Somehow I had not been to the renovated SFMOMA until this day. Ultimately I was having a day where everything felt meaningless and therefore was having a hard time justifying how all this artistic effort was anything but a desperate plea to mark one’s territory onto the world. Often it feels like making art is some desperate attempt to make meaning of the universe and prove that one existed. And on this day it all felt pointless to me. It should be stated that I’m both obsessed with museums and completely appalled with the idea of somebody showing me what they deem as important and slapping it on a clean white wall. But I’ll take all the art I can get, no matter who is deeming it important.
I’m starting to surprise myself with the pieces that I enjoy the most. In the past I have always favored figurative and busier works. Now I seem to favor starker scenes without people or much scene at all. Things I would have found boring now have new life.
Some pieces I enjoyed:
Diane Arbus- Xmas Tree In A Living Room In Levittown, Long Island, 1963
These pieces by Sigmar Polke that include particles of meteorites in them that feel more spiritual than paintings that are trying to evoke such themes.
Sigmar Polke- The Spirits That Lend Strength Are Invisible II (Meteor Extraterrestrial Material), 1988
I traveled by bus all the way to Los Angeles to see this Larry Sultan exhibit but I’m glad to see it again closer to home. There is such much gold in his various series, but this picture has really stuck with me. So sensuous.
Larry Sultan- Silver Curtain – 1997
And finally, Andreas Gursky- Ohne Titel VI (Untitled VI), 1997
So meta when you see it in a museum. A picture of a Jackson Pollock hanging in a museum.
My take (Metamanda strikes again):
Just two Studs hanging out at a bar called Stud
