“First Ride” on BART

I’m back after a weeklong hiatus… did you miss me?

Today will be a quickie as the reason for my disappearance was a ridiculous amount of work at work.  Isn’t spring break just around the corner?!? Oh wait, that’s just for kids…

Speaking of which, I saw these wonderful posters at the 12th street BART station two weekends ago on my way to the marathon and half-marathon finish line downtown.

Josh Ellingson, BART poster series, BART art poster ads

Josh Ellingson, BART animated ads, BART art posters

The images are part of BART’s art poster program which aims to “enhance the physical environment of stations and cars, and celebrate the wealth of artistic talent in the Bay Area.” The posters are hung in unused advertising space and appear without any slogans or promotional messages.

Of course the inherent message is Bart can transport you to amazing places!

These are two of a series of three, titled “First Ride,” by Bay Area artist and illustrator Josh Ellingson. You can see the third on SFBART’s blog, as well as read about Ellingson’s inspiration and process for creating these whimsical works.

March Murmur Mashup

Here’s a collection of photos from this month’s Art Murmur… I had intended to do posts on the various artists/galleries but ran out of time, as another First Friday is already upon us.  Jeeezzzz. Hopefully these snaps give you an idea of the variety of cool stuff you can see… and I haven’t even included shots of the electro-string ensemble accompanied knitting circle!

The next few shots are from Hatch Gallery, featuring new works by Clint Imboden entitled “Selected Histories.”

hatch gallery oakland, poetry with shoes

I believe the shoe installation is titled “Words”, however I like to call it Poetry with Shoes.  An interactive display, patrons could rearrange the shoes…

Clint Imboden, Hatch Gallery, Hatch Gallery oakland

Below is also Clint Imboden, from a series of vintage measuring stick sculptures titled “Measure.”  Love these.

measuring stick sculptures, Clint Imboden

The following ultra-cool screen printed poster is by Jason Munn. I love his minimalism and bought one of his earlier posters (Bike & Cats) at a previous Murmur.

jason munn posters, ben gibbard camera poster

The next shots were part of an installation at Mercury 20.  Titled “Inside Out” by artist P.K. Frizzell, x-rayed photographs of collections of common objects are mysterious & mesmerizing.

xray boxes, xray photographys, PK Frizzell

xray boxes, xray photographys, PK Frizzell

These last three are from a show at Studio Quercus, titled Impressions from the CCA(C) Print Shop – The Famous, The Not-So-Famous and the Totally Unknown. It was interesting to see early period works of many local notable artists, and to note how many of these artists have come through CCA.

CCA Impressions, impressions from CCA print shop

Studio Quercus, CCA Impressions, impressions from CCA print shop

Curated by CA(C) alumni and instructor Tim Sharman and CCA(C) alumni and professor Jack Ford, this exhibition spans 60 years of printmaking from the print shop at the California College of the Arts—formerly known as the California College of Arts and Crafts. This show remains up thru April 16th, so check it out…

Tim Sharman, CCA Impressions, Studio Quercus

Rainy Day Redwoods…

When it’s pouring rain, I love walking in the redwoods (Redwood Park).  The streams are raging; leaf, bark, and moss are slick and shiny; colors pop; and the forest is filled with a dewy fog…

coastal redwoods, northern california redwoods, redwood trees in oakland
redwood park oakland, redwood trees, coastal redwoods
moss and lichen, moss on bark
bark detail
spring rain
California native spring flowers, CA native pink flowering currant

Nevertheless, I am definitely hoping for some sun this weekend for our 2nd Annual Oakland Running Festival (aka Marathon). Thanks to everyone who supported my fundraising efforts (I surpassed my goal last night!) You all are AMAZING, and I will try to do you proud in my race tomorrow! Wish me luck… and get out there and support the runners if you can. If the weather perks up a bit, it should be a blast.

Wall St. F&*ked Us!

This is a little piece of street art I found in downtown Oakland a few weeks ago… actually framed and mounted (epoxied?) to a corner trash receptacle.

wall street, nite owl, greed, wall street greed

I love this on so many levels… the fact that the artist actually framed it as a piece of fine art; the symbolism conveying greed, and unthinking robotic behavior; and of course, the title, which is sadly sooo true.

I *think* (notice I did not say “assume,” for which I was lambasted last time) it’s by the same artist who does the Nite Owl stickers, one of which I featured ages ago on a pole outside my West Oakland loft (Put on a Happy Face). Note the same owl stencil in the lower left and a modified version on the jacket pocket.

It looks like the artist signed the piece in the upper right hand corner, but I’m too square to be able to read it.  Anyone?

I can’t help but cringe when conservative Republicans chant the disparaging mantra of “Class Warfare” whenever talk of raising tax rates on the rich is proposed.  The disparity between the rich and poor, not to mention the middle class who are far closer to the poor than the rich, has been growing for decades, and most Americans aren’t even aware of it. (Americans Underestimate U.S. Wealth Inequality)

The current distribution of U.S. wealth is about 85% to the top 10 percent of people, with the bottom 40-50 percent of the nation holding virtually no wealth at all.

CEO salaries as a percentage of worker salaries have exponentially increased over the last several decades, while average workers’ incomes have actually declined, once adjusted for inflation. (15 Mind-Blowing Facts About Wealth And Inequality In America).

And while millions of Americans saw their life savings evaporate (or at least shrink substantially) in the wake of the recent banking crisis, Wall Street executives made out with multi-million dollar bonus packages.

Yeah, they f&*ked us alright…