I remember I was working with a former friend, putting together an interview. We had asked the interviewee what her top interior design tips were. One of the answers was, spend money on having expensive or artistic staple pieces then save money on different items and build your design off those pieces. My former friend, scoffed, “So, obvious.”
I felt little. It wasn’t obvious to me. I thought her response was perfect...elegant, even. A major reason that friend is now a “former” friend, is because while this person taught me so about the finer things in life...this person also never truly respected me and often said things which implied I was unworthy or not capable.
The fact is: I am unpolished! Does that mean I don’t deserve entry into the artistic spaces I desire? No! And it doesn’t mean you don’t either. We are the curators of our own lives and can design them as we see fit.
Don’t get me wrong, there are some things I used to think were totally basic, for example, I personally hate the color pink. But damn, you have to respect someone when they are all wrapped-up in pink branding bow on social media and speaking their truth. It might not be my color, but at the end of the day; it's cool if it’s yours.
In my last piece I wrote about iconic San Franciscan city highlights and some of my favorite art spots. I wanted to write a round-up of the places I mentioned. Almost unconsciously, I started to let this nasty little thing named, “fear,” creep-in and all I could hear was that former friend’s taunts,”Ugh, that’s so obvious, why would you write that” in the back of my head.
The reality is not everyone who read this blog lives in California or has even visited the city. Some people will spend their whole lives working really hard to make ends meet and maybe one day they will save-up what little they have for a week long trip to San Francisco. So here is a quick list, for the humble masses who, just like me, who had never heard of these fun art/ artisan pit-stops. We only what we know until we know it. The best part, we can always learn more.
Gagosian and Berggruen Galleries
These galleries are two famous competing galleries that opened-up right next door to each other the same year the SFMOMA re-opened its doors. Here’s an Artsy article that maps why these galleries have been making big splashes in the San Francisco art market.
“The Bay Area was a beacon for artists, political revolutionaries, and counter-cultural ideals before it became the epicenter of forces that have changed the way people interact and do business across the world.”
For starters, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is in no way related to MoMa in New York. I didn’t know this until I moved back to norcal. They are two independently ran institutions. The big factoid here is they closed for 3 years and opened-up again in 2016. This opening definitely encouraged galleries like the above mentioned to come to the city, along with art fairs that usually debut in early January.
This is one of my number one places to take visitors when I’m in S.F. It’s an indoor marketplace for exquisite cuisine and accoutrements. There are bread shops, cheese counters, beer and wine gardens, along with olive oil and chocolate tastings to be had. On Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturdays they have an eclectic farmers market that wraps around the outside of the building. My favorite adventure is to smuggle a nice bottle of wine onto the ferry. For a $10 corkage fee your friends and you can sip the vino as you pass Alcatraz and the Golden Gate bridge on your way to Sausalito. #Protip
I haven’t visited this project yet, but they’ve taken over an old warehouse in historic S.F. where artists, galleries, entrepreneur and different art nonprofits have made their home. It’s on the list of places to visit and can promise you that their will be a blog when it happens. But click the link and check it out.
I can’t speak too much about Yoshi’s other than I know it’s famous for its Jazz and I want to go back. My friend Gordon is a musician. Always has been, even in high school he was very linked into underground music scenes.
I snagged this from their website to give us a little more background information:
Yoshi’s began in 1972 as a small, North Berkeley sushi bar owned by founder and namesake, Yoshie Akiba, alongside her two best friends Kaz Kajimura, a journalist and carpenter, and Hiroyuki Hori, a painter and Japanese cook. Over the next 40 years, Yoshi’s built itself into one of the world’s most respected jazz venues, earning a reputation as the Bay Area’s premier location for great Japanese cuisine and jazz music. Today, Yoshi’s is an award-winning 310-seat live performance venue with a state-of-the-art sound system and design, occupying 17,000 square feet in the heart of Oakland’s Jack London Square. Under the guidance of esteemed Artistic Director Michael Pritchard, the venue has expanded its focus to include broader genres suitable to a variety of musical tastes.