Ce La Vie...

Really enjoyed this (Celui qui tombe), not even the music (which I didn't particularly) could stop me from liking it. And it works on so many levels- as both sculpture and dance, love and confusion, and anything and everything we experience in life, art, and loss...

You Throw A Party, And...

 What I have to remind myself- ad infinitum...

Trump Dump

We all lead busy lives- so just in case ya didn't catch the art phenomenon of the year... 

It sold for $1800, if we would have gotten our promised tariff dividend- that would have left the buyer with $200!

How The CyberTruck Was Designed!

So True...

All our discoveries and triumphs, struggles and disappointments- gone... All as passingly trivial as a loose snapshot floating in a bin at a second hand store; the love you longed for, the goals you achieved, the losses you persevered and the burning passion that fueled all of it- the cause, the consequence, not even the memory will remain. It is the human experience, renewed and extinguished ad infinitum. 

The camera provides some of us that small confirmation of our own existence. How well we master it, and ourselves, can afford others some passing measure of what intrigued, humored or captivated us. They were our moments, of that which no longer exists, our one step on the uneasy ladder of humanity and existence.

Let There Be... ART!!!

Melan(chol)ia!

“I think no one was really proud of this statue, not even the first lady of the USA,” Franja Kranjc 
JURE MAKOVEC/AFP

Apologies for posting this so late after the fact, I really have no excuse other than, as they say- life gets in the way... Of course, there are no words to properly describe a crime as heinous as the following- particularly when it's happened more than once!

That said, there are always the miscreants who will slyly insinuate that the statue does not look like her- I would wholeheartedly disagree. While the first version might have been a bit exaggerated in depicting her warm, endearing, over the top, larger than life personality- I think the second succeeded in capturing her more reserved and stoic side, someone who consistently waves on cue (whenever present) with an affect as flat as the bronzed face adorning her equally lifeless human body. 

I hope she is found soon, it's always great to see our First Lady in whatever part of the world, especially this more true to life representation; that's the thing about great art and great artists, whatever the medium- they can dig down deep, capture and accentuate the inner soul and essence of the person they seek to forever immortalize!

The Latest, Greatest Same Ol', Same Ol'

Jorg Colberg at Conscientious just compared current day street photographers to historical reenactors- an analogy I find both quite amusing, and definitely not without merit. But then, ol' Jorg was never street photography's biggest champion... to say the very least. 

It is curious to see the legions of modern day practitioners out and about, unwaveringly dedicated to an art form that has, in fact, long depreciated- since, like... 1976 when Eggleston and The New Color ('81) burst unto the scene and sent old school B&W street into the second hand photo bin. Now, there are countless street: practitioners, ambassadors, mentors, influencers, competitions, vlogs and workshops all devoted to its practice and affirmation. And yet, "the art world" (ie- museums, galleries, top name publishers) continues to treat it as yesterday's paper- Impressionism anyone? Interestingly, in 2025 the photographic art kingdom hasn't moved afar of the large format color photographs that became de rigueur as of the mid eighties- but that's another story, for sure!

Why the almost fanatical devotion to the practice, why the resurgent popularity? Many of these acolytes are insistent on even using the very same image making tools and technology! Although color film (as opposed to B&W) is now the prominent medium of the hardcore, B&W and digital are still very much in orbit. But has anything truly novel been thrown into the mix as far as aesthetics, or is it merely beating the proverbial dead horse? Mr. Colberg clearly thinks the latter, and I'd pretty much have to agree. He presents the work of Fumitsugu Takedo in Ambience Decay as something positive and innovative in the genre, highlighting the prominent inclusion of close up hand and cell phone imagery as well as the extreme crops that are peppered throughout the work.

Can't say I'm sold much, and if we're gonna mention the preeminence of hand and cell phone imagery in innovative street photography, then it is somewhat disingenuous to have that conversation without mention of Jeff Marmelstein's "#nyc." If any street work qualifies as a truly innovative departure (aesthetically and perhaps even... morally?)- certainly that would be it (whether to your taste or not)! Perhaps Mr. Colberg did mention it some five years back, or perhaps he's simply unaware of it, but to not reference it here seems a disservice... 

