Modern Art and Mime in the Sun

After 40 some odd days of fog and cold, we hit the sunshine today and it was wondrous! Ah, summer may finally be here at last!

Yesterday, I decided I would head to SFMOMA first thing and take in the Calder to Warhol exhibit featuring pieces from the new Fisher Collection. After much hullabaloo and at least two building designs that did not appease the Presidio community where the collection was originally to be housed, Don Fisher, the founder of Gap, just before passing away decided, to donate his collection to the SFMOMA for the next 100 years. Now, SFMOMA has found the right architect to add on to their building now standing on 3rd Street near Howard. And, until September 19th, there are two floors of the Fisher Collection on exhibit including several pieces in the roof garden (which may be one of my new favorite spots in the City). Some of my favorite pieces from this collection are the works by Agnes Martin, Chuck Close's Gwynne watercolor, and Jeff Wall's Tattoos & Shadows, a riff on Manet's Dejeuner sur L'Herbe.

After perusing Fisher, I walked down to the New Topographics photography exhibit which was an excellent collection of photographers who captured the new development going on in the United States especially the tract housing and industrial parks, in the seventies. I saw Stephen Shore speak awhile back at the San Francisco Art Institute and a few of his pieces were on show. Then, I walked down to see the 75th Anniversary exhibit which was a great gathering of works from so many great Bay Area artists among others. There are so many amazing connections that have been a part of making the SFMOMA what it is today!

The sun was blazing as I walked out the doors and I opted to pick up some food at Whole Foods and sit in Yerba Buena Gardens. It's such a beautiful park nestled among the high rises of downtown. And, it's YB Gardens Festival time and this weekend the SF Mime Troupe was featured doing Posibilidad or Death of the Worker. This was not your typical mime performance; there was singing and depiction of a telenovela and a social justice message! So San Francisco!