and Allison Smith, along with new poetry by John Ashbery, Anne Waldman, and others."

The 3D piece titled after the exhibition, The Air We Breathe by Elliott Hundley was a show stopper! Composed of eclectic elements, collaged and many-layered - it was impossible to grasp the multitudes of tiny objects and textures in a single shot. Posted below are a few details at different angles. Just a wonderful, mind-boggling assemblage, worthy of a good long contemplation. Couldn't find a personal website for Elliott but he is all over the web if you care to search.

Mark Ryden To Yak It Up At SF Moma

It's about time some "contemporary" museums got contemporary. SF Moma is finally taking notice of home-grown, fantastic artist Mark Ryden. Not that they are exhibiting his works like they should have already. But they are having him do a book signing on August 12th, of his latest works and book titled "The Snow Yak Show".
For info go here.