Rob Simons News

Realignment Of Power Among The Entitled

2009-07-03T11:06:00.000-07:00

All Pretense Of A Manageable Disguise

2009-06-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

This Happenstance

2009-06-28T10:36:00.000-07:00

Crocodiles - Bottom of the Hill

2009-06-24T23:17:00.000-07:00

The Plot

2009-06-23T00:46:00.000-07:00

Stable Enough

2009-06-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

Wide Open, Truly

2009-06-18T21:06:00.000-07:00

Disordering The Senses

2009-06-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

Finally had a chance to see the Robert Frank exhibit at the SFMOMA, and man, was it thrilling. Not only did they have all 83 photographs from The Americans, his seminal book, but they had a room dedicated to his early work (the photos of Welsh miners are haunting), those he was influenced by (Walker Evans, in particular) as well as those he inspired (Lee Friedlander, Larry Clark, Nan Goldin, etc.). They also had a magnificent display of outtakes (8 x 10 proofs), contact sheets, and the original, handwritten introductions that both Walker Evans and Jack Kerouac wrote for the book. Needless to say, I was walking on water as I examined every detail, my excitement palpable, and it was no surprise that I shelled out fifty dollars afterwards for the revised edition of The Americans, a massive annotated book I now carry with me each day to the gallery.

Here's an interesting article on Frank's 2008 visit to China, my favorite passage towards the end of the piece:

“Robert Frank is an enigma: hard and empathetic and melancholic all at once. He abhors schmaltziness and syrup. I asked him if he would like to see a photograph of my baby. He answered, 'Why should I want to see that?'”

British Sea Power's third album, Man of Aran, is the conceptual soundtrack to an obscure 1934 docu-drama of the same name, a film that "chronicled the difficult daily lives of the inhabitants of Western Ireland's remote Aran Islands." It's the polar opposite of Do You Like Rock Music? - one of my favorite albums of all-time, and yet the instrumental tracks are just beautiful, proof that this is an intelligent, uncompromising band that isn't afraid to go against the grain. (As a side-note, here's their epic performance last year at Bottom of the Hill, one that I'm still reeling from.)

J Bennett Fitts's photographic series, No Lifeguard on Duty, is gorgeous.

William Elliott Whitmore's debut on UK television, and a beautiful new session over at Daytrotter. Trust me on this one. Will is the real deal.

Inductive Irony

2009-06-14T18:18:00.000-07:00

A Glimpse Into the Inpenetrable Interior

2009-06-11T01:12:00.000-07:00

Intrigues Yet Unimagined

2009-06-09T19:57:00.000-07:00

The Point Was Unclear

2009-06-04T22:04:00.000-07:00

I Know Which Way To Run

2009-06-01T21:26:00.000-07:00

Signs

2009-05-31T19:31:00.000-07:00

It's Frightening

2009-05-27T19:36:00.000-07:00

1. White Rabbits have a new album out, one that you can stream for a limited time at It's Frightening. (I dig it.) If you're unfamiliar with the group, probably a good place to start is their killer performance of "Percussion Gun" two weeks ago on Letterman. From there, definitely check out Andrew Droz Palermo's photography, whose work for the band is nothing short of brilliant. (He's responsible for the cover art above.) There's nothing more exciting than something new to obsess about, and Andrew's images have been in my head all week.

2. Tomorrow evening I'm going to view the new Robert Frank retrospective at the SFMOMA, one that is bound to be amazing. (Frank was the dominant influence in my early photographic experiments.) At 7:00 pm is the screening of Me and My Brother. At 9:00 I'm going to the Mission to hear my new intern sing. She has a beautiful voice, so even though I'm exhausted after a long couple of weeks, I'm also excited to embrace all that this city has to offer.

3. Speaking of awesome shows, I would love to see the Le Corbusier exhibition at the Barbican in person. (If only I had taken a few architecture courses in college.)

4. Alex Cornell's hypothetical Wes Anderson Film Festival project is insanely, frighteningly cool, not to mention one very dear to my heart. Kudos on a beautiful collection of work.

Frank Gehry & Renzo Piano On Charlie Rose

2009-05-21T14:33:00.000-07:00

Bay To Breakers 2009

2009-05-18T20:23:00.000-07:00

Lady, I'm No Futurist

2009-05-16T01:29:00.000-07:00

Saw Cold War Kids last Thursday for the third time since I moved here, and they were amazing, as always. (Here are some photos from the show). In case you're not familiar with the band, they also have an awesome visual identity, courtesy of Matt Wignall and CWK bassist Matt Moust.

I've been intellectually consumed with Pavement's Brighten the Corners the past few weeks, and I mean this is the most obsessive way possible. Such a brilliant album, and I'm glad some other people get it, too.

Finally, I absolutely love:

these two photographs by Lina Scheynius
this poster by Mike Kus
these classic polaroids (and all the associated images below)
this art school nectar
this provocative, black-and-white series
this vintage typewriter

You've Been Putting It Off

2009-05-15T14:53:00.000-07:00

They Do In Chinatown

2009-05-14T00:06:00.000-07:00

Same Old Song

2009-05-13T00:03:00.000-07:00

Geary & Larkin

2009-05-11T21:42:00.000-07:00

Hijacked By Surrealists

2009-05-09T10:41:00.000-07:00

Urban Vacationer

2009-05-05T23:25:00.000-07:00

Slogans For A Movement Yet To Be Named

2009-05-04T20:53:00.000-07:00