I GET BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS
March 17, 2010
People often ask, “How did Brian Goggin create Defenestration?” It is not an easy project to accomplish but his secret ingredient was, and still is, his friends and family. Mister Wa, videographer extraordinnaire bringing you SF arts, music and cult’cha, captured the outpouring of support and love at Brian’s opening night. Check out Roman, 1:AM’s art director, at 4:05.
HAVE YOU SUPPORTED OPERATION RESTORE DEFENESTRATION YET? COME BY 1:AM GALLERY!
COMMUNITY SERIES #7C: COUNT US IN, MAHER, JOSH, AND SAHILL!
March 16, 2010
We are pleased to announce that our kids were featured in the SF Chronicle on Sunday for the mural they submitted to Yo! Youth Outlook’s US Census 2010 contest. We just handed Josh a copy of the paper and he can’t stop grinning from ear to ear saying “OooOOo!”. It was really hard for us to keep this a secret from them but we wanted to maintain an element of surprise. Maher’s principal may have let the cat out of the bag when she mentioned something about it… We’ll see what he has to say after he gets out of school today.
COUNT US IN!
Here is a quickie interview we did with Maher the other week about the mural:
1) What does the census mean to you?
The census is something that tallies up how many people there are in an area and finds out how many resources are needed there.
2) What materials did you use to create the mural?
Aerosol paint, paint brush
3) Did you have help with this mural? What did you use to create it?
Yes, my friends, Sahill Lal (13 yrs old) and Joshua Ramos (14 yrs old)
4) What inspired this work?
The fact that everybody should be counted, not only the rich
5) How old are you?
12 years old
6) Who are the people in the mural?
The human in the mural are people that are participating. The monsters are the people who society looks down on, but they are still important, so we should count them.
Congrats, Maher, Josh and Sahill! Keep on creating and being positive!
ADD SOME DEFENESTRATION TO YOUR LIFE!
March 15, 2010
Have you always admired the Defenestration building from a far? And thought to yourself “Man, I wish I had playful furniture running across MY walls”?
Well, Brian Goggin and 1:AM gallery are here to make that dream a reality. On exhibit at the gallery right now are 4 limited edition newly animated, red chairs that scurry to their own special beat. We can see these collector edition chairs adding some funk to anyone’s home or office or even, a building lobby (inspire the employees before coming into work each day, ya know?).
Defenestration Chair Sculpture #3 (as seen in the SF Chronicle)
Defenestration Chair Sculpture #2
Or if you are more into the original pieces, as in straight off the building, we gotchu too.
Climbing Tables
Original Defenestration Radio
Original Defenestration Lamps (SOLD OUT)
John Voldol, one of the members of the local community who originally helped Goggin create the piece writes: “Defenestration shows every sign of withstanding the test of time and is no less relevant or interesting than it was on the day it was completed. In a town famous for short attention spans, people’s enthusiasm for this piece has only grown over the years. Everyone loves Defenestration. It’s one of the things that make us glad we live in San Francisco, and makes visitors glad they came.”
Own a piece of iconic San Francisco art that celebrates creativity, provocation, and ingenuity.
OPERATION RESTORE DEFENESTRATION in full effect at 1:AM gallery!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION: WHY IS DEFENESTRATION IMPORTANT TO 1:AM?
March 12, 2010
1:AM gallery supports public art. We encourage people to express themselves creatively and have a voice in the community.
When we see Defenestration, we applaud Brian Goggin’s out of the box thinking and achieving what many artists cannot, building an art installation that speaks to all ages, gender, race and socioeconomic status. In Laughing Squid’s article “Save Defenestration, Iconic Community-Grown Art”, the writer, Simone Davalos, reached out to people, who have supported the project since its’ first day in 1997 to today, and this is what they had to say about Defenestration:
“Defenestration is the best. Brian Goggin turned a rambling, spacious, partially wrecked four story residential hotel building into ART. Not only ART, but a f**king tourist attraction, to boot. You can almost separate humanity into the proverbial two kinds of people: those who “get” the piece, and those who don’t. Those who “get it” are basically everyone. What I’m trying to say is that Brian did the nearly impossible: he made FINE ART that ALL people could appreciate.”
- John Law, Suicide Club member, Cacophony Society architect and co-founder of Burning Man
“Defenestration is the most valuable asset. . .beacon of tolerance and whimsy. . .keeping the idea of San Francisco as a city of Art and Innovation. . . .overflowing with possibility. . . championing unconventional thinking. . .embracing function as form. . .perverted f*ing furniture getting away with murder. . . they move you know. . .a genuine cornerstone of truth in a world gone mad. . .if it was a girl I’d marry it. . . can’t let civic treasure slip away. . . demand you commit to its long life. . .city of arts and innovation. . .the dog loved it. . . doom and cold. . . emptiness. . .pigeons. . .”
- Chicken John, showman and erstwhile mayoral candidate (at least, this is what Simone could make out)
Another thing that we love about Defenestration is that it evokes the spirit of artistic creation. One of the tenants that lives upstairs from us, George Rodriguez, sketched what he sees out of his apartment window, the Defenestration building in all its glory. He has his sketch on display at the gallery and is selling it for $10 with all the proceeds going to Brian’s Operation Restore Defenestration.
Community Building - Sketch by George Rodriguez, only $10!
The most obvious reason we like the Defenestration building is because we would rather be looking at an iconic San Francisco work of art than just any ordinary building. We love coming into work, glancing up and being inspired.
Our view everyday
To make a donation, visit Brian’s www.defenestration.org.
Visit OPERATION RESTORE DEFENESTRATION at 1:AM gallery today!
THE WORD IS OUT! OPERATION RESTORE DEFENESTRATION HAS COMMENCED
March 10, 2010
Brian Goggin’s “Operation Restore Defenestration” has been in the news lately. The word is out and people have been flocking to the gallery to see Brian’s restored and new works. We hope that the buzz will remain strong and help him raise the funds he needs to restore Defenestration, San Francisco’s iconic work of art.
Here are notable quotes from San Francisco’s well-known journalists:
I have always wondered whether “Defenestration” made reference to suicide, but Goggin said it was inspired by his reading about the First Defenestration of Prague. That incident, which ignited the 15th century Hussite wars, involved an incensed mob throwing seven city council members from upper windows of the town hall.
But that historical reference lurks far in the background of “Defenestration.”
“As there’s this absurd image of furniture seeking a new life, it may well end as they get smashed to the ground,” Goggin said. “There’s a sense of bliss and joy captured in that moment. The next moment is left up to the observer. I like it that people project on it things they see happening next.”
- From Kenneth Baker’s, art critic for SF Chronicle, Brian Seeks to Revive ‘Defenestration’
For more than a decade, a curious scene has greeted viewers looking upon the old Hugo Hotel at Sixth and Howard streets. A bright green couch lurches precipitously from the building’s corner window. Packs of reading lamps are scaling the building’s outer walls. A floor or two up, another couch, some coffee tables, and one of those old and impossibly heavy television cabinets appear to contemplate jumping from the fourth-story rooftop. No prank of the homeless, this precarious assemblage — wow, that’s a dangling claw-foot bathtub three stories up — is the Defenestration Project, the work of Bay-Area artist Brian Goggin.
- Brady Welch’s, writer for SF Bay Guardian, Still Defying Gravity
Thanks to Amy Hollyfield from ABC 7 News for coming out and covering our opening!
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