Andy Jaeger big thinking for a small world

Barney & the Beats

An arty day in San Francisco today. I went to SFMOMA this afternoon (the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art) which I really enjoyed. It's not enormous by any means, but packs in so many amazing things into a relatively small (well, compared to the Tate Modern) space. It has the most astonishing gallery of design, including the ubiquitous Alessi kettle and toaster, some extraordinary work by Yves Klein, Robert Rauschenberg and Mark Rothko, and currently a special exhibition of Matthew Barney, also known as Mr Bjork. The Matthew Barney is really the most surreal way to spend an afternoon, especially as I also watched Drawing Restraint 9 in a cinema at the museum, surrounded by lots of very confused people and some falling asleep. The film is set on a Japanese whaling ship, and involves melting a petroleum jelly sculpture, a tea ceremony, and Barney and Bjork slowly carving each other with knives until they transform themselves in whales. I particularly liked Bjork's blowhole. Odd is not the word. The soundtrack is great though.

I then headed up to North Beach to find the City Lights Bookstore. This was really my second reason to come to San Francisco - the Beats. City Lights has been at the centre of literary revolution since it was founded, and this year is marking the 50th anniversary of Allen Ginsberg's Howl. I bought myself a copy and a couple of postcards, wandered round the corner to take a photo of Jack Kerouac street (sadly filled with diggers, but to be honest, the street sign is the most interesting thing about it) and found myself across the road. Literally. Finding myself so close to one of my favourite writers, and opposite one of the most famous bookstores in San Francisco, is a massive thrill!

Oh, by the way, yesterday I went to Haight-Ashbury. Big disappointment. Five words... Camden, fewer shops, more trees.