Untitled, c. 1962-71
The Brooklyn Rail, November 11, 2020
“Orbits of Known and Unknown Objects: SFAI Histories / MATRIX 277”
By Sam Korman
A virtue of Orbits of Known and Unknown Objects, an exhibition/archive dedicated to the 150-year history of the San Francisco Art Institute, is that there is no clear place to start. So, all things being equal, I clicked on the picture with the dog, directing me to Object 49. There, I was quickly initiated into the world of “The Meadow,” a versatile, if overlooked section of campus that has offered students a classroom, garden, dog park, sculpture graveyard, and, as I would later learn, a discreet place to get stoned before class. A personal essay by faculty member Genine Lentine accompanies Object 49, and her words, incidentally, offer an apt introduction to the intimate, and peripatetic exhibition: “There are neighbors I’ve gotten to know … Their daily walks allow for extended observations at times I’m not usually there. Two coyotes perched on the compost for its warmth on a cold night, for example, is a vision I think of often, but have never myself seen.”
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