Modern Art Still Sucks

If there's one thing the government shutdown has taught me it is this: MODERN ART STILL SUCKS!  The connection isn't intuitively obvious so let me lay this thing out.

As I often do when I'm in Marin County, I made a point to drive up Conzelman road in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) known as the Marin Headlands.  This road is about a 3 mile climb that allows various overlook points of the golden gate bridge.  It's a gorgeous drive and it never gets old.  As I approached the bottom of the road I could see steel barriers blocking the route.  This isn't uncommon because the road has been under construction for about a year and it's been closed at different times during that period, but I was suspicious because I couldn't see the tell-tale signs of bright orange construction vests milling about.  I drove up to the barriers and sure as shit there was a sign taped to the barrier telling me it was closed due to the government shutdown.  "This is a PAIN IN THE ASS!! (PITA),  I screamed in my head and symbolically shook my fist like an 80 year old. And a bunch of bullshit too....I later added meekly, because it seemed appropriate. 

 By the way, in addition to learning that MODERN ART STILL SUCKS (more on that later), I also learned this about the government shutdown:  It was nothing more than a bunch of meat helmets finding various petty ways to show each other their middle finger after not getting what they wanted.  I'm not sure who the culprits are in the Conzelman road case, but somebody was giving the double bird business to somebody else.  Here's how I know it's true:

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area includes vast amounts of lands located around the San Francisco and Marin County area and includes the Marin Headlands (Conzelman Road) and Point Bonita Lighthouse.  Miles and miles of road run through the area, but only the  2-3 mile stretch of road that gives access to the most breathtaking views of one of the most treasured architectural creations in the world was closed.  This road isn't manned, there is no ranger station, and there is absolutely no employee required for this section to operate.   I drove around the backside to check on things and I had access to the lighthouse and the beach.  There was no other road closed.  Cue the middle finger.

"When viewed from either side, the sculpture frames the landscape almost like an oversized picture frame. When viewed from either end, however, the work is a study in formal complexity..."

Now that I was good and pissed, I decided to cross the bridge and check on Crissy Field (part of the GGNRA) on the San Francisco side and see if access to the grounds were also blocked.  Much to my relief the entire area was open.  I pulled out my camera to snap some shots of the bridge and.......... WHY THE HELL ARE THERE D-DAY TANK OBSTACLES BLOCKING MY VIEW OF THE BRIDGE??  Maybe these abominations are twisted metal used from the 911 rubble to honor the victims, I thought.  They're blocking my view, but I'm alright with it in this scenario.  I hurried my way over to the placards to read about the inspiration for and the haunting history of these beasts.

The first one I walked up to was "Magma".   I knew it would be a tough to read so I steeled myself and began.

"Magma, a recently completed work that has never been shown publicly, continues di suvero's exploration of motion and counterbalance. Its composition is dominated by a horizontal I-beam that is balanced between two X-like steel forms. The cut steel rings that encircle the beam are movable rather than structural, and respond to shifts in the wind. When viewed from either side, the sculpture frames the landscape almost like an oversized picture frame.  When viewed from either end, however, the work is a study in formal complexity, its angles, discs, and lines resemble intricate, interlocking layers."

I didn't make that up, I promise.  No honor or meaning to the structure, just another jumbled mass of nothingness passed off as modern art, blocking my view of the golden gate bridge.  

Just in case  I wasn't giving the "art" its due, I decided to use Magma "like an oversized picture frame" for the truly beautiful golden gate bridge.  What do you think?

"This exuberant gesture, which echoes the expressive possibility suggested in much of di Suvero's art, is here reinforced by the work's title: Huru is anAustralian aboriginal word that means both 'hello' and 'goodbye'".

"When the sculpture was  exhibited outside the Alameda County Courthouse in Oakland in 1974 it was highly controversial, and was ultimately removed".

"In the context of the work's delicately balanced asymmetry, the buoy reads as a nautical reference and as a guide..."

I tried to use some of the other sculptures to frame the bridge.  Alas, they all sucked, confirming my belief that the descriptions are pure crap.  I have to admit I enjoy reading the descriptions of the artwork because they are so disengaged from the actual art as to be ridiculous.  Surely these things are written after the fact to justify the time and effort. There's no way the artist started with the description and then created the structure.  To be fair to Mark Di Suvero, these sculptures would probably look great displayed in front of some modern buildings in downtown San Francisco.  The curator, however, decided to create a scrap metal recycling yard in front of one of the most recognizable and beautiful structures in the world and pass it off as art.  I can't prove it, but my theory is this:  The curator is a federal employee working in D.C. (senator?) who coordinated his "middle finger" gesture with the dude from Conzelman road by putting these heaps in front of the Golden Gate Bridge.  "Delicately balanced symmetry", as it were. 

  I crossed back over the bridge I stopped again on the Marin side to eat my lunch and was relieved to come across the site below.  Real modern art needs no description.

