PrintsPrints

Well, I finally made it to the Eight by Eight: 64 works on paper by eight printmakers. I didn't make it to the opening because my friends had extra tickets to see Bright Eyes which was a disappointing concert. The show was at the Market Street Gallery. Getting there was a bit of a pain because I had to walk through some sketchy neighborhoods, but I was fine. The gallery itself is in a nicer neighborhood, and it is very nice. I was surprised when I entered by how much work was on display. I knew a couple of the artists by their reputation. Leslie Lowinger is a part of the Graphics Arts Workshop which is a printmaking cooperative. I also knew of Amanda Knowles. I like her works from 2007 it seems to me that she has been somewhat influenced by Judy Pfaff. She graduated with an MFA from UW-Madison, and has shown a lot on the West coast. She is also teaching at Kala another printmaking workshop. The prints were mostly organically abstract with beautiful colors. I don't have pictures because I didn't take my camera with me. The work made me feel very happy. After a first and second round I spoke with the gallery owner Ronald Newman. He is also a printmaker and is a funny man. He advised me to go to City College SF to take printmaking classes. He told me it's cheap and that there is a nice group of people who have been printmaking for years. I think I'll take him up on his offer because I really miss being surrounded by serious printmakers. I also like to be around older people because they make me laugh a lot. He told me that the classes are sort of like open studios where one can play around and use whatever technique they like. We had a good chat about how he started the gallery and the fun he has with the openings. A lot of the time I get ignored by gallery owners, but he was so so nice to me even though he knew I would not be buying art. It's definitely a gallery I will go back to many many more times.

After going to the Market Street Gallery I headed to the Farmers market for some fresh fruit and then went to Aurobora Press which specializes in monoprinting. If you've been keeping up with my blog for a few years you might remember that this press is what got me interested in monoprinting which eventually landed me an opportunity in Greece. Jackie Gendel had an exhibition on portraits that were okay. I liked the composition and subject matter, but the technique was displeasing to me. There is a certain color brown and ugly texture that happens when people don't know how to use the ink on the plate and print properly, and this is what happened to her. It's quite strange though. Even though I was internally technically vomitting it somehow drew me more to her work because her portraits were quite disturbing. So, I have an awkward emotional pull to her work like nails scrapping against a chalk board. I'm not sure where I stand. Also, I like to go to Aurobora Press because Kurt Kemp has an awesome large print collage which is just amazing to look at. I really am starting to like his work the more I look at it. I hope to meet him someday. He lives somewhere North of here and I don't have the transportation to visit him, but I'm sure I'll spontaneously run into him someday.

Right now I'm ready Oscars Wilde's A Portrait of Dorian Gray. It's such a great book. I've always known the premise of the story, but have not taken the time to read it. It's a great book for artists to read. "Art is really quite useless"- Oscar Wilde

On another note, there was a Tony Blair special on PBS last night which was so interesting. I was quite shocked when he announced his resignation. I think he is a great man and has done some wonderful things. Unfortunately, he's been struggling since Bush has become President which has become quite damaging to him. I hope someday that he opens upand talks more about his decisions that he has made recently.