Tuesday, January 27, 2009

California Light


Something about this image -- an Andre Derain from the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco -- makes me think about the light here, the way each individual thing seems to stand out, in a kind of relief, especially as you get closer to the coast, when the sun's shining. Which it has been quite a bit lately, gift of heaven, unlikely thing.

This is a cell phone snapshot so it's not the best quality. I was a little startled when I realized that the SF MOMA lets you take pictures, so I could point my iPhone at anything, and be a possessive collector, as if I were stealing color. Now my phone's full of Matisse and Max Beckmann, stuff it would seem immoral to erase.
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5 comments:

  1. Collin KelleyJanuary 27, 2009 at 4:27 PM

    Camera phones really are one of the greatest inventions. Although sometimes I could do without the phone part.

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 27, 2009 at 4:53 PM

    I have only been to california once in my life when I was much younger and one thing I remember is the way the light, especially around sun up or down, made each thing become illuminated. very beautiful. I also loved the line "as if I were stealing color." a very intriguing thought and interesting idea, perhaps for a poem.

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  3. AnonymousJanuary 27, 2009 at 5:04 PM

    Thanks for these delightful bits from your California trip. Perhaps a poet is ready to rewrite Dickinson: "There's a certain slant of light / On California afternoons." It's a tradition for people to migrate to the beach at sunset at Carmel-by-the-Sea, a collective facing west (except for the dogs who keep playing) until after the sun drops below the horizon.

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  4. AnonymousJanuary 28, 2009 at 10:21 PM

    Dear Mark,
    I have finally posted my notes from your spectacular "Conversation on Craft" talk from Dodge. It is on my blog under "Oracular pear." I hope it is to your liking. I didn't use the entire poem "Apparition" because I lacked permission. I workshopped "A Display of Mackerel" for my opening class and it is my now favorite poem. Please visit my blog. www.completeword.wordpress.com

    Big thanks for your inspiration, Tamam Kahn

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  5. Jee LeongJanuary 30, 2009 at 3:04 AM

    I visited SF and SFMoMA last Christmas, and found the light there stunning. "The Girl with Green Eyes" is at home.

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