Wandering Artist's Journal

Last night UC Berkeley philosopher Judith Butler read three short lectures/essays on speech, sexuality, love, and politics. She was participating in a collaborative performance/installation work at SFMOMA , by Mika Tajima , Charles Atlas and others, of New Humans . I had no idea what to expect, going in. I was invited to accompany a friend and was under the vague (wrong) impression that it was some kind of visual art opening. SFMOMA was closed and dark, but a secret handshake got us in the the door (just kidding.) That room just off the lobby where they usually have bands & food during member openings? (The Schwab Room.) It was buzzing - literally. It was loaded with electronics and there was a pervasive droning sound, alternating with static. I think it was coming from speakers in the ceiling, but I'm not sure. The room was crammed with people but they were as quiet and respectful as students at a zen center. The audience stood (and eventually sat on the floor) around the...

(Just for fun) Since I got my iPod touch a few months ago, I've been fooling around with the simple drawing program, " Finger Paint ." I started sketching my fellow MUNI passengers. It's handy in places where a sketch pad would draw undue attention, but no one gives a second glance to a woman tapping on her iPod. But those are quick gesture sketches. I tried using myself as a (more reliable) model, to see if I could develop a more detailed drawing, but it was tough. My finger (which is the stylus) is larger than the smaller brushes. Which means my view of the canvas is obstructed by my finger, when trying to do detailed work. Which means, it's fine for landscapes, but too sloppy for portraits. Then I saw this story about David Hockney and his iPod art . Hey, those look great! If he's actually doing those on the iPhone, then he must have better software than I'm using. So I went back to the App store . . . downloaded " Paint Pro " and " P...

Saw some art this week. Like most weeks. Can't stop, really. But talking about it? The thrill is gone. Seems like I've heard everything and surely you must have too. This week I was downtown, in and out of a few galleries . Afterwards, I was talking to my friend Sherry, " the oldest woman on the web ." We met on Women's Wire (the pre-web version) a long time ago. We've both got legacy websites ( Sherryart and Bigcrow) gathering virtual dust on a server somewhere, but interactive platforms are what's happening now. We talked about killing the old sites vs archiving . . . no decisions reached yet. Yesterday one of those old arguments reignited (What is the role of an art critic, and why should I care?) on Facebook. I threw my 2 cents in, but didn't have the juice for the long haul. The conversation continues, as I write this, on Jerry Saltz's Facebook page. I will most likely take down my old static web site very soon. Should I kill this one, ...