SYMPHONY IN SPACE

Marvelous views from any angle.  And I haven't even gotten to the art work yet.  That's just the architecture of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

(The SF MoMA is highly symmetrical, as most photos show, but I did opt to choose varied angles for some images.)

Geometry in space
Looking out onto the atrium ceiling
SF MoMA

A few days ago, I had the spontaneous treat of killing a few hours at the MoMA, one of my favorite museums in San Francisco.  I was faced with a wasted day of bureaucracy involving 3 hours' waiting time between document drop off and pick-up.  Fortunately, the MoMA was only a 5-minute cab ride away.  I couldn't have been happier filling those 3 hours and wished it were 5 instead.

Striped, black granite staircase
opening up directly to the gallery
SF MoMA

It turns out, this current structure, designed by the Italian Mario Botta, will be affected by the proposed Museum expansion.  While change is often good, many are saddened by the removal of the monumental, granite staircase, central to the current museum experience as it guides visitors from floor to floor.  However, the new plans (proposed by the architectural firm, Snøhetta) are shaping up to be an interesting abstract counterpoint to Botta's geometric forms.

The ocular skylight, capturing blue sky
and specks of light, high on top of the atrium
SF MoMA

But what is a Museum's architecture for but to showcase great works of art?  (Yes, yes, architects will argue that the architecture itself IS the work of art!)

A visitor merges into a Mark Rothko painting
architecturally framed by the track lighting
SF MoMA

The MoMA was where I first experienced the magnificence of Rothko, the energy of Pollock, the abstractions of Diebenkorn.

Views framed by the
Clyfford Still gallery walls
SF MoMA

A Clyfford Still painting
SF MoMA

I also viewed two special exhibits this day -- a Richard Serra Drawings retrospective, and extraordinary photography by the short-lived Francesca Woodman.  The latter deserves her own, separate blog post.

So, I got more than I bargained for on this paper-shuffling trip to San Francisco -- Architecture and Art, rolled up into one extraordinary package.  Knowing now that the grand, central staircase is disappearing, I was also glad to have caught a self-portrait against its zebra walls.  (I did get amused smiles being the only person facing into the wall while everyone else was walking down and away from it.)

Me, in my '50s swing coat and ladylike purse
My vintage style was perhaps incongruous to the surroundings
but it was the same period as the California Abstract Expressionists!
SF MoMA

What is your favorite Museum?