When I first started collecting objects from nature on my walks on Mt. Tam during Covid, I knew I wanted to create art that conveys the sense of scale and realignment that I feel when I'm immersed in nature. I didn't know exactly what form it was going to take, but I knew the idea felt expansive, and that the art needed to be large-scale. More than a year later, this 16 foot piece ULTRA PERSPECTIVE, the biggest piece in the show, stands in the middle of the Human Nature exhibition.
It's been so beautiful to feel the response to the work from such a wide range of people and institutions, including San Francisco Magazine, which just featured the exhibition in their December Issue. Appreciating all of you and your support.
I'm looking forward to the final weeks of the exhibit at SHACK15 in the San Francisco Ferry Building, with in person and online events you can join below.
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Ways to experience the show online or in person at the SF Ferry Building's SHACK15:
- Thursday, December 1 (Today): Artist Zoom Talk + Tour. 11am PT / 2pm ET on Zoom. RSVP here.
- Tuesday, December 6: In Person Artist Talk + Tour Live 6pm to 7:30pm. I will be in conversation with the Kimberly Ellis, who heads up the Department of the Status of Women and Girls for the SF Mayor’s office. I'll give you a tour and then Kimberly and I will talk about the exhibition, the creative process and political art. Tix info here
- Saturday, December 10: In Person Public Art Tour Day. Tours on the hour 11am-4pm, SHACK15, SF. RSVPs required.
- Tuesday, December 13, 6-8 pm. I am interviewing Randy Colosky, an amazing artist who helped me put up the exhibition. We will be discussing his artwork currently up at St. Joseph's Arts Foundation. Info here
- Thursday, Dec 15th Noon PT/3pm ET Zoom Art Tour register here.
In this newsletter, a holiday gift idea from Debbie Millman; art by Randy Colosky, Refik Anadol, and Chloë Bass; podcast with Ken Goldberg on the state of robotics, films by Jennifer Steinman Sternin, Rivka Beth Meadows and Jen Rainin, Susan Margolin, Tamara Perkins, Richard Sergey, Geralyn Dreyfous, and Jillian Lauren; books by David Sax, Lauren Schiller and Hadley Dynak, and Amal Elsana Alh'jooj; a great article by Rachel Lehmann-Haupt; new music from Claire Brooks; The Believer Magazine returns; and great causes to support below in this December newsletter!
xo,
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ps. It was so great seeing the amazing McMullen Boutique in Oakland have a fashion show to celebrate their 15 year anniversary at SHACK15 with their stunning models adorned in McMullen's designers surrounding DENDROFEMONOLOGY, the feminist hsitory tree ring.
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| "The Remarkable Life Deck" by Debbie Millman
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Debbie Millman always inspires! Her new card deck will help you achieve your goals and I can't think of a better person to guide you there. Learn more here.
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In-Person Tour of Human Nature and Discussion with Kimberly Ellis, Dec. 6, 6 pm
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On Tuesday Dec 6, there will be a very special artist tour and discussion with a very good friend Kimberly Ellis who heads up the Department of the Status of Women and Girls for the SF Mayor’s office. I know a lof of you are coming to this-will be a great night. I'll give you a tour and then Kimberly and I will talk about the exhibition, the creative process and political art.
Get tickets here.
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| Hanukkah in Paris, Dec. 3 in SF
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Adam Swig of Value Culture always puts on fantastic events. I'm looking forward to celebrating Hanukkah a little early in Paris (actually in SF). If you're in the Bay Area, check it out! Get tickets here.
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| THE RETREAT by Shira Gill and Rachel Rosenthal
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Shira Gill, author of the beautiful book Minimalista and a very good friend, and organizing expert Rachel Rosenthal are creating a rejuvenating retreat in the gorgeous Rio Grande Valley. It offers a great opportunity to figure out where you want your life to go next. Learn more here.
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| St. Joseph's Arts Foundation Presents Randy Colosky in Conversation with Tiffany Shlain, Dec. 13, 6-8 pm
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Please join us for cocktails and a tour of Saint Joseph Arts Foundation current exhibition, Give & Take, featuring work by Ramekon O'Arwisters, J. John Priola and Randy Colosky followed by a conversation between Colosky and me. Eventbrite will be up soon, but until then, register here and we will alert you when you can RSVP.
