Christina Diaz

today michael and i saw this amazing exhibit at the SFMOMA. the artist is William Kentridge. He is a south african artist and is mostly known for his animated films. this artist is a brilliant genius! he (in a very simplistic explanation) makes a drawing, photographs it, then alters the drawing, then rephotographs it and on and on. basically like stop motion animation. the result is so beautifully organic as you can still see smudge marks and erasings, as michael said: like a trail of life. watching his films, of which there where numerous, is like watching magic. the inventiveness of the subject matter, the execution of the idea, and the final product is out of this world. he takes all pictures of his images on a 35mm camera. it takes close to 100 images to make 4 seconds of film. some of his films are 20+ minutes long! the films are all presented beautifully with accompanying music. my explanations do no justice. the exhibit also had some gorgeous drawings, some of which were actually stills from his movies. here is an image from the film stereoscope. this image is also very fitting for the mood of the day. my parents lost a dear friend this week and i wish i could be there with them, all my love is with them.

also as a member we had the opportunity to get a sneak peak of the new rooftop garden. the space also housed an outdoor sculpture garden. i was very taken with this piece by italian artist, Mario Merz, titled: the lens of rotterdam. the piece was created in 1988, when the artist was 66. i loved the fragility of the glass juxtaposed with this heavy rugged rock and clamped together with these simple yet industrial looking clamps. the three materials the artist chose worked so well together and really created a stunning piece of work. i was in awe at the architectural problem solving this must have taken in order to make this piece structurally sound, made even more complex with the use of the thin sheets of glass. loved it!



rip-diana