art

Beauty is Embarrassing at the Roxie Theater

by tatiana on September 18, 2012

Paul Reubens and Wayne White on the set of Pee-Wee's Playhouse

Paul Reubens and Wayne White on the set of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse

I don’t think I need to say much about Beauty is Embarrassing that isn’t evident by just watching the trailer (below), or doing a quick Wikipedia search (hey, I just did it for you!). Basically, if you live in SF, or the Bay Area, get yourself to the Roxie Theater this week to catch this inspiring documentary about Wayne White, visual artist, puppeteer, and man whose world is just about as colorful as his language. I give it two enthusiastic thumbs up.

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Room Revamp, Legion of Honor and Father’s Day

by tatiana on June 17, 2012

Happy Sunday, kids. If you’re in San Francisco, I hope you’re enjoying the amaaaazing weather we’ve been having this weekend. And if you’re anywhere else in the country, you’re probably ready for autumn.

Anyway, this last week was pretty great. In between completing a smaller project and trying to finish up two bigger projects (that I’ll write about soon), I took a trip to IKEA and snatched up a really great dresser.

Left: Boxes and piles of yarn, vintage waiting to be altered/upcycled, and fabric. Right: The results of my organization efforts!

This sucker took 3 hours to build (and I missed the Tony Awards!) but it was totally worth it. I’d been using Rubbermaid bins to store my fabric, and my room feels so much more organized with everything nicely placed in this dresser (for now, at least). I even gave myself a Work In Progress drawer for all of those dresses I’ve yet to finish sewing (someday I will get to them!).

Aside from organizing like a maniac, I was able to check out The Cult of Beauty at the Legion of Honor yesterday (it closes today!), and I’m really happy that I went. One of the gals I went with is a Museum Studies grad student and encouraged us to pay the extra $7 for the audio tour. I’m usually pretty frugal, but I decided to live a little. I don’t think I can ever go to a museum again without an audio tour. It was like being accompanied by The History Channel. I loved it. Learned so much. Left feeling really inspired.

A great exhibit at the Legion of Honor followed by an epic picnic in front of the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park

As you’re probably aware, today is Father’s Day! I wish I had a great picture of my Dad from the 80s to post here but I do not, so I’m posting this photo taken at breakfast the day after my sister’s wedding. (Although I really need to get my hands on my parents’ wedding photo which features my Dad in a kick ass white Saturday Night Fever-esque suit. It’s pretty boss.)

Twinsies! Also, my uncle’s hand is making a cameo.

Happy Father’s Day to all of the amazing Dad’s out there (including mine!). I’m really lucky to have such a funny, smart and caring Dad, and I hope he gets to see Prometheus today! :)

Oh! I almost forgot to mention… I got the opportunity to see American Idiot on Tuesday (opening night!) here in San Francisco at The Orpheum and the energy from that show has basically powered me through the week (as well as the soundtrack which I purchased on iTunes the day after). It was a phenomenal show. Very punk rock, but still very musical theater. Do go see it if you can. Also, Van Hughes, call me!

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Gallery Hoppin': Downtown SF/Geary St.

by tatiana on January 21, 2011

Has it been a week since I embarked on this gallery hoppin’ journey? Yes. Yes it has. Sheesh. Sorry I’m not the fastest blogger. This entry is about my adventures hoppin’ through the galleries in downtown SF along Geary St. with none other than my fab cousin Ryan (who is also a fine artist!). It was neat having him around to point out artwork made by his friends or professors in these beautiful galleries (with marble elevators… “The epitome of fance.” as Siddiq might describe them). [click to continue…]

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Custom Illustrations!, or: Why bartering is awesome.

by tatiana on October 19, 2010

I remember having a heated conversation one time (or one too many times) with an anti-currency, anti-government… sort of anti-order in general, friend of mine. (I’m getting a migraine just thinking about our conversations). Anyway, our little chat was centered around the concept of currency. I argued that even if the U.S. dollar was diminished, citizens would quickly establish a new form of currency in order to exchange goods and services. He disagreed and claimed that currency was entirely unnecessary – that civilization could function without any sort of exchange. I don’t know about that. I think those living in his Utopian “civilization” would have to be very open and trusting, maybe like Burning Man-goers. But I don’t think that way of living could last very long. People would start coming down from their happy drugs and bogarting the town’s supply of chicken nuggets and NOT sharing. I know I would.

That being said, I don’t think a civilization could run smoothly solely on a bartering system, but I DO think that a mixture of the two can work. So, we come back to reality. In the world of Etsy, bartering is very much a possibility AND totally awesome.

Pascalle Ballard (aka fabricalchemist) contacted me on Etsy and wanted to exchange something from her shop for a pair of custom red slippers (seen above). I didn’t see anything in her shop that went with the decor in my room, so I asked her if I could possibly request a custom illustration… and she said yes!

The Wasp Duchess, by Pascalle Ballard (5.5″ x 8″)

And OH MY GOD it came out amazing. I can’t wait to frame it. I asked her to draw something Gothic Lolita inspired, using yellow and a dash of lace and what she created was even cooler than I had imagined. The result is this amazing piece. What a wonderful way to collect art! Be sure to check out her shop for her many unique and beautiful pieces.

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New Paintings by Ryan Martin at Mark Wolfe Contemporary

by tatiana on October 18, 2010

Howl by Ryan Martin (Oil on canvas)

Happening now through November 27, 2010, you too can check out Ryan Martin’s new work at Mark Wolfe Contemporary (1 Sutter St, Suite 300, San Francisco, CA 94104)… and please do. You will thank me later, or Ryan, rather. [click to continue…]

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El Mustache

by tatiana on June 3, 2010

Note reads: “Check out the mustache. Jackson was Hispanic!”

