Photo by Plomomedia

The San Francisco Arts Commission is sending out an open call to photographers for their upcoming “Night/Light: Bay Area Photographers Take Aim After Dark” exhibition:

We are inviting submissions of works that explore what happens after sunset and before sunrise. Nighttime images of interest will range from landscapes to portraits, from photodocumentary essays to fantastical narratives. We’ll be looking for technical proficiency, creative innovation, and a wide variety of subject matter.

The SFAC jury will select between three and ten images from each selected artist, which will then be displayed at the SFAC’s ground floor Gallery inside City Hall. The exhibition will run from September 16, 2010 until January 14, 2011.

Entries for the Night/Light exhibition must be received by Saturday, August 14 by 6pm, and only digital submissions will be accepted. Visit the exhibiton info page for complete submission guidelines.

The SFAC’s Gallery at City Hall is currently exhibiting “Picturing Power & Potential” until August 27.

If you’re submitting any night/light images representing the Richmond District, be sure to let us know!

Sarah B.

[via SFist]

The romance, the art, the joie de vivre! Please your palate with light, French-inspired fare and an array of specialty drinks from our open bar, including some deliciously unique absinthe cocktails. Expand your knowledge of European art and lose all inhibition on the dance floor with music from Bardot A Go Go. French Kiss takes inspiration from many eras throughout the history of France, calling for you to dress festively and prepare to immerse yourself in all things French.

“French Kiss” takes place on Wednesday, July 14 from 7pm until 11pm at the de Young (21 and over only). And thanks to the museum, I have 4 pairs of tickets to give away to RichmondSFBlog readers!

To enter, find the answer to the question below and then send it in using the contact us form:

Q: What is the formal, French name for Bastille Day?

I’ll draw the winners randomly from the correct entries, which are are due by noon on Tuesday, July 6.

The event is put on by ArtPoint, the young professionals’ organization dedicated to promoting an awareness of, interest in, and a long-term commitment to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the de Young and Legion of Honor.

Bonne chance!

Sarah B.

Sutro Baths has long faded into the history books of San Francisco and the Richmond District, but that doesn’t mean it’s not still a hot piece of property.

CurbedSF reports that Christie’s recently auctioned off a 79 x 82 inch color lithograph from 1896 for a mere $27,500. The auction house originally estimated it would sell for between $12,000 and $18,000.

With its vivid colors and wonderful detail, this rare color lithograph recalls the energy and excitement that surely pervaded this impressive complex. Grand in promotion as well as scale, the Sutro Baths were advertised by large billboards such as this monumental work, composed of six individually printed pieces, which have been assembled in registration and glued together to form the final work.

So if you’ve got old Richmond District memorabilia in your closet, hang onto it! You may be surprised at its value someday.

Sarah B.

I hope you all enjoy the Birth of Impressionism exhibition and the French prix fixe menu in the museum café.

Thanks to everyone who entered the contest. If you’re keeping score at home, the correct answers were:

1) The Birth of Impressionism exhibition includes the painting commonly known as “Whister’s Mother”. What is the real name of this famous work?
Arrangement in Gray and Black No. 1; Portrait of the Artist’s Mother

2) The Birth of Impressionism exhibition will be replaced in the fall by the second touring exhibition from the Musée d’Orsay. What will that exhibition be called?
Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cezanne, and Beyond: Post–Impressionist Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay

Sarah B.

To honor the first birthday of the renovated Richmond Branch Library, the SF Arts Commission recently installed two new sculptures in front of the building.

Entitled Touching Earth, the two disc shaped sculptures were created by artist Scott Donahue. The pieces are inspired by the transient nature of the Bay Area’s population in that everyone arrived here from elsewhere using different modes of travel. The artist himself initally rode into the Bay Area on a bicycle.

Located on either side of the walkway leading up to the library’s entrance on 9th Avenue, the sculptures are two concrete containers covered with bronze epoxy domes. On top of each dome is a relief map of the Bay Area.

The south side sculpture depicts the historical Bay Area, before there was any Golden Gate or Bay Bridges. Inset in the relief map are various small photos showing how people reached the Bay Area in the past: by foot, horse, ship, train or prairie schooner.

The north side relief sculpture shows a closer, more contemporary view of the Bay with the Richmond Library highlighted in the center. More modern methods of transportation are shown including a jet plane, a bicyclist, a ferry, cars and even the 38 Geary MUNI bus.

The pieces were commissioned as part of the Branch Library Improvement Program. Donahue’s proposal for the pieces was selected through a community-based process back in 2005.

Donahue got into some hot water last year when he was paid $196,000 by Berkeley’s public arts program to create two large statues honoring the history and daily life of the city of Berkeley. At the base of the statues were small medallions showing dogs doing what they do – biting each other, defecating, even having sex with each other.

Apparently in his original proposal to the Berkeley Civic Arts Commission, Donahue’s design didn’t show the tiny canine reliefs. Many Berkeley-ites were not thrilled with the artist’s irreverent, canine commentary on Berkeley life, nor the Commission’s oversight of it. More at FoxNews.com

Special thanks to RichmondSFBlog reader Michele for letting me know about this new art in the neighborhood.

Sarah B.

A closeup of the Richmond Library on the north side sculpture

An example of the photos that are inlaid in the relief sculpture, depicting various modes of transportation

An inlaid photo of the 38 Geary heading west on the north side sculpture

Jay’s subject matter varies a lot. Sometimes he’s capturing the dynamics folds of a cloth and other times, the simple beauty of a donut. Something about this sketch of hands on a simple yellow pad drew me in (no pun intended).

Jay has this to say about his choice of medium: “A yellow legal pad is always in my bag. It’s not quite a journal or a sketchbook… Brainstorms burst better on a yellow pad and thoughts flow freely.”

