Parked in front of the Il Pirata in Potrero Hill.
Author:
TWIST > TWISTY > TWISTER > TWISTONE
Barry McGee (born 1966 in San Francisco, California) is a painter and graffiti artist. He is also known by monikers such as Ray Fong, Twist and further variations of Twist, such as Twister, Twisty, Twisto.
McGee graduated from El Camino High School in South San Francisco, California. He later graduated from the SFAI in 1991 with a concentration in painting and printmaking.
McGee rose out of the Mission School art movement and graffiti boom in the San Francisco Bay Area during the early nineties. His work draws heavily from a pessimistic view of the urban experience, which he describes as, “urban ills, overstimulations, frustrations, addictions & trying to maintain a level head under the constant bombardment of advertising”.
McGee’s paintings are very iconic, with central figures dominating abstracted backgrounds of drips, patterns and color fields. He has also painted portraits of street characters on their own empty bottles of liquor, painted flattened spray cans picked up at train yards and painted wrecked vehicles for art shows.
McGee has had numerous shows in many kinds of galleries and was also an artist in residence at inner-city McClymonds High School in Oakland, California in the early 1990s.
He was married to the artist Margaret Kilgallen, who died of cancer in 2001. The couple has a daughter named Asha.
The market value of his work rose considerably after 2001 as a result of his being included in several major exhibitions. As a result, much of his San Francisco street art has been scavenged or stolen.
Toy Camera In My Pocket
I find myself in repetitive situations much more frequently of late. Thusly, I get visually bored. Thusly, I don’t carry my camera bag every day. That said, I always have my iPhone with me. Always.
A few weeks ago, I bought the Hipstamatic camera app and immediately hated the title. But, I started taking pictures with it anyhow. 11 of them to date!
For less than $10, I have in my pocket 6 lenses, 8 rolls of film, and 4 flashes no matter where I go. And I can upload my flicks directly to my Flickr account.
However, I’m conflicted when shooting like this. On one hand it gives me the instantly creative and mundane freedom of a punch drunk William Eggleston. On the other hand, I’m bastardizing my DSLR altogether — which is capable of so much more if given the correct opportunity.
What do you think? Do you use cameraphone apps? If so…where, if anywhere, do they fit into your photography?












