Oliver Chanarin @ SFMOMA

SFO is probably the coolest international airport in the world. I say that because I've seen some of the coolest exhibits there- ones on: typewriters, ouija boards, you name it- as opposed to... SFMOMA.

 

Pretty cool!                 Photo: ©  Stan Banos

Remember when you'd take a few bites of your mom's least liked dinner, then spread it around to make like you ate a good deal and just can't take eat anymore? Yeah, that's SFMOMA since it reopened after their expansion a coupla years back- they simply don't have the goods to fill the space. And at $25 a pop! I mean c'mon- I've seen much better, more interesting, more challenging shit at PS1 in NY on a much more regular basis...

Anyway, went there on a free day- at least those are back after a hiatus of several years (having erroneously declared their free days were funded... "in perpetuity"), and was looking forward to seeing Dawoud Bey's portraits. Long story short, took the elevator to the seventh floor and was making my way down in record time until I got to the second (third?) floor and noticed that Bey was no longer there! Fortunately, there was one exhibit worth notice- Oliver Chanarin's portraits. Well... the portraits (of his wife) themselves are pretty damn pedestrian, to say the least. It was their actual installation that was pretty damn clever, gimmick that it was.

 

N'est pas?     Photo: ©  Stan Banos

Each of the four walls in his exhibit had a sliding techno arm with a suction cup that ran the entire length of each wall and removed, returned and then replaced framed photos from a pile of three stacks in each corner of the room. Now, technically it was, indeed, a small marvel to behold! Initially, I didn't think it possible, but the truth was, it functioned quite flawlessly (least while I was there)- even if only one arm out of four was operating. I could imagine a rather predictable disaster had this been attempted in the '70s with the tech then available.

It made me reflect on the editing process all photographers engage in (to one degree of success or another), the more mechanical editing process some photo editors employ, not to mention the increased impermanence of the photographic image itself in these digital, tech driven, Instagram days. Like I said, a lot more interesting than the images themselves... The exhibit also states that the pictures are supposed to be gradually arranged according to the preferences of the live viewing audience. Now, I have no idea whatsoever how that's supposed to be done- not so much because I didn't detect any overt technology recording that information (and the arm just took the photos on top), but because everyone was at a distance watching/enjoying the magic arm do its thing of retrieve and deploy- forget the photos. Perhaps, Mr. Chanarin just added that suggestion for good measure, just like Amazon* states that its high tech innovations also help create a very happy work force.

*the enclosed link states the tech was somehow modeled upon Amazon's.

The Red, White And... Uhhh?

 

Hell- he's had... Three!!!               Photo: ©  Stan Banos

Republicans love the military- unless the military actually thinks before it shoots.

Republicans hate protestors and love the police- unless...

 they're the ones protesting and beating on cops.

Republicans love law and order, unless they're the ones breaking it.

Republicans love our country- but they rather be a Russian than a Democrat. 

Yes, the hypocrisy astounds...

The Law That Can't Be Legal...

How is this law legal? How can this law be legal? How could this law be considered, allowed or upheld in any "free," democratically based government? 

 HOW!?!

It's Back!

Pier 24, the bastion of premier photography in San Francisco, will return (as of 7/01). They haven't just returned from Covid... they had a nasty, drawn out mano a mano with the city of San Francisco itself on whether they were even going to be permitted to return... period. Seems SF was asking for significantly more rent, said it was part of their initial agreement- yada, yada, yada... Now I don't exactly have a deep history of siding with rich fucks like Pier 24 operator Andy Pilara, but the guy did pour in his own millions to repair, renovate and maintain the place at a cost of nada to the public (appointment only admission is free). For months, I kept looking fruitlessly for updates... but it looks like everyone has finally made nice and "the world's largest space dedicated to photography" is set to reopen!  

Actually, I've usually seen most of the work they exhibit there at other venues on multiple occasions- it's a kinda "Greatest Hits" album in perpetuity. But the venue is so grand, the atmosphere so contemplative- it's the long, long, long... awaited return of a recurring reunion with the best of the best that first awed you into appreciation, then inspired you to create your own...

