The Journey Should Be Fun, Too

The art of Jason deCaires Taylor is an ADVENTURE just getting to see it!
His works are beautiful, haunting, and life-affirming ALL AT ONCE.
They are also about 8 meters UNDER the ocean's surface.

Time is a key feature of his art: As marine life takes hold the work constantly evolves.
It will never stay the same, ever.  Each piece will become adorned by sea creatures until it is engulfed by them, nurturing nature itself, providing impetus for growth rather than destruction.

Forbes calls Taylor's Cancun, Mexico, installation:
"One of the world's most unique travel destinations."
I'll give Forbes a pass on the wordy use of "most," because I think it's an understatement.

Art you buy for yourself might not require a snorkel--though you gotta admit that's cool.
But you can have adventures buying art if you attend OPEN STUDIO events, also very cool.
You meet the artists, talk to them about their work, meet other interesting people, see some wild stuff. And maybe go home with a treasure (scuba gear optional).

In the Bay Area, coming up soon:
Lost & Foundry Art Studios, Open House March 15, 4-8pm, 305 Center Street, Oakland.
I hope to see you there!

click here to see more underwater sculpture of Jason deCaires Taylor
(Thank you Howie.)

The Silent Evolution

The Silent Evolution

The Dream Collector (over time)

Reclamation

Inertia

Un-Still Life (over time)

Consider RENTING Art

RENTING art has been a breakthrough strategy for more than one client. 

Recently a client couple rented a fantastic spectrum of art, from edgy to simply beautiful works--things they would never have "committed to" by buying, but they were very willing to "date" by renting.  They are having a blast on round two now, swapping out some of the first pieces for new ones, and extending time on some of round one pieces, to try them a bit longer.

Renting can be so LIBERATING.
And educational-- you will learn LOADS about what you like, what you want to live with, what you enjoy seeing every day.

At the end of the rental period, you might decide to purchase some of the art (usually a portion of the rental fee is applied to purchase) -- you might even SURPRISE YOURSELF by what you decide to keep!

Many galleries will lease art, even if they don't advertise this it never hurts to ask. 
In San Francisco we have the SFMOMA Artists Gallery at Fort Mason-- a HUGE array of California art, by both emerging and established artists, all available for purchase or for RENT.
Check it out:  click here for more about SFMOMA Artists Gallery

Here are a FEW of the Artists carried at the Artists Gallery:

Inez Storer

John King

Andrea Voinot

Alejandro Rubio

Mark Ashworth

John Yoyogi Fortes

Local Art is just more FUN

What an EXCELLENT day--I visited Jeremy Mayer and Howie Katz, two hugely talented Oakland-based artists, in their respective studios. Aside from enjoying some audaciously great artwork, the best part was spending TIME with these fascinating fellows. Jeremy I've known & admired for several years, I got to catch up on & revel in his latest developments. Howie is an exciting new artist to me, currently doing cool work in software multi-media, large scale installations.

You, too, can have this kind of fun, rummaging around small parts, asking blunt questions--"why did you do that?," debating the value of constraints, playing bocce ball inside a renovated warehouse... This is the BEAUTY of going LOCAL for your artwork. You can have a rich experience that DEEPENS your understanding and appreciation. What a blast!

Jeremy creates sculptures ENTIRELY out of typewriter parts. Every single piece is taken from his collection of decommissioned typewriters. His meticulous method and attention to detail are just mind blowing.

Ram's Head in progress

Jeremy discussing a piece of a rib cage in progress

Raw materials for Jeremy's work

Bust of Old Man

Howie's "Gas Mask" series. Howie's work runs a gamut from sculpture to interactive installations that involve software, projections, solar energy, glass... all exploring point of view. 

Howie at far left, describing "Cerberus," 3-headed dog climbing down the wall

"Cancer Floor," floor tiles created with actual films of cancer cells

"Political Reality" -- this one is just plain funny, a reminder to always keep a sense of humor

Jeremy and Howie work in the Norton Factory Studios, 3094 10th Street, Oakland, a beautifully refurbished bucket factory that is TEEMING with artists' studios.
They will be part of the East Bay Open Studio Tour June 7-8 and 15-16
click here for more info on East Bay Open Studios in June 2014.

Plan an outing, you'll have a ball!

Benefits of Being an Art Locavore

The biggest PLUS of Buy Local: you can get to know the artist. This goes way beyond making a fascinating new friend. Your connection to, appreciation and understanding of a piece is SOOOO enhanced by spending time with its maker, getting into the head of that artist, hearing about what he or she seeks to express.
Now it's true, some gallerists are more articulate explaining a given artist's work than the artist himself… But it's generally more FUN to hear directly from the brain that made the work.
Don't be shy, take an artist to lunch.
Believe me: most artists LOVE to tell you about their work, particularly a specific piece.
They live to create, they want you to "get it."

Mixed media wall sculpture, "Pantao Alley" by Tracey Snelling

More Fun from Fog Design & Art Show

Play the video below to check out this totally ELEGANT kinetic sculpture by Pedro Movellan.
No batteries required, it works completely by BALANCE and CONSTRUCTION.

Think Local, Buy Local

This is an especially excellent strategy when you are just starting to buy art or are under a tight budget. No matter WHERE you live, there is an artist toiling away, doing decent work you CAN afford. In addition to local galleries, search out open studio events, university student shows, community art shows.
I love buying art at auctions that benefit local arts programs--it forces fast decisions, no dithering allowed.
Think of nearby foundries, quarries, even junkyards have artists striving to make their vision tangible. Our local trash company has an artist-in-residence program--how fabulous is that:
http://www.recologysf.com/index.php/about-air

detail of Deer III by Jeremy Mayer

Fannie's Faves from Fog Design & Art

These are a FEW of the pieces I ESPECIALLY enjoyed at the San Francisco Fog Design & Art Show.  (There were more but my pictures were lame).
Check out the final picture of a WHOLE ROOM done in circuit boards--now that's Interior Design!
The show is on through the weekend at Fort Mason.

