MOBA

Apparently work can be rejected from the Museum of Bad Art. Does it mean that the work isn't bad enough? Or that it's too bad, even for them?

San Fransisco...in Jello

The effect of the lighting reminds me of a light bright, but all of these structures are made from Jello. Artist Liz Hickok creates models of famous locations in San Francisico out of jello and then lights them from bellow. She then photographs, or films them shaking as if the city were being jolted by an earthquake. In her artist statement Liz justifies her medium as follows: "When lit properly, the molded shapes that make up the city blur into a jewel-like mosaic of luminous color, volume, and light. However, I’ve discovered that the gelatinous material also evokes uncanny parallels with the geological qualities of the real San Francisco. While the translucent beauty of these compositions is what first attracts the viewer, their fragility quickly becomes a metaphor for the transitory nature of human artifacts."
How's that for an excuse to play with jello?

Burning Man...Too Early

As Reported on Yahoo News:
SAN FRANCISCO - Burning Man became Burnt Man four days early on Tuesday, and a San Francisco performance artist was arrested on suspicion of igniting the signature figure of the counterculture festival in the remote Nevada desert.

The early morning fire scorched about 85 percent of the structure, Burning Man spokeswoman Andie Grace said. Event engineers decided it would be best to dismantle it and rebuild a less elaborate version, accomplishing in two days what normally takes weeks so the figure would be finished in time for Saturday night's scheduled burning, she said.

The approximately 40-foot-tall wood and neon structure was supposed to go up in flames in the ceremonial climax of the weeklong annual event. Burning Man, an art, music and performance festival that draws thousands of people, began in San Francisco in 1986 and moved to Nevada's Black Rock Desert in 1990.

Many festival-goers who were awake watching Tuesday's lunar eclipse said they saw a man deliberately ignite the figure at about 3 a.m., Grace said.

"It was in plain sight of many people," she said. "Everyone is looking at it this morning, this big black figure in the sky and that wasn't supposed to burn, saying, 'Now what do we do?'"

No injuries were reported, and the festival's in-house fire department, the Black Rock City Emergency Services Department, extinguished the fire in less than half an hour, Grace said. The fire also damaged part of the Green Man Pavilion, the exhibition space on which the figure was perched, Grace said.

Paul Addis, 35, of San Francisco, was booked into the Pershing County, Nev., jail on suspicion of arson, illegal possession of fireworks, destruction of property and resisting a public officer, according to the sheriff's department. He posted a $25,632 bond, a sheriff's dispatcher said.

Sheriff's officials did not know whether he had a lawyer. No one answered at two phone numbers listed in his name.

Addis is an actor and writer who is active in the San Francisco arts scene and recently portrayed Hunter S. Thompson in a play about the late journalist known for his drug-fueled lifestyle, according to entertainment listings posted on the Internet.

Grace said she assumed the early burn was timed to coincide with the eclipse.

"It's obviously a pretty selfish act, and people are disappointed about that, but spirits overall are pretty high," she said.

So Strange.

As the fall semester approaches the weirdest thing is that I am not getting ready for school. I haven't been working out the details of an art enriched schedule, nor comparison shopping for books, organizing boxes of school supplies, or planning how to decorate my dorm room. I'm not anticipating a reunion with any favorite professor, planning any gallery exhibits, nor am I dreading cafeteria food. Instead, I'm watching the majority of my coworkers plan their work and school schedules and listening to their stories about trying to crash the classes they need to graduate. I'm being asked to cover shifts for people who have school conflicts, and studying customer service policies instead of cramming random art information into my head. I wear slacks and button down shirts almost every day instead of jeans, t-shirts, and flip flops. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be done with my BA and grateful to have a job that pays pretty well, even though it has nothing to do with my art degree. I just kind of miss the excitement of new classes and how it feels to sit in a dark room listening to the whir of a projector and the well rehearsed lecture of my favorite professors. I miss laughing at the people who chose an art history course because they thought it would be an easy A, only to find that there is actually a lot of research and work to be done to get that A. I wish I could take Contemporary Art of the Soviet Union with Wendy and listen to Dave ramble on about being a ceramist for the love of the medium rather than churning out a product. I wish I was planning on a trip to the Gypsy Den with Lamia to escape campus and pretend like we were going to study because we had brought books. Yes, I know their will eventually be grad school, and I know it's good for me to take a break from school for a little while, but I can't help feeling a little odd about the whole situation.

Seriously...I love this show.

My First Employee Event

Though my original intention for my Sunday had nothing to do with baseball, or hanging out with a bunch of people from work. I ended up going to the Toyota sponsored Padres game; it was WAY more fun than I thought it would be. The best part though? Playing in the fountain afterwards.

Wait...seriously?

Every once in awhile I have a conversation with a customer that frustrates, saddens, and humors me all at once. This afternoon I had one of those calls.

ME: Thank you for calling Toyota service, how can I help you?

CUSTOMER: I need to have some work done under warranty.

ME: Okay, mam. What kind of issue are you having with your vehicle?

CUSTOMER: My airbag light is flashing and I need to tow it in and have that fixed under warranty.

ME: Well, I can make an appointment to have that looked at, but I can't guarantee a waranty without seeing the vehicle. Our shop foreman has to assess the vehicle and confirm the problem to be a manufacturers defect before we can write it off as a waranteed item.

CUSTOMER: WELL!! I don't like your service! I want to report you! What's your name?

ME: Mam, I don't believe you've given me much chance to help you out here. I'm simply explaining our policy to you so you don't end up with a fee you hadn't been expecting. This is simply the policy of our company.

CUSTOMER: I was told by a man at Toyota in Oregon, over the phone, that it would be covered under warranty.

ME: Well, at OUR dealership I'm not authorized to verify waranty issues over the phone. I'm sorry. I can make an appointment to have your airbag looked at, but like I said, I can't guarantee anything over the phone.

CUSTOMER: Maybe I need to speak to a man about this then!!!!

ME: Mam, my gender has nothing to do with my ability to understand your concerns about your vehicle. I'm probably more qualified than most men to discuss this issue with you. Now, if you want us to look at your vehicle I would be more than willing to set up the appointment for you.

She did eventually make an appointment for service...then she called back an hour later to cancel it. Fun stuff.

The desire for sleep kept me from seeing the meteor shower in real life, but I can live vicariously through youtube. It's better than no meteor shower at all right?

Question...

Why is it, that customers assume yelling at me does them any good?

ME: Mam, I understand you're upset, but I need to know your name.

CUSTOMER: What does it matter?!? I have a TOYOTA!!! You know why it stopped working!

ME: Actually, no, I can't determine that over the phone. We need to see your vehicle in person to determine why it stopped working. Your vehicle will need to be towed in to our location; I need your name, address, and phone number to give to the tow truck driver.

C: My TOYOTA is new!!! It does not work!

ME: Mam, I understand this. You need to listen to me and provide the information I asked. What is your name?

C: My name is pissed off!!!

ME: Mam, I'm trying to help you here, you're going to have to provide me some information so I can take care of this for you. Where is the vehicle? What kind of vehicle is it?

C: I'm at the outlet mall, you'll see me.

ME: Okay, what model is your Toyota? What color is it?

C: A NEW one!!!

ME: Alright mam, I'm going to have to transfer you to my manager because I don't believe anyone else can help you at this point.

Yes...it was a long day.

After working in an office for over a month now, I've begun to develop a new found love of the show The Office.

More Art Theft in France

On the afternoon of Sunday August fifth, five masked and armed robbers entered the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nice France. Within ten minutes, they escaped with four important paintings including one Monet, one Sisley and two Allegories by the Flemish Baroque painters Jan Brueghel the Elder and Hendrik van Balen the Elder. A fifth painting (a Sisley) was damaged and left behind when it was found to be too large to fit in the bags the thieves had brought. Why do people do this? It's nearly impossible to get away with selling off important paintings without getting caught. Not to mention that the paintings are almost always damged during the thefts.

Random Art Facts

Francisco Goya is buried without his head. He died in France, was buried there, but was later moved back to Spain and laid to rest in a church under one of his frescos. In the process of moving the body, Goya's head was stolen and has never been found.

Recovered Picasso Paintings

Yesterday French police recovered two paintings that had been stolen from Pablo Picasso's great granddaughter back in February; Maya and the Doll 1938 and Portrait of Jacqueline 1961. The two paintings, worth more than $66 million dollars, had been cut from their frames and were found rolled up among the possesions of the thieves. After restoration and reframing the paitings will be returned to Diana Widmaier-Picasso, Maya Picasso's daughter.

Don McCloskey

This video was too weird...I had to post it.

Defeated by the Italians

Aphrodite 5th Century B.C.

After almost two years, Italian authorities and Getty administrators have reached an agreement about the disputed Italian artifacts. In the largest deal in museum history the Getty has agreed to return forty artifacts to the Italian authorities; acknowledging that the paper trail is insufficient to confirm proper ownership. All but one item is going to be shipped to Italy by December 2007. The statue of Aphrodite will remain on display at the Getty until 2010, and a couple other items remain to be negotiated. Marion True, the antiquities curator from 1987 to 2005, remains on trial for her alleged role in the acquisition of the antiquities. There is no word on how this forfeiture of goods will affect her sentence, but Getty officials have expressed hope that it will aid her case. Other museums, including the Met in New York and the Boston Museum of Art, have simply handed over questionable items in order to avoid the scrutiny that the Getty has undergone over the past two years. I guess Italy took the right strategy; go for the biggest first and the others will follow suit.

An Askos, used to pour liquids, 480-450 B.C

A Table Support

Dionysos

America's Next Top Curator

This week's challenge. If the idea behind a gallery space is that the space is hipster/underground...how do you promote without destroying the idea of an underground space? What makes a gallery so appealing/interesting that people will go out of their way to find it? So intriguing that they will search through the numbers on identical buildings that span several city blocks?