Perhaps street photography is doomed to be a perpetual reenactor exercise (or as I tend to think of it- endless cover bands for classic rock), or perhaps some current practitioner will open a new door. To be honest, I find the latter akin to one's progeny finding the cure for cancer; but street photography also very much falls under the category of documentary- itself a very legit and worthy avenue of pursuit. We will always need to document everyday life as best we can, as it changes with every passing year and decade- art be praised, art be damned.

Go POOKY!!!

Gotta admit, I was kinda on the fence about this whole AI thing- no longer, my friend! Anything that can create this dream nightmare, horror homage of fun has my admittedly meaningless full approval!

Celebrate!?!

Tourists posing and celebrating on 6/2023 at monument of death and avarice.    Photo: © Stan Banos

I must admit, I'm kinda obsessed with... The Vessel! The ultra gaudy, $200 million 'art' monument to suicide and man's narcissistic indifference that has been indefinitely closed since summer of 2021. Its ultimate outcome has yet to be decided (far as I know)- though I can't imagine it will get to forever flaunt its legacy of infamy center stage. When I last visited it's vacant, ever winding series of stairways in NYC this June, it seemed the ultimate monument to irony, the circular pathway to nowhere that can no longer be trod by anyone at any price. Said stairs are blocked, locked and secured; no one is getting inside or upside the Vessel proper- and still, no one knows what to do, other than wish they had never risen to the level it never achieved. 

Actually, my 'obsession' is a healthy diversion to everything else that is happening throughout the world- politically, socially, environmentally. In a word, it's... not good; people throughout the world seem more divided than ever, very much as we started the previous century- and we all know how well that worked out and unraveled. And yet, here we go all over again, many of us looking no less... to strongmen, and wannabe strongmen for answers, safety and security- as if we've learned nothing, nothing at all in the previous hundred years. All this occurring as we plunge full steam ahead into a 3 degree Celcius increase (kiss 1.5... Goodbye!) in temperature worldwide, continuing a record setting two decades of unprecedented, unabated, man made global warming culminating in the warmest year on record- 2023! And all the while, we continue to discuss all the things we know we should be doing- while continuing to burn ever increasing amounts of fossil fuels!

Did I mention that there'll be more plastic (by weight) than fish in the oceans by 2050? So yeah, best keep those higher level Vessel stairs closed up tight- and in the meantime...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

To Be Extolled W/O Criticism

Recently had the opportunity to observe Wolfgang Tillman: To Look Without Fear on a freebie night at SFMOMA. It was a smorgasbord of photographic styles, subjects and presentations: From straightforward portraits to completely abstract images (yours truly had no idea if several of the latter were even photographs- they sure didn't look it), from 3X5 drugstore prints casually taped all about, to imposing mural sized prints that dominated museum sized walls. 

I honestly don't know what Mr. Tillman is about, he doesn't seem to care much about 'complex' photographic compositions whether in portraiture, landscape or photojournalism mode, and seems to practice an outsider artist approach to photography. Of course, he could be operating on a level far beyond my mortal ken, after all he is a world renowned, internationally acclaimed artist, and I'm someone barely known outside the realm of this narrowly read blog. Yeah, slight imbalance there, I know...

As I wandered throughout the ginormous museum rooms, appreciating but a handful of images, one thought kept running through my mind- one could create countless similar type exhibits of just about any photographer's work by simply hanging a vast assortment of their work prints, final prints and everything in between created during the part of their career where they desperately explored and attempted to find their own style. Most photographers, after many hapless starts and stops throughout the years, eventually end up honing and refining an individual style or approach suitable for certain content or particular subject matter. The greats become masters of their domain: in studio, on the streets, in the field. Tillman seems to be content at being a jack of all trades and master of none- but unlike so many of the countless minions of the aforementioned forever populating both art and history... he's become extremely successful at it!

