SF Camerawork opens new gallery on San Francisco’s “Museum Row”

Posted by sfhi on Jan 8, 2007

SF Camerawork, a longtime supporter of photographers who are pushing the boundaries of what constitutes photography and image-making, has opened a new gallery space at 657 Mission Street, becoming the newest addition to a growing artistic enclave of museums, galleries, and arts and entertainment centers which include the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Museum of the African Diaspora, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the Cartoon Art Museum, Yerba Buena Gardens, Zeum, and the Metreon.

The new 6,500-square foot facility features 3,000 square feet of gallery space, with the remainder dedicated to an education center and library, with gallery and forum spaces to engage and to exhibit work by students from First Exposures, SF Camerawork’s photography mentoring program for at-risk youth. The 3,000-volume photography reference library includes many rare and out-of-print publications, while related art books and the award-winning publication “Camerawork: A Journal of Photographic Arts” are available for sale.

Currently on exhibit through February 24, Traces of life on the thin film of longing features work by Jem Cohen, Jenni Olson, and Natalie Zimmerman that considers the photographic in relation to film and video. Each piece, though differing in subject matter and narrative technique, is composed entirely of lengthy still shots, rendering an approach reminiscent of the photo essay.

In “Chain,” New York-based filmmaker Jem Cohen introduces us to a world that has become America: LLC©®TM. Shot over 10 years in seven countries, “Chain” is a political film about global acquiescence to a corporate cultural environment comprising malls, hotels, airports, office parks, theme parks, chain stores, and chain restaurants.

Bay Area-based Jenni Olson’s film “The Joy of Life,” composed entirely of still shots of San Francisco, consists of a two-part narrative voice-over by a young butch lesbian recounting the trials and tribulations of her love life and trying to come to terms with the grim history of the city’s suicide landmark, the Golden Gate Bridge.

Natalie Zimmerman of Los Angeles presents “Islands,” which introduces 15 casting-call respondents interspersed with images of the Los Angeles landscape-lonely, desolate, and barely familiar as the great sprawling metropolis most know only as home to the film and television industry.

The exhibition aims to challenge audiences to respond to the “white cube” gallery space in a new way, while also allowing SF Camerawork and filmmakers the opportunity to reconsider methods of distribution and spectatorship.

Also on exhibit through February 24, First Exposures: Developing History is a retrospective celebrating the 10th anniversary of First Exposures, SF Camerawork’s mentoring program for at-risk youth.

One of the country’s most respected art mentoring programs, First Exposure pairs students with adult photographers who teach them the basic skills required to express themselves and portray their daily lives. The exhibition highlights selections from these projects, including a poignant piece by 16-year-old Jontonnette Clark dealing with the death of her grandmother, and 15-year-old Daniella Espinoza’s personal series about life in San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood.