Alina Smith - By Heart

Alina Smith - By Heart, video taken between Yosemite and San Francisco.
LINK: Youtube

Fantastic Sculptures By Odani Motohiko

These massive, milk white sculptures by Japanese artist Odani Motohiko have an ethereal nature about them, with wispy details and fantastic subjects to match. They have the appearance of fine porcelain, which adds to the delicate nature of these works, and would probably look even more impressive in a room where the walls are painted black, so they would really stand out. Hit the Hi Fructose link below and take a tour of Odani’s latest showing at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco-it’s almost like being there in person, even though it really isn’t the same at all! Link –Via: Hi Fructose, Via: Neatorama

Hyperreal photoreal painting

On the Saturday arts and crafts market in San Francisco's Justin Herman Plaza, there is an artist who paints and sells his work from inside a small cart. His specialty is making "photorealistic" reproductions of celebrity photos and passers-by. Based on the nude on the left though, it seems that some of his models may live in the Uncanny Valley. I rather like this artwork though and next time may ask if it's for sale. Click the image to see it larger. LINK: Boingboing

Celebrity Portraits Made from Their Own Trash

Through uncertain methods, San Francisco-based artist Jason Mecier convinces celebrities to donate personal trash to them. He turns the individual contributions into portraits of each celebrity:

He uses junk and discarded items donated by top stars, so yes…that Trojan condom box in the top left corner of Tina Fey‘s portrait actually came from Tina herself. Mecier has spent over 10 years creating outrageous portraits and is now so popular that stars contact him directly and pay $1,500 for a portrait, which he gladly makes from a bag of their junk that they provide.

Celebs who have asked for the portraits include Chris Rock, Pink, Tori Spelling, and Chelsea Handler, whose portrait includes empty vodka bottles, a Snuggie box, Martini glasses, bottle opener, buttons, batteries, chapstick, dice, pens, badges and movie tickets.

Link, Via: Crackajack | Artist’s Website | Via: Neatorama

Anthony Bourdain - Hangtown Fry in San Francisco

Tony meets up with his friend Oscar at Tadich Grill in San Francisco, where he tries the classic Hangtown Fry consisting of eggs, bacon, and oysters. Catch episodes of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Mondays at 10PM, only on Travel Channel. http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows...|| LINK: Youtube

"Pinball Wizard" Flash Mob in San Francisco

In a tribute to Woodstock on Aug. 16, 2009 - 40 years to the day after The Who played the festival - dancers surprise tourists and shoppers in San Francisco's Union Square. LINK: Youtube

Matchbox Mountain

The 1984 sculpture in this video was located in the San Francisco FAO Schwartz's window for a couple of years. It's now for sale on eBay with a starting bid of $4500. The maker says, "I'll include alot of matchbox and hotwheel vehicles(some of which i've retrofitted with head and tail lights." Matchbox Mountain. LINK, Via: Youtube

For What It's Worth (NSFW - AUDIO)

"For What It's Worth" - Part 1/6

Dave Chappelle-For What It's Worth finds the Comedy Central superstar in performance at San Francisco's legendary Winterland, where he's welcomed with a huge ovation. Easing into his set, Chappelle shares a few observations about the city itself, noting there's nothing tender about the Tenderloin District: "You've got people smoking crack while sitting in front of Starbucks." Chappelle's inspiration dips a bit after that, as the subject of sex with monkeys and smoking weed with Indians doesn't quite reach his usual standards. Then, suddenly, he's on top of his game again, his material like an echo of vintage Lenny Bruce as he discusses why whites drink grape juice and blacks drink "grape drink," why police harassment has led him to believe in impromptu alibis, and why the culture of celebrity should stay away from real-world issues: "Maybe Jah Rule doesn't have the answers we want in a disaster." LINK, Via: Youtube

Be sure to go to the link to see the rest of the set.

San Francisco sculpted in cookware

Zhan Wang is among the most respected artists in China, having become world-renown for his stainless steel sculptures of “scholars' rocks,” the graceful, craggy boulders found in several provinces around China that seem to have been sculpted by natural forces into complex forms worthy of thoughtful contemplation–almost like mental or spiritual landscapes. Collecting these rocks from around China, Wang painstakingly pounds, bends, heats, and molds sections of stainless steel plate across the cloud-like topography of each rock, as if wrapping it in steel–in essence, applying a modern industrial skin to an ancient geologic body. After the steel has been shaped around the rock it is peeled away in sections, welded together as a single unit–a now-hollow duplicate of the rock–and polished to a flawless steel sheen, in some cases almost a mirror finish. The resulting play of light upon their surfaces has the effect of seeming to disembody and even liquefy the steel sculptures, as if they were luminous floating masses or shimmering topographies.
Link to Asian Art Museum exhibition page, Link to more photos, Link to Ethicurean post. Via: Boingboing

Hi-Def Time Lapse of San Francisco

The time lapse is really awesome. It is a must see. I cannot do the embed for there is not one. But here is the Link: http://hd-sf.com/gallery/fogrise/player.html