Last weekend when I was home, my parents left some cash on the counter so I could pick up dinner (ahhh, the perks of visiting home!). Along with the cash was the above note. I chuckled out loud. I obviously took a photo with my iPhone. I was way too amused by it. If any of you were wondering where I get my sense of humor, this note from my Dad pretty much explains it.

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My Kind of Valentine’s Day Greeting

by tatiana on February 12, 2010

Taken at Blush Wine Bar on Castro St. with my iPhone

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Like a liar at a witch trial, you look good for your age

by tatiana on June 4, 2009

“I love Los Angeles. I love Hollywood. They’re beautiful. Everybody’s plastic, but I love plastic. I want to be plastic.” - Andy Warhol

Now, now. I really do like LA. I love the energy, the history, and just the overall punk rock feeling mixed with the uber corporate. The best of both worlds really, but also an incredibly strange place. Very ugly beautiful, but the other way around, I guess. Beautiful ugly?

Enough of my rambling! There is a point to this entry, I promise.

It’s the beginning of June. The beginning of Summer. And when I think of summer, I think of travel and trips on the metrolink to LA, because I did a lot of that last year. Whether it was to visit friends who live there or to see shows, LA will always be associated with summer and good friends for me.

So! This summer there are a lot of cool exhibits and museums that I need to check out. You should too! Here are my top three that I need to see (like that rhyme?):

Classical Frieze: Eleanor Antin at LACMA

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Remember a long time ago when I went to see WACK at the Geffen Contemporary? And how I went on and on about how much I love Eleanor Antin? Well, to reiterate, I think the lady is pretty great. I want to see her newer work and how she has evolved as an artist and great thinker.

The Darker Side of Light: Arts of Privacy, 1850-1900 at the Hammer Museum

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The museum website describes this exhibit as the hidden art from this time; the seedy underbelly, if you will. Focusing mostly on works from France and Germany, these pieces present a darker side of the Impressionist era.  I’ve never been to the Hammer Museum. I remember last year they were showing Kara Walker’s work and I missed out! I will not miss this.

Craft and Folk Art Museum

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Their tagline explains “because a shrinking world requires an expanded mind.” YES! I agree, CaFAM! Their exhibit Celestial Ash looks neat. Their other current exhibit doesn’t sound all that exciting to me. I’m interested in seeing their permanent collection. I can’t believe this museum is right across the street from LACMA and I’ve never noticed it! I stumbled upon this site today. I’ll keep you posted when I visit. Admission is $5 for general public. Not too shabby!

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“There are some glimmers of hope.”

by tatiana on March 24, 2009

About a month ago I attended/volunteered at the 10th Annual FACTS Benefit, which was held at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles, their current exhibit titled “A Dream Realized” compared the life and legacy of Dr. King with that of President Obama through a series of similar photographs.

A Dream Realized Exhibit

I had never been there, and definitely want to go back sometime and check out all of the museums in Exposition Park. It seems like a fun place to take my sisters. Anyway, the event was really thought provoking. I learned so much about how many individuals and families are affected by Three Strikes. It was heartbreaking to meet so many mothers who have sons or daughters in prison for non-violent crimes that do not warrant a life sentence. After meeting these families and hearing their stories, it infuriates me to think that Californians could ignore these injustices. According to Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, who was the keynote speaker, African Americans make up 7% of California’s population, yet they represent 45% of those in prison because of three strikes sentencing. Something is definitely wrong here.

Dean Erwin Chemerinsky

The Benefit held a silent auction for artwork made by prisoners at Security Housing Unit — or the SHU, at Pelican Bay State Prison in Northern California. Prisoners are not allowed to use art materials in “the hole” so prisoners improvise and use paper pulp from magazines or toilet paper and place that on drawing paper. Colors are obtained by using the coating of vitamins, candy or coffee.

SHU Art by Gabriel Ramirez

A lot of individuals and groups were present to support FACTS and it was really great to see so many grassroots and non-profit organizations come together to create visibility for an issue that seems to be so hidden and unspoken. The Youth Justice Coalition was in attendance and a young activist performed a spoken word piece that was as gritty and dark as her experiences on the rough streets of LA. As she said in her poem “we’re the children who rose from Watts in ’65… we’ve had enough, take the system down, and build something, now.”

It is imperative that the three strikes law be amended. The prison industrial complex is flawed, prisons are astoundingly overcrowded, and there are obvious racial implications when looking at the statistics. Funding really needs to go to rehabilitation rather than putting people away for life for non-violent crimes. Until that happens, the injustice will continue, and these individuals and their families will continue to be oppressed by the system.

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Uptown Underground: OC

by tatiana on October 15, 2008

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I heard about this public installation through a friend. It sounded intriguing… outdoor video installation about dancing, and a DJ providing the soundtrack.

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So a bunch of us went, and 5 out of 6 were not disappointed. I was one of the 5. This piece was displayed outside of Segerstrom Hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, California. We parked (we found a way to park without paying… don’t tell anyone), walked over and I was surprised to see so many people. And bleachers! Like a classy football game. :o) It was really cool to see so many people gather to view such a beautiful installation.

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The piece was titled Slow Dancing by David Michalek and the video was projected onto the side of the building. The visuals in junction with the masterful mixing of KCRW’s DJ Jason Bentley made for a wonderful treat for the eyes and ears. And my hot chocolate was pretty good too.

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I haven’t been this fascinated by the human body since I went to see the Body Worlds exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago 4 years ago. It was fascinating to watch the tiny ripples move across the dancers’ clothing like water.

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