Taken from the other side of the water immediately after.

Back In The Groove

I've been trying to get back in the groove of shooting and writing but the  muse hasn't been there.  It happens.  I figured I'd do a drive by of San Francisco since that always seems to provide ample inspiration for a creative rut.

I'm constantly amazed at the amazing diversity of things there are to shoot around SF, and I go there a lot.   A small angle change, a slight tilt in perspective, a slightly different piece of land you've never explored, it  all makes a difference.  Take this naked chick, for instance.  I've never seen her but apparently she hangs out daily on Treasure Island, an old Naval base on a small piece of land about halfway across the bay bridge.  I've never asked a naked woman to pose, but she stopped and did a pirhouette for me, she's not shy.

Some days you go out to shoot and you suck.  Absolutely suck.  I don't know why that is.  It happens.  It felt like the force was with me this time out.  Even the birds gave me something interesting.  Sometimes they crap, sometimes they grab a crab and eat it nearby.  You can never tell.  They're an unpredictable lot.  This jackass flew right into my scene.  I've shot the bridge a thousand times, but now I have seagull with a crab in his mouth doing a fly-by.

It was overcast around SF so there wasn't much color happening in any of the scenes so I thought I'd stylize just a bit.  I'm diggin' it.  

 Robert and I decided we're going to do a new creative project each quarter and this first quarter is going to be a composite shot.  More to come on that, but I need to practice.  Here's Robert as the new Sheriff of San Francisco using some shots from today.

Happy New Year.

What Am I Complaining About?

Click to View Large

I ask myself that question a lot of times as I sit and eat my turkey sandwich while overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge.  Millions of people make vacation plans and spend a lot of money to come and see the bridge, one of the most iconic architectural monuments in the U.S.  I come here to eat my fritos when I'm bored.

It's easy to find things to complain about in our jobs.  I do it every day to the point of ridiculousness.  A sales job can be a lonely existence and it certainly has some drawbacks, but my sales territory includes Marin County up to the bridge.  Hell, I was literally required to be there as we had a big erosion control project going on in the steep sloped hills for the past year.   I have taken great shots of the bridge from the driver's seat, while dialing in sports radio.  It's a fact of life,  I just see it all the time.

From the bridge I can be at the beach in 10 minutes to watch the surfers do their thing while I finish up my sandwich.  I do it often, it helps break up the day and it only takes 30 minutes.    Many times I try to tell myself how lucky I am to have the job I have in the area I have it.  It works for awhile, but I think the American suburbanite is programmed to complain.  Relatively speaking, (especially when compared to, say, a child struggling in Africa) everything is easy.   The fight for survival is so much less than it was 100 or 200 years ago.  Imagine the pioneers and the Westward migration.  That, my friends, was a struggle.

So I sit and watch the surfers and I think about how easy I have it and I begin to feel a sense of tranquility, and I vow to stop complaining about ridiculous things.  Inevitably my reverie is broken by the sound of my phone, the 3"x5" miracle that allows me to communicate instantaneously with nearly any part of the world, and I reach down to grab it and it falls between the space in the seat where I can't reach it.

SON OF A B*%*@!!!  Everything is a pain in the ass!!

Open Season

(Click on any photo to see larger)

I declared it open season on tourists and set out to blast them with my flash.  I had a good day, bagging at least 25.

This technique has been popular lately so I thought I would give it a try and see what I ended up with.  The premise is to shoot in a "street photography" style, but use a flash to create a different look.   The narrow size of the walkway made it difficult to disguise what I was doing, but I crouched down and tried to look as inconspicuous as possible.  I clamped the flash to beam on camera left, set the exposure where I wanted it and started firing away.  

The flash tended to draw interest from the passerby, as seen in the two photos below.  It appeared as though many thought it was a camera because they would stare at it and wave (of course I had to blast them with it if they did).   You'll notice I've cloned out the flash or cropped it out in most of the shots.

The difficulty in this whole thing was to capture people in the right spot.  Once foot the the left or right and the flash would completely miss the subject.   Some folks weren't thrilled with this "shoot" I noticed.  The guy below seemed pretty agitated judging by the look on his face, but he never said anything or gestured at me.

The officer in the background asked me what I was doing

At one point an officer came over and spoke with me to see what I was doing.  I told her I was a hobbyist and explained my reason for being there.  She declined to pose when I asked.   I was actually glad to have her come over to me because I wouldn't want a guy strapping things on the bridge without being questioned.

The guy below is my favorite shot from the day.  Everything came together in terms of composition and lighting in this shot.

 

The girl above seems to typify the All-American look and the skateboarder just seems to fit with the bridge and California lifestyle.

This style is definitely something I want to continue to play with.  It seems the key is to find an interesting composition for the overall frame in an area with lots of subjects passing by.