My Dear Frisco,
You once said:
I agree, communication for us is a rather silent affair. I throw myself to your streets, you consume my thoughts, and at the end of the brief times I share with you... I'm always left with so many unvoiced questions, it gets harder and harder to talk about you.
We've had some good times:
May 10, 2009
November 9, 2008
May 15, 2006
But then I find out that you shared this incredible moment with someone else:
It's not that I mind... I just want to know when it happened?
- - - - - - - - - -
Paul Madonna has been drawing these deceptively inert illustrations for the San Francisco Chronicle since 2004 (his works were introduced by the paper in this article here). I absolutely love seeing his work on paper. His urban-scapes cling to the city - like a lover half-asleep in the morning. And the way in which he extracts brick, mortar, pavement, and window sill from their natural 'habitats', juxtaposing this wild scribble against the street - it's breathtakingly unsettled and... even liquid in manner. His piece above from 15 May 06: the ink-work is almost this stain that bends the curb to the road, nestling the grill against the urgency of the shadows. Textures are hinted at; cracks are pulled apart all the more widely; and the picture cuts off fiercely at the top as if to tell you, 'you're not looking at the right place'. And just off-center, the words: Your existence gives me hope... made all the more poignant because the graffiti actually exists in the Mission, SF. Or at least, it used to.
Paul's work has heavily featured the architecture of San Francisco, but in recent times, the he's ended up flirting with other cities (a trait we seem to share....)
Check out his archive here.
Ah, what an interesting blog! :)
ReplyDeleteI had some great times on my second honeymoon in SF. Wife agrees too. :D
Speaking of Frisco, are you coming up anytime soon? Karen and I are here as well now... and we'll be around for at least a couple of years =)
ReplyDeleteAutolycus - Mr. Masticate?
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm huge fan of San Francisco. I think it's very pedestrian scale that it has - which I think is lacking in a lot of other cities. I lucked out a bit the first time I was there - one of my old classmates had a car and we just went all over the city. I've been back twice since then, and without the car, you're limited the highly touristy (but still satisfying) hotspots.
Dale - I need to steal some of the photos from off your site! Could do a whole post on the B&W's.
ReplyDeleteClement's currently completing his MBA at Stanford - you guys should meet up. I'm planning to head there end of this year... I'm heading to Vancouver in Nov/Dec, and might pop down from Seattle.