Buddha Never Down

[thoreau]

Roy, Moi and the adorable Dr. Goldberg

Yesterday - David and I met up with Roy kroyd at the Sandovar Teahouse - then off to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. We went for the Frida Kahlo exhibit - and did take that in but it was insane overcrowded (despite timed tickets) and while I greatly admire Kahlo's work this was the least innovative most uninspiring hanging of her work I've ever seen. long walls of individually framed pieces - on 30 foot walls in eggshell white. It made particularly her smaller intimate pieces look unimpressive and small. It felt sterilized and cold. It was a disappointment.

Then - Roy excused himself (he was meeting family that evening for dinner) and David and I toured the "Half-Life of a Dream: Contemporary Chinese Art from the Logan Collection." Oh how I wish Roy had continued tagging along. This exhibit was marvelous - touching and impactful.

Described like this:

This selection of contemporary Chinese art from the Logan Collection reveals a spectrum of individual responses to the utopian dreams that have been driving Chinese society since 1949. Approximately 50 paintings, sculptures, and installations spanning 1988 to 2008 convey a sense of the shadows, masks, and monsters that have haunted the China's collective psyche during its process of modernization. The exhibition offers insight into the post-Tiananmen Square art and cultural scene, and features a diverse range of artists, including Ai Weiwei, Fang Lijun, Li Songsong, Liu Hung, Liu Xiaodong, Yu Youhan, Zhang Huan, and Zhang Xiaogang.

Beautifully designed and timed to deliver a voice for artists in China during the Olympic Games - the exhibit really delivered...

Particularly beautiful was Zhang Huan's "Buddha Never Down" a caged man meditating who's body was down feathers. it was terribly haunting and beautiful.



pictures from the artist's website since photos weren't allowed in the exhibition
There were several large paintings by Fang Lijun - who features grinning versions of himself in various situations.



pictures from the artist's website since photos weren't allowed in the exhibition

Showing Lijun's humor in the face of adversity - his permanently smiling men were arranged in front of the exhibit and throughout like the terracotta warriors.



Overall - the MOMA continues to be my favorite museum in SF - for it's boldness and (for the most part) the intense innovation of it's exhibits and presentations. It was also great to introduce Roy to David - and let them chatter and get to know one another.