A 25-year-old mandate requires that developers with large projects in the Financial District and along upper Market Street must spend at least 1 percent of their total construction budget on public art. But Luis Cancel, The City’s director of cultural affairs, believes there is insufficient aesthetic oversight of this spending.
Without providing specific examples of what he regards as subpar work, Cancel said there is support on the San Francisco Arts Commission for requiring developers to obtain that body’s approval before commissioning public art. Today, the commission will consider such a proposal from its staff. ~continue reading
Our friends in Australia at Empty Magazine (Fecal Face was featured in the first issue years back) and Semi Permanent, where we spoke last year, are releasing the 20th issue of Empty, and to celebrate will be putting on two great group shows in Waterloo April 14th and in Brookvale on the 29th. If you're over in that part of the country, be sure to get there... Wish we could be there for it. Miss Australia!
Yellow Pages ninja just swooped in FFDG just now and dropped off 3 Yellow Pages. Didn't even ask. Just left them on our bench. Such waste... Searched the neighborhood and chased him down and returned them... San Francisco is in the process of banning them making it so that you can opt in if you do want them, most don't. Huge waste and now the Lower Haight's trash cans are going to filled with the damn things. BAN THEM ALREADY!
Every year San Francisco spends an estimated $1 million disposing of phone books, many of which are unwanted—especially given that, on average, two Yellow Pages are distributed for every single city resident every year, in a city where the majority use the Internet... For their part, most small businesses do not get value from printed Yellow Pages advertisements, since so few people even open the book. The program makes it as easy as possible for anyone who actually does want the phone book, including elderly or non-English speaking residents, to get one delivered or pick one up at their local grocery store. ~continue reading
Love us Michael Leon from way back when and enjoy his Stacks nautical series as seen below... Remember the short we made back in 2003... Oh my God, that was so fucking long ago. The link doesn't even work. Jesus, we're old.
SF's epic comic, underground and art book publisher, Lasp Gasp, opens its second group show ART ALMIGHTY at 111 Minna on April 1st, Friday here in SF (5-late). Works from a wide range of artists.
Jay Howell is also hosting a zine release the same night @Minna for his Punks Git Cut zine (via UNPiano) w/ zines for sale and tshirts as well.
Over the years Last Gasp have published, and in some cases brought to light, some of the most respected and talented artists working today, including such luminaries as R. Crumb, Justin Green, Bill Griffith, Mark Ryden, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Frank Kozik, Todd Schorr, Winston Smith, Spain, and Robert Williams to name but a few.
As well as publishing, Last Gasp is a distributor of all sorts of weird ‘n’ wonderful subversive literature, graphic novels, tattoo and art books – supplying them to bookstores on six continents.
Ok, peoples. We've been getting a lot of emails about summer internships. We will be in need of the intern sort and are looking for some. Read carefully: requirements: - computer skills (photoshop) - camera skills (with decent digital camera- video skills a plus) - highly motivated/ hardworker - responsible - available minimum 2 days per week including Saturdays for gallery sitting (plus evening art show covering) - must be staying in San Francisco... This is not a party but, in fact, work. So don't waste our time if you aren't serious.
To apply: email resume, facebook page, your blog... and to wow, a video telling us a little bit about yourself. --- inteeeeeeeern(at)fecalface.com
Tons of drink and food specials and, of course, art scattered about the neighborhood... We'll be drinking Tecates and listening to music. Last chance to view West, Wester, Westest as well. ~more info
FFDG & Fifty24SF will be opening shows on the same evening from here on out. Next opening: April 7th where FFDG opens Magician's Garden featuring paintings and sketches by Portland based Josh Keyes. Fifty24SF opens The Heaviest by KMNDZ. 7-10pm
Hey, LA people, Albert Reyes opens a show down there tonight at Montana Store Los Angeles (1528 1/2 W. Sunset Blvd.) 6-9pm. <-- If we could be there, we would. If anyone goes and gets some flicks, we'd love to post them up. contact(at)fecalface.com
Albert Reyes work from Future Colors of America in '10 @FFDG
Was just going through the old Low Gallery website (FF Gallery '04-'05) and checking out photos from Paul Urich's 2005 solo show and came across this one of Dash Snow from the opening. Thought we'd share. R.I.P.
Like wearing a watch but don't want to bother with all that pesky technology, Barcelona based artist Axel Brechensbauer has you covered... We also dig this great truck sculpture.
This day may have been inevitable, but now it's finally here. In its attempt to take over the world - or at least everything that can be bought and sold in the world, Amazon is launching an art gallery.
This summer Amazon is planning to launch a Fine Art Gallery where customers will be able to purchase original artwork offered by a select group of invited galleries via Amazon.com. ~continue reading
A new HBO documentary looks at the work of street artist JR, whose giant portraits force people in troubled areas to confront the humanity that's all around them... On the day JR found out he'd won the $100,000 TED Prize, the French pasteup artist found himself in China being questioned by police for doing his thing on the streets of Shanghai. ~continue reading
Street artist JR HBO documentary premiered yesterday, May 20th
Art lovers, collectors and gallerists will gather on Thursday for Hong Kong's inaugural edition of Art Basel, sealing the city's status as an international art hub and Asia's leading art destination... Hong Kong has surged to third place in the global art auction market behind New York and London and Western galleries are falling over each other to open franchises in the former British colony. ~continue reading
Our buddy Ferris Plock opens a small show of drawings at Benny Gold on 3169 16th St this Friday, May 24th (7-10pm) featuring 31 drawings priced at 75-140 bucks.
Ferris also released the video Fingered! he produced with animator Jim Dirschberger. View it
Wowzas, there's a lot of art happenings this weekend, and while you're making the rounds, be sure to stop at SFAI's MFA show Currency opening Friday, May 17th at the beautiful old SF Mint Building (88 5th Street).
SFAI's 2013 MFA graduates—working in painting, photography, printmaking, film, sculpture, installation, digital media, performance, and across media—will present work that embraces the Institute's signature spirit of experimentation and conceptual risk-taking.
Opening reception: Friday, May 17, 7–9 pm & running through Sunday 11-6pm daily. -- complete details
London based Pedro Matos opens the solo show Building Castles Made of Sand this Friday in Los Angeles at the Martha Otero Gallery featuring a new series of oil paintings on canvas and azulejo panels - a traditional Portuguese medium of hand-painted, tin-glazed, ceramic tile work.
TrustoCorp's all new work for their exhibition at LeBasse Projects in Culver City, Los Angeles is a perfect continuum from past work that embraces the bipolar "have/have not" socioeconomic identity of Los Angeles, which they recently established their new studio in.
I didn't know if you came across this video yet, but I ran into my friend Brian Hanson yesterday who helped film and edit it. It's a film short documenting the work and philosophy of Huntington Beach surfboard Shaper Tim Stamps. Super rad and really inspiring! Anyhow take a peek.
Last year, Eric Caruso a teacher at Harry Wirtz Elementary School (Paramount, CA, near LA) had an idea to invite some artists to paint some murals at the school because there wasn't an arts program for the kids. That brilliant idea resulted in some awesome murals by artists Seitaku Aoyama, Yusuke Hanai, Rich Jacobs, Tim Kerr and Albert Reyes.
Ryan De La Hoz' show in the Upper Haight at RVCA runs through this Saturday... And the next time you're in the Mission, be sure to swing through his new shop on 14th St, Cool Try... We need to get over there soon and do a little photo feature for ya.
The Book and Job Gallery (San Francisco) really stepped it up with the opening of Daniel Chen's loveBlast on May 4th. Complete with a doorman, piano player, old fashioneds, and some really nice paintings, I could hardly believe I was at the Book and Job. The paintings varied in size, and the show was balanced nicely between them, the spray-can work on the walls, and the smaller drawings displayed throughout. The kind notes Chen wrote on the walls are certain to brighten your day, and the rest of the work is definitely worth a look. It was a very classy evening and I hope they continue to intersperse shows like these into their schedule in the future
FFDG opened up the group show featuring original works by the artists of the world famous Skull & Sword tattoo last Friday here in San Francisco. Thanks to the huge crowd who turned out to support these four incredibly talented artists. Here is a taste of the show, and be sure to swing in to view in person. The show runs through June 8th.
Gary Baseman's retrospective "The Door is Always Open" at the Skirball in LA opened recently to massive crowds in a huge celebratory opening party. The exhibition is so complex and personal, delving into Baseman's background, family history, and all the layers of prolific work that he has done over the years. After the opening festivities winded down, I caught up with Baseman for an interview. We discussed the underlying meaning to some of the components of the show and how it felt for him, coming from such an honest personal perspective in putting this massive show together.
Fertile Menace, a new show of Mark Mulroney's (NY) work opened at Ever Gold on May 4th and it's not one to be missed. It is intelligently hilarious, with jokes riffing off sex, Foucault, and the body, and while it makes you laugh it's also going to make you think.
Our buddies Jay Howell, Andreas Trolf, and Jim Dirschberger are hyped as their show, which they've been working on for like 2 years, premieres on Nickelodeon Saturday. From the trailers we've seen so far and from what Jay has told us about, the show is going to be pretty epic. Congrats to those radical fellas.