Sofa by Bae Se Hwa

Paper cutout and Detail, by Thomas Witte

Lace and Crochet art by Joana Vasconcelos

Shelves and Console by Sebastian Errazuriz

A WHOLE ROOM in circuit boards! by Benjamin Caldwell

So Glad You Asked

A reader asks if I have favorites from the Hockney show--whooo boy! There is literally not enough data storage in my blog to put them all here. But I'll post a few teensy images.
First understand that I LOVE Monet's Cathedral at Rouen series (he painted the same facade over & over, in all light & seasons).
So I was mesmerized by Hockney's GIANT SCALE, EVOLVING images of single sites in the English countryside, through the seasons. **The images here simply cannot give a sense of the SCALE or the "MOVIE"-like evolution--which is why you MUST get to this show ASAP.
It's ONLY in SF, too!

Top is GINORMOUS, surrounds you in a room; Center shows Hockney (for scale!); Bottom is a fave series of mine as the landscape reminds me of my cousin's farm in Amelia County, Va.

ps I also enjoyed the room displaying Hockney's theory that certain Renaissance painters used MIRRORS & CAMERAS to make their paintings. The Art Establishment labeled him a nut-job for this theory of course. Interestingly, most scientists & physicists think he's right…. More food for thought.

Two Chances to Train Your Eyeballs

If you live in the Bay Area, here are your weekend plans:
1. RUN don't walk to the DeYoung for the final days of the David Hockney show.
Waaay back when I was in school, Hockney was not viewed "seriously" by the academic world. I don't know about now (nor do I care), but this show is not to be missed. It is HUGE--rooms and rooms, all so different. But what makes it a MUST SEE is this show has something for EVERYONE, the kids, the techie, the scientist, the device-obsessed, lovers of landscapes, lovers of portraits. So get your tix in advance, jam the kids into the car (they'll love what Hockney does with an iPhone), and GO!  A great outing for learning to SEE while looking at fun, wild, maybe controversial work.
Click here info for Hockney show, HURRY!

2. Go to Fog Art event at Fort Mason in SF. 
I'm excited because I love seeing Art, Furnishings and Design Objects shown together. That's how we LIVE after all. 
Even if I don't buy anything, Stanlee Gatti is all over it so you know it will be a visual blast.
Click here for info on the Fog Design & Art event for this weekend.

Train Your Eyeballs

Collecting art is about learning to see.

My mother made me sit with a little notebook to draw the towers of great Romanesque cathedrals when I was a child. This was NOT to teach me to draw (nor, as I thought at the time, to torture me). It was to teach me to SEE. 

Go to open studios. Go to gallery openings--it’s fun learning to see with a glass of wine in your hand.  Go to museum shows. 

Walk a path you take every day and find three new things (put away electronic devices).

Play “I spy” with your kids (the under 8 crowd see AMAZING things).

Open your eyes, connect your brain, and ACTIVELY SEE.

These guys see EVERYTHING!
Zip Synch 2013, by Nemo Gould

Don't always listen to your gut

Especially early on. Sometimes you need to engage your mind to improve your gut. Even after nearly 50 years of buying artwork, I often have to learn more about a piece before I “get it” and am excited by it, regardless of the style or period. 


Push yourself to grow. Expect different reactions to different works, ie, don’t keep looking for the same boyfriend over & over. How dull would a whole house of that be??? 


Art can excite you, calm you, challenge you, disturb you, entertain you, tickle you, fulfill your aesthetic longing for beauty, remind you of some event, of someone or some place, intrigue you, mystify you. 

Art CHANGES the way you see the world. 

It’s not always about just looking good! 



So rule #3: Move out of your comfort zone.

Room loaded with wonderful works: Arthur Ganson's sculpture on table, Jeremy Mayer's Deer 3 at window, Radcliffe Bailey's collage over fireplace. 

Starter Art is OK. Then move on.

Your taste will change over time—this is a GOOD thing.  Don’t be afraid of this fact when buying art. Don’t expect a lifetime love affair with that cunning little watercolor of spring flowers. I may still have the cat etching I bought when I was six, but it ain’t my FAVORITE piece today. 

Buying art is not like committing to a long-term HUMAN relationship. It’s ok to have many works you love, and some you’ve grown tired of—the latter you can rotate to less visited rooms. Or even “de-acquisition” them, as they say in the museum world. (…Maybe buying art IS like dating?) 

Your appetites will expand, you will become interested in new styles, new artists, new mediums. 

Rule #2: Starter art is A-OK. Just don’t get stuck there.

Horses, Cats--animals are a good place to start...

Resolution for 2014: Let’s Get Art!

Nothing finishes a room and adds personality like some good art. The world would be a better place if more people bought more art.

But I’ve found it can be REALLY hard for people/my clients to buy art.  Rather than dithering in analysis of the psychological stumbling blocks, let’s move on to solving the problem.  These next posts are guidelines to buying, displaying, and having art, to push you on your way. The goal is to get you going.

I bought my first piece of art when I was six years old, at an outdoor art show by university students. It was an etching of a cat; it cost $1.25. I loved cats and it fit my budget. I still have that piece.

I like to think my tastes have deepened--I’ve studied art, travelled a lot, I hang out with artists. But my buying criteria haven’t really changed since I was six: strong reaction to the piece, comfort with the price.

Thus, Rule #1:  Don’t get wrapped around the axle about this, it’s just art.

more Cat Art from my youth, by Jewitt Campbell