As a working artist 
, I love art museums. The range of perspective, creativity and just daring innovation is inspirational. Yesterday I attended a show at our fair city's Museum of Modern Art (SF MOMA) where—like in most galleries at the museum—I heard comments like "amazing," "shocking," "incredible" and "unbelieveable" to describe the works hanging on the walls. Were these works the latest retrospective of a world-renowned artist? No. The "artist" was an event: the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire.
When I heard SF MOMA was having a show highlighting photographs from the quake, I have to admit I was puzzled. Are these works of art? Some are, but most are snapshots by everyday people, such as insurance adjusters, who had just been introduced to home photography with the release of the first Kodak Brownie camera in 1900. These folks were early bloggers of a sort! "Citizen reporters," if you will. My bet is SF MOMA hosted this show because it generates the same awe, inspiration and discussion that any great collection would.
It's certainly worth a visit. My only nit with the show is that the museum doesn't provide a means of enjoying the stereoviews , which when viewed through proper glasses make intriguing 3D images. To get some idea of what stereoviews look like, check out this one of Nob Hill , and the fires down Market Street —both promoting the book "Earthquake Days ," by David Burkhart.
1906 Earthquake: A Disaster in Pictures runs through May 30, 2006. The exhibition was organized by Corey Keller, SF MOMA assistant curator of photography. Visit the SF MOMA website to learn more about this show .
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