Tag: de Young Museum

Irving Penn: A Journey Through Seven Decades

I’m trying to keep my posts in chronological order, and while we visited this exhibit in June at the de Young Museum, it’s now mid-September. It’s been a busy summer and while this exhibit closed on July 24, it’s still worth noting.

Irving Penn’s work spanned seven decades, and this exhibit includes about 175 pieces that cover his entire career. It includes early documentary scenes, portraits of cultural figures, travel work, fashion studies, still life photography, and personal projects. It also includes photographs made during Penn’s 1967 trip to San Francisco.

To quote Nadja Sayej There is no photographer in history quite like Irving Penn. He built a bridge between commercial photography and fine art photography. He helped define the Vogue aesthetic and overwrote popular ideas about beauty with his trailblazing fashion photography. And he shot everything, from celebrities to still lifes, with the same thoughtful intensity. He’s arguably one of the top artists of the 20th Century, and his work is as relevant as ever.

From still lifes to hippies, to Hells Angels to Celebrities and even the natives of New Guinea, Penn’s ability to connect with his subjects and to create compelling images is extraordinary.

Our visit to the museum started with lunch in the cafeteria before moving on to the exhibit.

While Penn’s photos are well represented in various media, I decided to try to capture the feeling of the exhibit with some intentional camera movement (ICM).

de Young Open 2023

Today we made a visit to the de Young museum to see the Open 2023 exhibit. This exhibit celebrates the vision of Bay Area artists. There are 883 works on view created by artists who live in the nine counties surrounding San Francisco Bay. I was one of the 7,766 artists that submitted artwork, although my work was not selected. The piece I entered, Boulders, Alabama Hills, is available in my art store. I was curious to see what works had been selected. With an online web gallery, we were able use our phones to read about a few select pieces.

The first piece that caught my attention was piece #9, entitled Hollow by James Shefik, a piece based on a thumb push puppet. Here’s an excerpt from the artist’s statement:

My original intent was for the puppet to represent America’s continued slide into authoritarianism. The sculpture’s puppet character was made apparent by George Floyd’s murder and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests that spread worldwide. The Robert E. Lee puppet, when collapsed, reflected the fate of many of the monuments that had been raised in America in the past 120 years.

Of course, visiting an art exhibit is also about watching people, so I took a few images to document the event including some long exposures to introduce some intentional camera motion. I was clearly being watched while taking this photo. I’m calling the photo the watcher.

Here’s Joann photographing piece #694 entitled Name that Tune: H___ on the R____ by Ellen Reintjes. Ellen says:

Singing this traditional western song while viewing the painting will hopefully bring a smile to your face as the puns come alive.

We arrived at the museum about 11 a.m., spent an hour or so exploring the exhibit, took a break for lunch and returned to continue. It would be overwhelming to try and read about every piece but taking a few small bites about selected pieces made the experience quite enjoyable. The exhibit goes through January 7, so if you are interested in viewing this exhibit, time is of the essence.

Ansel Adams at the de Young Museum

In the summer of 1980, I had to opportunity to participate in the last photography workshop Ansel Adams taught in Yosemite. Needless to say that was a key steppingstone in the path that led to where I am today. So, when I saw the announcement that the show Ansel Adams in Our Time was up at the de Young Museum in San Francisco through July 23, I put a date on my calendar.

This turned out to be quite an extensive exhibit with over 100 of Adam’s prints. It also included the work of other 19th-century landscape photographers, such as Carleton Watkins and Eadweard Muybridge, and contemporary artists like Trevor Paglen, Will Wilson, and Catherine Opie. It is interesting to see how contemporary artists treat some of the grand landscapes of Yosemite. We spent a good 2-1/2 hours in the exhibit, and that didn’t even seem like enough. Well worth the visit.

de Young: Ramses

December 16 was another day to play tourists in our own backyard. This time our adventures took us to the de Young Museum. While the history of ancient Egypt is a fascinating subject, I have had little exposure to it. The exhibit we toured was “Ramses the Great,” a fascinating presentation. The exhibit runs through February 12, 2023. The pyramids were already ancient when Ramses ruled. The great pyramids were constructed between 2700 and 1700 BCE. Ramses was third king of the 19th dynasty (1292–1190 BCE) of ancient Egypt and reigned from 1279–13 BCE. His reign was the second longest in Egyptian history.

Ramses was known for his building campaigns and military exploits. Among his many building projects were the Abu Simbel temples and Per Ramessu, his family home on the Nile River. Ramses is said to have fathered 100 children. He reigned for 67 years and lived past the age of 90.

It’s also interesting to see how museum displays have evolved. Projected images make for some stunning and informative displays. I found myself reminiscing about the days when using multiple 35mm slide projectors was high tech. The digital age opens up whole new possibilities. There’s also a separate virtual reality exhibit where you can put on a VR headset, sit in a chair that simulates motion, and be whisked through the Abu Simbel temple.

After touring the exhibit, we had lunch at the museum cafe. We then drove the short distance to explore the Presidio Tunnel Tops, San Francisco’s newest park. We were impressed with the playground, a location we’ll return to with our grandkids when the opportunity arises.

More photos are available in an online gallery.

A Day with Monet

March 5. My birthday! I decided to play hookie. Client work will have to wait. Started the day by walking the dog. My wife Joann joined me. Just as we were heading out the door she asks “how does 69 feel?” I think she’s referring to the weather so I responded that it doesn’t feel that warm. She replied saying that I was in denial. Perhaps. I told her I was feeling younger this week than last week. I spent a good long day Sunday in a kayak, came back exhausted and with a few sore muscles, but nothing like physical activity to make me feel younger. I said “feels like 55,” which was probably closer to the temperature outside as well. Not sure I’m willing to admit that next year is the big seven-oh. Get your party hat ready!

Treve at Monet: The Late Years. de Young Museum. San Francisco

Claude Monet was born in 1840 in Paris and died in 1926 in Giverny. Not being much of a student of art I was surprised that he was painting in the early 20th century. I was also surprised by the size of some of the canvases, and with his fascination with water and flowers. It was an inspiration to see his work in person.

Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it is simply necessary to love.

Monet

After the exhibit we headed home by way of Love at First Bite Bakery in Berkeley where we bought a cup cake, chocolate caramel sea salt.