Mark Your Calendar: Olafur Eliasson at SFMOMA Through February 24

Yesterday was Nick's birthday and Austin was still on winter break from school, so we all played hookie and spent the afternoon at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, which is having the most amazing exhibition right now featuring the work of Danish/Icelandic conceptual artist Olafur Eliasson.

Photo montage from Greg.org

Eliasson is known for his mindbending multimedia and multisensory work, which employs sculpture, photography, geometry, and science and jolts viewers out of their normal, passive interaction with art by tweaking the temperature, moisture level, color, illumination, and even the scent of his exhibit spaces.

Unfortunately, photography isn't allowed inside the museum, and the watchful stare of several security guards was enough to keep my camera tucked safely in my purse. And though there are a few pictures of the Eliasson exhibit on the museum website, they don't really do his creations justice. Happily, a quick flickr search turned up photosets from several intrepid SFMOMA visitors.

Take a look:

Photo by mybluemuse

In the museum's rotunda, you're greeted by Ventilator, a whirring fan suspended from a cable and swinging low enough overhead to make you instinctively duck. It's a fitting introduction to the Eliasson exhibit, which is all about interactivity -- as well as placing visitors outside of their physical comfort zone.

Photo by aqui-ali

Photo by Stellae et Luna

The One-Way Color Tunnel is a stunning kaleidescope in the form of an enclosed bridge suspended high above the entrance rotunda.

Photo by solupine

Beauty consists of streams of mist and a prismatic light show, both of which rain down on visitors.

Photo by daniel.gene

The Waterfall Series is comprised of 50 color-filtered waterfall prints, each unique and yet all of a piece.

Photo by Cynner_SF

The 360 Degree Room for All Colours cycles through the entire color spectrum, with observers' silhouettes becoming part of the visual experience.

Photo by aqui-ali

In Notion Motion, raised floorboards are employed like piano keys and image prompts, creating both musical notes and projected waves when they're stepped on.

Photos by m.a.r.c.

The image-refracting facets of Multiple Grotto create a kaleidoscopic view of its own bisecting angles.

Photo by Paolo L

Your Mobile Expectations is a space-age vehicle constructed of steel and ice, housed in a walk-in freezer.

Photo from Wired

Photo by Jared Zimmerman

The Model Room showcases small-scale models and prototypes of Eliasson's installations as well as modestly sized creations, such as the faceted light fixture above. It's a fascinating glimpse into the artist's mind at work -- not to mention a collection of breathtaking geometric objects.

SFMOMA's Olafur Eliasson show runs through February 24, after which it will tour various museums around the country. If you're in the area, move earth and sea to catch it before it's gone.

And whether you're in the area or not, the exhaustive and beautiful exhibit catalog, Take Your Time: Olafur Eliasson ($50), would be a worthy addition to your bookshelf or coffee table.

The Artful Home: Ruth Asawa

I had to bop over to San Francisco's de Young Museum for a work thing this week (I know -- poor me). On my hurried way to check out the thing I needed to see, I was struck speechless by these ethereal wire sculptures by Ruth Asawa.

Seriously: One minute I was jogging to the elevator, and the next I was rooted to the spot where I stood, my mouth hanging agape at the gorgeousness before me.

The delicate biomorphic and organic sculptures themselves are breathtaking -- but it's the play of light and shadow that they cast upon the walls that's absolutely magical.

Although it turns out that I'd seen various pieces of Asawa's public art around the City over the years, I didn't know anything about her. And when I read up a bit on her life and work, I was even more blown away.

As a young woman during World War II, the California native was sent with her family to a Japanese internment camp, where she began to explore art. At art school, she studied under Buckminster Fuller and learned traditional basket-making techniques while traveling in Mexico.

Photo by Laurence Cuneo

In the 1950s, Asawa actually crocheted these pieces from iron, copper, brass, and bronze, often working late into the night while her six -- yes, you read that right: six -- young children slept. (So much for that "parenthood leaves me no time for creativity" rationalization, eh?)

Her work has been exhibited at various California museums as well as at New York's Whitney and the Museum of Modern Art. Asawa also dedicated much of her life to advancing and safeguarding art in San Francisco's public schools.

For more on Ruth Asawa and her amazing creations, keep an eye out for the book Contours in the Air. And if you're in the Bay Area, don't miss the opportunity to see her beautiful wire sculptures in person at the de Young -- they're in the Hamon Tower entrance on the ground floor, which you can visit for free.

eBay Find of the Day: Agitprop Art

When my family and I visited London this past spring, we spent the better part of a day at the amazing Tate Modern. At the time, the museum was hosting an exhibit on Constructivist art featuring the propaganda posters of Aleksandr Rodchenko and others that profligated after the Bolshevik Revolution.

I didn't know much about Constructivism -- or about Russian history, for that matter -- but I was instantly struck by the futuristic feel, bold graphics, and vibrant color (namely red, of course) of these images, which eschewed art simply for art's sake in favor of art in service of the nation's social welfare.

The result was posters extolling Bolshie leaders like Vladimir Lenin, above, urging factory workers to be more productive, and admonishing Soviet countrywomen to "keep your tongue behind your teeth," below -- and thus presumably not blab state secrets (that's one I ought to post near my telephone ... ).

Today, original examples of this agitprop art command hundreds and even thousands of dollars on the open market (oh, the irony for us members of the cash-strapped proletariat ... ). But you can find good-quality reproductions for a fraction of that by surfing around in eBay's Military and Political Art and Russian Collectibles categories.

The striking giclee print of a 1931 propaganda poster at top, for instance, is rendered on heavyweight archival paper and measures 20 by 29 inches. Roughly translated, it reads "Smite the Lazy Worker!" Snap it up and hang it near your home work station for a bit of tongue-in-cheek motivation on those days when you're not feeling terribly industrious. After all, it's for the greater good.

Current bid: $15.