that could be a thesis: August 2008

One of the best things about being here is the plethora of art, especially modern and contemporary art, in both museums and galleries. This is part of Berlin's contemporary reputation, and it does seem that the fall of the wall led to a very exciting and creative atmosphere, though I wonder if this period is coming to an end or becoming more formalized now. In any case, Berlin feels like a city a little less enamored or stuck in its long gone past, like some other places I've been in Europe. There is 'history' everywhere, of course, but of such an ambivalent and complex nature that it (perhaps) provides an impetus to be forward looking rather than the opposite.

When I lived and New York and had practically no friends, one of my favorite activities on Saturday morning was to go to the Chelsea galleries or to the Whitney or some other museum. New York had its fair share of mediocre or (especially) gimmicky art, but I also went to some fantastic shows while I was there.

This was something I really missed while in San Francisco. Anyone who's spoken to me for 30 minutes knows that I love San Francisco, but for a city with so many people who are interested in art, with the finances and cultural motivation to support the arts, SF disappoints too often. Many galleries in SOMA/downtown had boring/derivative work and sometimes even charged (?!), the open studios were a nice way to waste an afternoon, and art openings were miserable multi-media events. (The SF MOMA did have some good shows, though). Like someone here said, the SF arts scene excels at producing things that that are more towards the 'craft' end of the spectrum.

Anyway, that's all just to say that it's nice and every exciting to once again be in a place where I can see both established and new or quasi-new modern and contemporary art (actually, I think I can do this in LA, but not without spending the whole day in a car). Below are some of the works that I have scene in the past month.