A whirlwind weekend of art is upon San Francisco with three pavilions packed with amazing galleries and artists from around the world – The Fine Art Fair, ArtMRKT and ArtPadSF. A brief explanation of these fairs is at the bottom of this post.
ArtPadSf will be at the infamous Phoenix Hotel – THE place to stay for all visiting musicians and artists. This year, Varnish Fine Art (in room #30) asked Jason Mitchell & me to create a special photo booth installation in the bathroom to pay tribute to the hotel’s history and the edginess of ArtPadSF. We thought the best way to do this would be to lovingly recreate the Chelsea hotel bathroom where Nancy Spungen, girlfriend of Sid Vicious, tragically bled to death.
So without further adieu, Ransom & Mitchell give you the most instagram’erific stop on your wild weekend art tour – The Pretty Vacant Photo Booth.
As Sid Vicious would have said, “It’s the best fucking photo booth I ever fucking tasted.”
How often do you have the chance to take your photo at a bloody crime scene? If you answered, “hmmm, not often,” then your wait is over because the Varnish Fine Art bathroom (room #30) is your ticket to infamy. While in their suite you will be able to browse amazing artists Chris Mars, Chuck Sperry, Isabel Samaras, Jennybird Alcantara, Jessica Joslin, Mike Davis and (you guessed it) …. Ransom & Mitchell. Then make your way to the back bathroom for an eye ball hurting that you won’t soon forget.
I have included many photos of the the bloody f*#king mess to spark your imagination. Just think how much your Instagram followers will adore seeing you shoot up with the prop heroin syringe or stab your best friend in the stomach with the collapsable bloody knife. You know you wanna…
I’m curious what the maid thought when she walked in the bathroom.
Sid really did love Nancy… and we all know you hurt the ones you love the most.
I wasn’t kidding about the f*#king props.
Who doesn’t f*#king love heroin??? Despite it’s well worn appearance, this thing is safe for use by anyone who isn’t worried about their boss seeing the photo the next day on Facebook.
Yeah… the Dilaudid really is f#*king candy, so feel free to pop 10 or 20.
Of course this prop knife is collapsable. Safety First!
Far all of you dark-hearted romantics, this is really the place to take your 2012 Christmas card photo. I am sure your loved ones will cherish your passionate sentiments.
And now for that art fair overview I promised:
The Fine Art Fair is at Fort Mason featuring 70 galleries from around the world with over 3,000 post-war/contemporary works of art.
Art MRKT San Francisco will be at the Concourse Exhibition Center (620 7th Street at Brannan). They boast 70+ galleries including local favorites Catherine Clark Gallery, Frey Norris, Park Life and Spoke Art. One of my favorite New York curators, Alix Sloan, will also be there with her gallery Sloan Fine Art.
ArtPadSF is the NOT TO BE MISSED group – it is at the uber cool Phenoix Hotel and it includes some of my favorite galleries including 111 Minna Gallery, Launch LA (in association with Merry Karnowski), Marx & Zavattero, Project One, Spoke Art, Swarm Gallery and my personal favorite, Varnish Fine Art.
I will do a separate post about this amazing group of fairs.
Lastly big thanks to my art installation partner, Edward Rachel Nichols. She is my right hand man on most of my set builds and I am eternally grateful for her ideas, skills and exceptional work ethic. It’s a bit hard to make out in our photo, but she is slitting her throat while I squirt heroin into my gums… our mutual art-death pact illustrates why we work well together. Thanks (Fr)edward!
This is pretty AWESOME. I wish I was in town to see it!! It would be nice to take a Tartar Control photo in it.
Amazing! I’m not surprised….just awed! I’m hoping you can post some of the pictures that patrons have taken of themselves….what FUN…in that dark, creepy, totally depraved, rather sick, EXCEPTIONAL way!