How would you caption this sketch?

Sarah B.

Once a military zone, the Park Trail winds through majestic old growth, past a historic cemetery, and around the recently opened Presidio Habitats exhibition, a site-based art show celebrating the wild Presidio that showcases temporary habitat sculptures.

The Park Trail is about 2 miles long with moderate terrain. The guided tour leaves from the Presidio Officer’s Club (50 Moraga Avenue) at 1:30pm on Saturday. Registration is required so call 561-5418 or email presidio@presidiotrust.gov

If you can’t make the guided tour, download the Presidio Trails Map to walk the new Park Trail on your own. The Presidio Habitats exhibition is also worth checking out – get all the info on the show and the self-guided tour on their website.

Thanks to Matt Baume for the tip.

Sarah B.

There’s a new photo exhibition in the lobby of the Balboa Theater (3630 Balboa Street). Stop in to see “100 Hours in the Dark”, a portfolio of photos by Kate Kline May. The images from the show were shot off the movie screen while vintage movies were shown at the Telegraph Repertory Movie Theater shortly before it closed.

May is a Bay Area photographer and filmmaker whose photographs have been shown at SFMOMA, at Zeit Foto Gallery in Tokyo, and at Bank of America World Headquarters here in San Francisco.

In book news, both the Balboa Theater and the 4-Star are included in a new release, Left in the Dark: Portraits of San Francisco Movie Theatres, which chronicles the history and cultural impact of San Francisco’s independent movie houses. The book is a collection of full-color art photographs and personal essays about local theaters like the Castro, 4-Star, Bridge, Clay, Balboa and many others.

Left in the Dark is available for pre-order ($39.95) at leftinthedark.info. Only 2,000 copies will be made available beginning in October.

Sarah B.

Balboa Theater Sidewalk Lights. Photo by R.A. McBride

4-Star Theater Screen. Photo by R.A. McBride

Enjoy a lecture with slideshow about Van Gogh’s life and artwork, presented by Marlene Aron.

The event will be held at 6:30pm at the Richmond District branch library, 351 9th Avenue. The program is free.

Sarah B.

Birth of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay showcases over 100 paintings by Impressionist masters including Edgar Degas, Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, and Gustave Courbet. The opening placard in the exhibit sets the stage:

Rivalries among artists, collectors, dealers, and critics animate the art world. This was never truer than in 19th-century Paris, then Europe’s artistic capital. Birth of Impressionism focuses on this contentious artistic community and its varying exhibition strategies. The tumultuous social and political events of the 1860s and 1870s shook the foundations of the state-run Salon, Paris’s preeminent art forum. And competition among individual artists and different stylistic schools, as well as between the art establishment and aspiring newcomers, spurred dynamic tensions in French cultural life. This tension intensified after the Impressionists launched a series of independent exhibitions in 1874.

Yesterday, the de Young held its press event where my cub reporter was on hand to preview the exhibition. Unfortunately Mayor Gavin Newsom was nearly an hour late(!), so the schedule lagged. My reporter had to leave before she could enjoy a curator-led tour of the show, but she came away with plenty of details on the exhibition I can share with you.

Birth of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay includes works by the famous masters who called France their home during the mid to late 19th century and from whose midst arose one of the most original and recognizable of all artistic styles, Impressionism. Known for its groundbreaking style of recognizable brush strokes, emphasis on light and its changing qualities, as well as its depiction of everyday subject matter, Impressionism sparked a dramatic turn toward more naturalistic art. The name of the movement is derived from the title of a Claude Monet work, Impression, Sunrise (Source: Wikipedia).

The Birth of Impressionism exhibition is full of legendary paintings from artists that have come to define the Impressionist movement. Edgar Degas’ paintings of race horses and ballet dancers demonstrate his masterful depiction of movement, while Monet’s inclusions demonstrate his brilliant exploration of the ever changing quality of light and color. Other Impressionist heavyweights like Pierre Auguste Renoir, Alred Sisley, Édouard Manet and Gustave Courbet are also featured in the show.

Aside from hosting the magnificent exhibition, the de Young had other exciting news to announce yesterday. The museum recently acquired Absinthe Drinkers (Les buveurs d’absinthe), 1881, by the French painter Jean-François Raffaëlli who is also featured in the show (view). Regarded as one of Raffaëlli’s most important paintings, it will temporarily grace the entrance of the Birth of Impressionism exhibition before settling into its permanent home at the Legion of Honor.

If you’ve only ever seen these magnificent artists in books or online, don’t miss this chance to see their work up close. Guy Cogeval, the President of Musée d’Orsay, was on hand for yesterday’s press event. He remarked that the lighting at the de Young galleries brought out features in the paintings that were not easily seen at the Musée, an old Paris railway station that reopened as a fine art museum in 1986.

Birth of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay opens Saturday, May 22 and runs through September 6, 2010. Tickets are required to see the exhibition but museum members are entitled to up to 8 free tickets during the exhibition period. However members must reserve advanced tickets online. If you’re not a member yet, this might be a great time to join (you also get free entry to the Legion of Honor with your membership).

Edgar Degas | The Dancing Lesson (1873-1876) Courtesy of edgar-degas.org

Birth of Impressionism will be followed in the fall by the second touring exhibition from the great museum, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cezanne, and Beyond: Post–Impressionist Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay. It will run from September 25, 2010 through January 18, 2011. One or the other exhibitions will also make stops in Nashville, Tennessee and Madrid, Spain. However the de Young is the only museum in the world to host both exhibitions.

Are you excited for this exhibition? I am and I have already secured my free member tickets for next weekend. I’ll be taking my art history teacher from high school with me; sort of my own personal audio tour.

If you make it out to the exhibition, please leave your thoughts in the comments. Enjoy the show!

Sarah B.