Structured like a chain letter, ten arts luminaries influential in the San Francisco Art Commission Gallery’s past were each asked to select one artist to be in Chain Reaction 11. The ten selected artists were then also asked to choose an artist to participate in the show, and finally the third group of artists each chose a final artist to be included. Following the chains of artists chosen by artists will provide a glimpse into what we find most compelling about current Bay Area visual arts production.

Growing up in a hair salon I would often find a safe place to wait for my mom to finish her up-do’s, perms and “sets.” That safe place was usually under a blow dryer, looking through magazines. Since then, I’ve always been attracted to heat, magazines and hair. So, last month, when I was getting my groove on in a crowded club and felt hair in back of me, near my thigh (?), I turned around to check the goods. And booyah, there was my next subject – with hair down to her calves, Jenny Mesoga. The sweetest young lady who not only posed in the freezing cold for a strange photographer who has a fascination with hair, but also climbed that tree in her 3 inch heels (of course my favorite was the simpler one). Now that is true collaboration.

I am so impacted by the work of Lejon Loggins who is addressing the way too ignored issue of so many young people dying in Oakland with his powerfully created “Not Just a Number” obituaries.
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Close-up: Robyn Twomey at The Luggage Store

On the heels of the Obama administration’s memo to end the raids on marijuana dispensaries, I’m sharing a story I did for Fortune Magazine on medicinal marijuana in September. The pioneers in this game are such political mavericks. Stephen DeAngelo (Harborside Health, Oakland), Richard Lee (Oaksterdam), JoAnna LaForce (Farmacy, LA), Robert Jacobs (Peace in Medicine, Sebastopol) and Irvin Rosenfeld (federally recognized patient, FL).

Check out the Photo Gallery:

And extra special shout to the patients, like 19 year old Jordan who is fighting Lukemia. Jordan already has a hard enough fight with cancer. He can live just a bit easier knowing he doesn’t have to fight for his medicine too.

Assignment: Medicinal Marijuana, Fortune Magazine

Photo Editor: Scott Thode

Photo Assistants: Ricardo Richey and Ha Huynh

In January of this Year, Time Magazine ran a cover shoot I did with DC School Chancellor Michelle Rhee. Photo editor Dietmar Liz-Lepiorz proposed the idea of her holding a broom. I thought it would be a powerful statement to show her cleaning up the system. Well, the DC teachers took it personal, claiming the broom symbolized her sweeping them out, even deeming her a witch. The cover became fuel for the teachers’ fire, as seen on PBS (see May blog post).