Here's a little taste of work by the artists of the world famous The Skull and Sword tattoo shop who open their show at San Francisco's FFDG on Friday, May 17th (7-10pm).
Following his solo exhibition "The Collected" at Gallery Wendi Norris, painter Amir H. Fallah is in the throes of developing more new works for upcoming international exhibits. We spent some time in his studio in Highland Park, Los Angeles recently, discussing his process and inspiration.
We were first introduced to the photography of Spanish born NYC based Bubi Canal when he emailed us his great video Trust in Me a couple years ago. His solo show Special Moment recently ran at NYC's Munch Gallery in February, and he recently released his newest video Chrystelle below.
Although I missed the opening of Northern-California photographer Michael Garlington's newest show, Constructed Realities, I was fortunate enough to see the work still up during the Metaphysical fundraiser a couple weeks back at 111 Minna. Metaphysical fundraiser, an auction to benefit Wayne Ernzer. --- The ghoulish photographs in their heavy, hand-made frames are reminiscent of photos from the old west, and the glass crucifixes, complete with fetuses and guns, emphasize the accumulated time within the works themselves. Whether you're looking at the frames, the photos, or both, this show deserves a visit, and a walk through the golden archway Garlington constructed around the front door.
Fecal Face contributor Rachel Ralph (rachel(at)fecalface.com) has been profiling this Oakland based painter as he travels about Japan. In this segment, we feature some photos as he prepared for this show and residency at Spes-LaB in Tokyo which opened last weekend. Arnold will be featured in SFMoMA's Minna Street windows on June 8th.
Last Saturday, here in SF's Mission district, Guerrero Gallery opened two new shows with Philly based Alex Lukas and SF based Richard Colman respectively. Colman's work occupied the project space while Lukas' work and foliage was presented in the main space. Worth getting to if you haven't already.
Just got back to SF after a little trip south to Sayulita, Mexico. After 10 years without a vacation, me and the Mrs. headed south for some mental time off sitting in the sun, swimming and enjoying the watery Mexican beer. Here are some photos as we get back into the swing of things again.
Athens, Greece based designer, architect and artist Dimitris Polychroniadis emailed over more of his work which consists of mixed media, pop-humorous diorama sculptures that make a comment on the harsh realities my country and much of the world is facing at the moment.
FFDG will open a group show with the artists from the famed Skull & Sword Tattoo on Friday, May 17th (6-9pm). Artists: Grime, Henry Lewis, Yutaro, and Lango. Below are a series of videos on Grime for Vice's Tattoo Age produced in 2011. Fascinating look at one of the greatest tattoo artists alive today.
ARYZ (Spain) opened his newest gallery show at Fifty24SF last Friday and, if you live in the Bay Area, you need to go. This dude can obviously paint, and he doesn't need an entire building to show his impecable skill. The show has lots of small works on paper which contrast his highly-defined line work to his hard-edged painted objects. The contrast between the hard and soft was the most striking thing to me about his work, since I had never seen it in person before, and the washes blend with the thick paint seamlessly. The show also contains a larger work on canvas, a huge head suspended in the back of the room, and a big wood sculpture of a wolf figure. This diversity in such a small space was impressive, and those of us that went to the opening even got to meet the man in person. If you didn't make it out this weekend, check it out before May 31st when it closes and these works will be off to some very happy new homes.
Water McBeer is please to announce its latest exhibition "Precious" a solo exhibition by David Bayus (April 6 - May 4, 2013) -- David Bayus born 1982 holds his BFA from the Savannah College of Art and his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. David lives and works in San Francisco and is a founding member of the basement collective. This will be his first exhibition with the world renown Water McBeer Gallery highlighting his most recent achievements with paint and digital media. David Bayus will be exhibiting 5 relatively large-scale mixed media works along with a collaborative object featuring Hungarian sculptor H.R KOONS.
The Shooting Gallery handed over the reins to the Red Truck Gallery (a New Orleans based gallery) which curated their new show, Hard Time Mini Mall and opened the it on Saturday night. This is my favorite show (so far) in the Shooting Gallery's new space and was packed full of art, a mini bar, and cowhide rugs. The Red Truck Gallery chose works with clear craftsmanship and it was easy to see in Ian Berry's denim assemblages and Chris Roberts-Antieau's awesome quilts. The space was completely packed, making it hard to see each piece individually, but this show deserves a second trip anyway. I look forward to spending more time with the chandeliers, automatons, and paintings before the show comes down on May 4th.
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