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| Refik Anadol: Unsupervised, MoMA, Through Mar. 23
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This piece at MoMA stunned us. It's so powerful. Refik Anadol uses artificial intelligence to interpret and transform more than 200 years of art at MoMA. Anadol trained a sophisticated machine-learning model to interpret the publicly available data of MoMA’s collection. As the model “walks” through its conception of this vast range of works, it reimagines the history of modern art and dreams about what might have been—and what might be to come. I just saw the exhibit, and it's BRILLIANT. Check it out here.
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| Meret Oppenheim: My Exhibition, MoMA Through Mar. 4
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Meret Oppenheimer's show at MoMA is amazing. She was the only surrealist woman artist and she planned this exhibition years before it happened. If you're in NY, be sure to check it out. Learn more here.
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| Thierry Mugler: Couturissime at the Brooklyn Museum Through May 7
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This exhibit of work by iconoclastic fashion designer Thierry Mugler is fantastic. Learn more here.
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Olafur Eliasson's current work in Doha is stunning. Have not seen it in person, but want to. Learn more here.
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| Hella Feminist at Oakland Museum of California Through Jan 8 Featuring "Rebound" by Tamara Perkins Sunday Dec 11
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You had me at "Hella Feminist." I love the title and can't wait to see the show. I'm also thrilled that Rebound, a film about two women leaving incarceration by Tamara Perkins, another good friend from my women filmmakers' group, will be showing as part of the exhibit. Will be there Sunday Dec 11th at 1pm to see the exhibition and the film Learn more about the show here and get tickets for the film here.
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Chloë Bass: Wayfinding at the Skirball Museum in LA, Nov. 17 - Mar. 12
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LA people, don't miss this fantastic show by Chloë Bass at the Skirball. Learn more here.
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My aunt and uncle Connie and Harvey Lapin have dedicated their lives to making sure autistic people have the legal protections they need and deserve. Their journey with their own son, my cousin Shawn, were featured in the powerful book on autism, In a Different Key, that has now been made into a documentary. I can't wait to see it. Learn more here.
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This is such an inspiring documentary by my filmmaking comrade Jennifer Steinman Sternin, who heads up my women filmmakers' group, about her extraordinary Berkeley High School teacher Nancy Rubin who's been mailing students the letters they write to their future selves for forty years. Watch it streaming on HBO and other platforms. I cried. The film gave me faith in humanity and showed the incredible value of great teachers! Learn more here.
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Susan Margolin's documentary about the Pittsburgh synagoguge shooting could not be more timely or important. She distributed my documentary Connected and I admire the subjects she brings out into the world. The film is now streaming on HBO. Learn more here.
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I always found Sinead O'Connor powerful but this new documentary recasts her as such an iconic truthsayer – it's so haunting and so good. Highly recommend. Learn more here.
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Rivka Beth Meadows and Jen Rainin's film about parenting a child with a disibility is so raw, powerful and poetic Rivka is also in my women filmmakers' group; it's so exciting to see so many great films come out of the group all at once. Watch the film on the New Yorker website here.
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Geralyn Dreyfous, the executive director for my feature documentary Connected, always brings to light important issues. Her latest documentary out the Republican strategists working to take down Trump is fantastic. Learn more here.
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| "Mental Health and Video Games" by Richard Sergay
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Richard Sergay has made another great film for his series for the Templeton World Charity Foundation. Learn more and watch here.
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| Confronting a Serial Killer
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I have been hearing about Jillian Lauren's intense experience working on this docuseries. Not for the faint of heart. Looking forward to seeing it. Learn more here.
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Last Flight Home by Ondi Timoner
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Loved this heart-wrenching film by filmmaking comrade Ondi Timoner about her father's decision to end his life with diginity. A very powerful and important film. Learn more here.