An Archaeology of Silence

I've been lucky to have seen some pretty good art in my day, perhaps because I've survived and persisted through seeing so much of the shit that passes for it. Much of it has been in the realm of photography, the one medium I have a passing acquaintance with. But I like to think that I can enjoy and sometimes even appreciate quality in any form, be it a vintage watch, a good cigar, a Renaissance painting.

On Memeorial Day Weekend, I visited Kehinde Wiley's tour de force at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco. The highly detailed and decorative paintings, along with the reclining sculptures were impressive enough, but they neither grabbed at my soul nor any other part of me (others, maybe most, would very rightfully disagree). A major let down considering the hype concerning the amount of emotion that this exhibit was said to induce in all that saw it. Yes, incredible technique, but... 

And then I came upon the sculpture of the same name- two stories in height, in its own darkened and discreetly lit chamber, reminiscent of entering some sacred Roman temple of yore. And there I stood- transfixed, mouth agape, as if bludgeoned by a ball bat upon gazing upward. I don't think I've ever experienced such a gut punch from a work of art my entire life; the size, grandeur, majesty- people reverently stood in silence, walked slowly around it, strangely seeming to adhere to the outer walls that contain it, as if keeping their distance from whatever power it exuded to all who dared view and present themselves before it! 

The horse itself is classically magnificent, but what transforms the whole piece unto the realm of art mythology and personal resonance is the body of the black male atop it, on its back, legs splayed to one side, a solitary hand drooping down the other. Both stunning and heart wrenching, something I am not likely to forget ever- no photograph could even suggest the in person experience, none included...

Blind

Kinda enjoyed this Claymation type production. Humorous, visually appealing and open to interpretation...

That's Gratitude For Ya!

You'd think that after fixing up the rotting pier where it now stands to the tune of millions in order to show the public world class art (photography) exhibits for absolutely free (exhibits that would go for double figures these days)- yeah, you'd think that would count for... something! So the good people in charge right here in San Francisco decided to show their appreciation by throwing Pier 24 Photography out- lock, stock and barrel...

Proof!!!

 Of what, don't exactly know... but it's all the proof I need!!!

The Mars Barrr (NASA/JPL/Univ. of Arizona via SWNS)

Still don't believe?!?

Bon Appetit!

The Menu is one of the more singularly imaginative movies to come down the pike in quite some time- not a cinematic masterpiece by any means, but clever, original, revelatory and for the most part... enjoyable. Billed as a: horror, drama, black comedy, and then some; it savagely satirizes the cult of: celebrity, class and privilege- not to mention the very nuts and bolts of cults themselves. The career induced veneers are gradually exposed and revealed, no one escapes unscathed, and everyone is guilty as charged to one degree or another. Kinda like life... 

And the food looks good, real good, including the cheeseburger!

ADDENDUM: A much more erudite review...

Tar

There's a haunting line in Memo from Turner- "You're always working perfectly, but there's a part that's not screwed on." Cate Blanchett simmers on low throughout Tar. The most telling scene is not the wham bam, barn burner, but the one in which we see her deal with a small child. She could have effectively dealt with the situation in ever so many ways, as an adult can with a child, instead Tar chose to ever so subtly spread her pathology on...

Baldwin Lee

 

Photo: © Baldwin Lee

One instantly senses a feeling of connection and intimacy when viewing Baldwin Lee's photographs taken in communities of the Deep South. So it comes as a bit of a shock that he is both Asian and an outsider. How did this once shy photographer find and connect with his subjects? Well, to start things off, he'd go directly to the local police precincts, inquire as to what neighborhoods to best avoid, then take himself directly there- gotta love it! 

Not exactly a household name, he has compiled some of the most powerful portraits and insights into Southern communities of Color ever put on film. How work so sublime can remain so obscure for so long always puzzles, and ultimately delights...

Brought To Life!

I'm usually for respecting original work as is (ie- letting well enough alone). But then, songs get redone and reinterpreted all the time, and sometimes (sometimes), they even come out all the better for it. 

All I'm saying here is that this was rather tastefully done, and does offer an experience and insight that is both revelatory and worthwhile...

Sylvie Guillem

Time for a spot of culture! The woman is a true sight, athlete, wonder to behold- and then, there’s that title…