Tag Archives: art

Photographs: People, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Three People, Gallery, Elevator Door

January 16, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Three people in an art gallery with a freight elevator door

I suppose that if you are camera-shy and you see me in a museum that you may want to run for cover. (Or just wait for me to become interested in the exhibits — I’m notorious for taking forever to work my way though museums. Family members have been known to just give up and go find a restaurant to wait for me to finally finish!) In any case, I like to photograph in museums, for the interesting architectural details and light and for the opportunity to watch people doing interesting things and assembling themselves into various compositions.

We were at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA) where we had seen a lot of very interesting stuff. (My favorite was the installation on the top floor by William Kentridge, “The Refusal of Time. I walked into it prepared to be unimpressed, but ended up being very moved by it.) Along the edge of a gallery on a lower floor there was a giant freight elevator door taking up almost all of one wall. One thing about museums is that almost anything seen in such a place has the potential to take on meanings beyond the ordinary, and for some reason this door caught my attention. I did as I often do with such subjects — I waited for people to populate this “intimate urban landscape” so that I could make a few photographs.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Detail, Atrium

January 12, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Architectural details of atrium of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

When I visit museums I often photograph them. I don’t usually photograph the displays, but I do photograph the architecture, people, and sometimes the structural abstractions I can locate. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a favorite museum — for its collection, its temporary installations (Right now go see William Kentridge’s “The Refusal of Time!”)

The museum was recently remodeled and expanded, with a new wing added to the original structure. The original centerpiece of the interior architecture was the atrium, a tall central open space topped by a “turret gallery” with a catwalk. The atrium remains following the remodel, and the light in this space is often spectacular, ranging from shade to bright sunshine. During this visit the light was softened by rainy conditions outside, and the colors ranged from the warmth of electrical lighting to the cool blues of the cloud-muted light coming in through the windows.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Urban/Street

Signore Verdi Sings the Blues

December 22, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Street art, modeled after a painting of Giuseppe Verdi

There was street art everywhere we went in Europe and the UK this past summer. In some places, such as Heidelberg, a lot of it was overtly political and it relied a lot on text. In other places there was more that was purely visual or almost so, like this example and some that we saw in Paris. In other places, such as some parts of Bologna, much of it reminded me of simple tagging, similar to what we see in the US.

This example caught my attention for several reasons. Because of my musical background I recognized it as a riff on a famous picture of Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi. (At the time of this posting you can see it at the Wikipedia entry on the composer.) The intense blue color and its juxtaposition with the green (think “Verdi”) plants also seemed interesting. I don’t know what it “means” or why it was here, but I couldn’t help photographing it!

Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Urban/Street

It Doesn’t Help And No One Cares

December 10, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

This is, obviously, not “the usual” around here, but it seemed worth sharing. We were visiting a sort of art fair during a Thanksgiving visit to Southern California. At first I just looked at the arts and crafts, but having a camera in my hand I, of course, started to look at other things and to look at the event in different ways than most people who attend holiday fairs.

I could probably write an essay about this little photograph, but I’ll keep it short. At this mostly happy event, there was, once I looked more closely, a surprising undercurrent of lonely looking people. The man sitting on the bench in the spot of sunlight, hands in front between his legs and head falling to the side, was certainly not the only one. However, the juxtaposition of this person with another man wearing a shirt with the cynical slogan, ostensibly during a “holiday” event, was jarring.

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G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: art

Three People, Gallery, Elevator Door

Detail, Atrium

Signore Verdi Sings the Blues

It Doesn’t Help And No One Cares

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.