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| Ken on the TWIML AI Podcast
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I always love Ken's insights on the state of robotics. His contrarian view that robots will not be taking over anytime soon is always refreshing . . . as is his 35+ years expertise in the space. Listen to my partner-in-everything here.
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| "Oxygen" by Claire Brooks
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My niece Claire Brooks has a great new song out about the thing we're all really addicted to: oxygen. The song itself is addictive. Listen here. LA people, you can see her live at the Viper Room on Dec. 3; info here.
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This podcast about Jewish food and identity is delicious. Listen here
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BOOKS - GREAT HOLIDAY GIFTS
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24/6: Giving up Screens One Day a Week to Get More Time, Creativity, and Connection
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It’s interesting to reexamine my book 24/6 in light of my new work Human Nature. 24/6 is about my now 13-year practice of turning off screens one day a week, the day when my family and I spend more time in nature. That day of reconnection with nature, with no screens around, showed me how important spending time outside is. If 24/6 is my journey back to nature, Human Nature aims to articulate the power and realignment nature has on us.
I was so happy to hear that 24/6 just went into another print run from Simon & Schuster's Gallery Books. The book offers a roadmap on how to integrate this life-changing practice, and the neuroscience and research on why it works. If that's something you are interested in, you can get 24/6: Giving up Screens One Day a Week to Get More Time, Creativity, and Connection here.
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| Preorder It's a Good Day to Change the World by Lauren Schiller and Hadley Dynak
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I was so honored to be featured in a chapter in this great new book by Lauren Schiller and Hadley Dynak, the award-winning team behind the nationally syndicated Inflection Point podcast and radio show about women’s power in our modern world. They have created an essential guide for action drawn from their interviews with activists, including Lily Tomlin, Ijeoma Oluo, Sarah Silverman and Gloria Steinem. Learn more here.
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| The Future Is Analog by David Sax
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David Sax saw the future living online during the pandemic and shows eloquently and with a lot of humor how - we don't want to there...The Future Is Analog is the perfect guide to help us stay focused on what matters in the blinding light of a technology-filled world. Learn more here.
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The Believer Magazine Returns!
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Such a relief that The Believer Magazine, founded by Vendela Vida, Heidi Julavits, and Ed Park is back- Check it all out here.
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Hope Is a Woman's Name by Amal Elsana Alh'jooj
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Amal's powerful book explores growing up in a patriarchal society is so moving an inspiring. Learn more here.
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"When Everything Is Heavy, a Touch of Humor Can Help"
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Couldn't agree more with this NY Times piece that features the work of my good friend Jennifer Aaker, a behavioral scientist and General Atlantic Professor of Marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. It discusses ideas her book Humor, Seriously: Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life (And how anyone can harness it. Even you.) Read here.
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| National Women's History Museum
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It's been so wonderful having the support of the National Women's History Museum for Human Nature. I'm especially excited about their upcoming show tracing the history of black feminism at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library in Washington D.C. Please join me in supporting them this season. Donate here.
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| Illuminate the Arts and the Golden Mile Project
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Ben Davis's Illuminate the Arts is a beautiful arts organization in the Bay Area. I recently experienced their project Grace Light, and while it's hard to get tix to it, it's worth it. It's spiritual and illuminating. They have so many cool projects including the Golden Mile Project. I hope you will join me in supporting them. Learn more here.
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Urban Ed Academy, headed by my friend Randy Seriguchi, is a Bay Area nonprofit working to ensure every student in San Francisco has one Black male teacher before sixth grade, by addressing systemic barriers to recruit and retain Black male teachers. Learn more about their work and how you can support them here.
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| Crowdfunding Campaign for Human Shield
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Please join me in helping fund Erin Pearsley's documentary about the people who escort and protect abortion clinic patients. Learn more here.
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| "The Unnatural Evolution of the Galapagos Islands" by Rachel Lehmann-Haupt in Jane Metcalfe's Neo.Life
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This is such a brilliant piece of science journalism by one of my best friends, Rachel Lehmann-Haupt, who is part of my writing group, the Investigative Poets. Be sure to check it out as well as the other features on Jane Metcalfe's fantastic site Neo.Life. Read here.
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