The Cape, 2020 – 2022

In 2020, I initiated a performance project after seeing the video of George Floyd’s murder.  The Cape intersects a hand – embroidered personal letter with civic discussions on race, domestic violence, and childhood trauma.  I traveled to more than 25 sites in the United States which included police stations, city plazas, museums, and protests around the country.  Recently, I was awarded an individual artist grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission to create a book from my work.  Both the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the San Francisco Chronicle wrote about my art actions.  See link for photographs and essays.

Daily Life, ( The Thing ) 2010 – 2012

In 2007, I’d found a round-shaped piece of detritus along the ocean near Fort Funston.  It resembled a rock, meteor,  popcorn, and even Ambergris.  It remained  nameless.   I carry the object with me wherever I went for two years. In 2012, it was stolen from me while I was inside Zeki’s Bar.

Camera by Linda Ford and Tina Heringer

In 2022, an art critic in Paris interviewed me about my performance during those years.

A kairotic encounter at the Centre Pompidou, with the artist Patricia Diart

Stacked, 2011

I made a stack of postcards comparing my image with a photo I’d found at a flea market eight years prior.  What a coincidence!

Singing a Love Song to a 23-Foot Pile of Dirt, 2004

I choose a construction site with a large pile of dirt so that I can sing a love song.  I install wooden planks into a long hallway and create a peephole.   Viewers are invited to view my singing through the peephole.

Camera by Tina Heringer

Hauling Dirt at a Continuous Rate from Five Construction Sites, 2001

I choose five random construction sites on a map.  Beginning each day of the working week at 8:30 am, I travel to a  site with an empty bag and fill it with as much dirt as possible.  I ride the bus to the gallery and empty the bag of dirt onto the floor.  I repeat this process back and forth until 4:30 pm.  Each pile of dirt corresponded to a working day.

Camera by Sonja Hinrichsen

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head, 2003

While singing Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head, a tune from the 70’s,  I cut off my hair.  During the Iraq war, American F1 fighters made military strikes throughout Iraq.  The U. S. government claimed “collateral damage” during their bombing campaigns.  Aiming at the hypocrisy of official language, I juxtaposed a violent action with the saccharine quality of a billboard hit that played repeatedly during the Vietnam war.

Camera by Dan Janos

Can I Touch You For a Moment, 2001

I stand at the corner of Montgomery and Sutter between 4:00 – 6:00 pm.  I wear a suit, and carry a briefcase.  I ask passersby if I can touch her/him for a moment.

Camera by Linda Ford

Accumulating a Song; America the Beautiful, 2002

In 2002,  I arrive at 8:00 a.m. in the financial district corner of downtown San Francisco. Blindfolded, I sing America the Beautiful continuously for 10 hours while handing out Xeroxed photos of American heroes.

Camera and Photography by Jun Julbuena