And after what we've all been through, couldn't come at a better time- appointment set, anticipation rising.

Non-Instagrammed

 

Photo: ©  Stan Banos

I would sometimes rationalize that my work wasn't better known since I'm not on Instagram- let alone FB, Twitter, etc, etc... It was one thing (the only thing?) holding me back! At first, I couldn't join, even if I really wanted, since I didn't have a smart phone. Now that work supplied one, that was no longer a valid excuse. So I went to The Font of All Knowledge (aka- YouTube) to uhh... bone up on the ins and outs of said platform.

And the first thing, the very first thing mentioned on the road to potential Instagram immortality was to make sure that your photos weren't in landscape format since it was primarily a vertical, portrait platform. Translation: I'd simply be wasting my time posting 98% of my work. 

All of which got me severely depressed, right? Well, considering how lukewarm at best I was about the whole damn thing, I was quite relieved- giddy, actually, from all the unnecessary, extraneous work I was now eternally freed from! Particularly, when I saw that if you wanted to have any real chance of being noticed, you also had to post: personal and how-to videos, "story lines" and a whole shit load of other yada-yada extraneous bull shit... No-thank-you! 

I can now fully dispense this malformed fantasy with no regret... whatsoever.

Fuck Apple!

Photo: ©  Stan Banos  

Why shouldn’t I trust  Apple’s  new security  assurances? Or Google’s or FB’s? Maybe... their history? Recently, anti-mask/vaxxers have been in a tizzy about vaccine tracking aps- they're gonna get access to our personal info and medical histories! Lawdy-Lawdy... You seriously think they don't already have access to whatever personal info they want of our tawdry little lives?!? Puh-lease!!!  

We gave up any semblance of privacy a long, long time ago with our ever present smart devices and social media...

What I've Long Been Waiting and Wanting To Hear...

They're not going through all this to pull a one trick dog and pony Mueller Show...

1)  They got the goods. 

2)  They're tying up the loose ends.

3)  They're going in full tilt for the kill...

"Vexatious"

The Pentrych Incident- no, never never heard of this one!
But is it bigger than the one discussed here...

 Fun Fact: The wings of an airplane tear off at 15g's- the Tic Tacs were estimated at up to... 5,700!

Michael J!

 

Hee-Hee!!!           Photo: © Stan Banos

Michael J... w/White, unidentified, underage male fan (sorry, sometimes I just can't help myself).

You CAN Make It Up!

 

Whether its Sandy Hook "child actors," or Hillary's Pizzagate child sex ring!     Photo: © Stan Banos

Alex Jones was kinda amusing at first, and many did and some no doubt still believe him; but like 'professional' wrestling and Donald The J Trump: the act starts to wear thin, the amusement starts to fade and the cracks finally start to manifest as the perpetrator starts to believe his own delusional, paranoid fantasies. Actually... pro wrestling never sinks to the latter.

Outside The Box

 Innovative, eccentric and beautifully comical- what else could one ask for!?

Good Questions...

 Once you get past this guy's hair- he asks some damn good questions!

So...

Trump says he will be reinstated POTUS this... August!!! And you don't have to take his word for it- his former lawyer, The Honorable Sidney Powell, the very woman who actually said that NO ONE in their right mind should actually believe a single word she's ever uttered said it... so take-it-to-the-bank!!!

Meanwhile, Gen. Flynn says we should have a coup right here in the US of A to make sure that happens (yeah, he did say just that- despite his latter denials). And freedom loving Americans... CHEERED!!! Ironically, I grew up in an America where if someone declared that Americans should do it like in some other country, they were quickly reminded- "Then why don't you go back where you came from!?!"

And MTG reminds us (as only a thoughtful, insightful person can) that people who are against racism and inequality... aren't born that way! They're taught to fight prejudice, bigotry and injustice!