loveitallabove

DSC_0067 , originally uploaded by simone.roark . I just love this picture -- maxxin' and relaxxin' with Lil E back in Boyds. Thanks, Simone!

...of the restitution of Nazi-looted art. This program took place at the Museum on November 2, 2010, in conjunction with Reclaimed: Paintings from the Collection of Jacques Goudstikker.

CJM Contemporaries Fisher Collection Visit , originally uploaded by levenj . I learned at the CJM Contemporaries Fisher Collection Visit that the Stone's Exile on Main Street cover is a Robert Frank photograph?! How come I never knew this? Warhol and the Stones? Richard Hamilton and the White Album?

Museums and I.C.V. View more presentations from James Leventhal . A colleague from many years ago was looking through old presentations I had up in slideshare and wrote the following: Among the many charms and pithy paradoxes of your slideshare presentations, today I enjoyed responding in a new and, I hope, insightful way to your slide that says "The Poetry of Process / The Beauty of Bureaucracy." That's one I would like to have heard your witty words on in the moment you put the slide up. Would I be right to take that as brightening the hue of Max Weber's sociological lament on the "iron cage" of bureacracy? As in, learn to work with it? Even, "Love it All?" Enjoy the art and craft in the human side of organizational life. Make a vigorous sport out of winding through mazes on tilting floors. Appreciate the complexity of forming alliances for shared and individual aims. Rather than whine about bureaucracy and "process", why not sing a s...

Now more Genesis P-Orridge! Now. More!

I can't believe I'd never heard this before. Shelley and Keats.

Ford Bell DVM and President AAM at the Portland Children's Museum , originally uploaded by levenj . Ford Bell, President of AAM and trained veterinarian at the Pet Hospital installation at the Portland Children's Museum as part of the Western Museums Association Annual Meeting 2010 in Portland, OR

I want you to take a look at: givezooks! - online fundraising for nonprofits and grassroots campaigns   Tehiyah Board President Adam Mizock writes: Marathon for Tehiyah My goal is to run the California International Marathon on December 5, 2010 in Sacramento and to raise $10,000 for Tehiyah Day School. I hope to encourage friends, family and the East Bay community to join me in giving to Tehiyah. Tehiyah has enriched my family's life through its education of our children and its impact on our community. I am currently in my fifth year as President of Tehiyah's Board of Trustees. I have been inspired by the way our students and graduates take the Tehiyah curriculum to heart as they engage in lifelong learning (l'midah), social justice and giving to those in need (tzedakah) and making the world a better place (tikkun olam). Tehiyah's curriculum is brought to life by our students and teachers through interactive experiential learning. This year I decided to stretch my own ...

Thanks to Theatre Bay Area , Alan Brown walked us through his study findings Stop Taking Attendance and Start Measuring the True Impacts of Your Programs Major University Presenters’ Value & Impact Study, Presentation by Alan Brown and Jennifer Novak at the Arts Presenters Conference (January 11, 2008) to download presentation click here . One of the primary messages is that you have to balance readiness and impact. Marketing can help create that level of anticipation. Captivation and Personal Involvement! The Hypothesis: “Readiness to Receive” + The Performance Experience = Intrinsic Impact Alan Brown draws our attention to the University of Florida's Performing Arts annual report, which actually includes intrinsic value in its annual report: UFPA INTRINSIC IMPACT RESEARCH SUMMARY Although our mission is not defined in terms of ticket sales and financial metrics, we previously reported only those figures to funders, foundations, university administrators, board members and...

Collecting the Impossible , originally uploaded by levenj . I was at ybca , because I've come ot know and really respect Catharine Clark. I got to know Catharine, because Ken Goldberg is doing an installation at the CJM to be entitled Are We There Yet? And Catharine represents Ken's work through the Catharine Clark Gallery . Initial funding for Are We There Yet? came in the form of one of those amazing collaborative grants from the Creative Work Fund . According to the Creative Work Fund web site, four principles guide the Fund: Artists’ creativity merits philanthropic support. Individual creativity is the source of cultural richness and diversity. The arts can be a powerful vehicle for problem solving and community renewal. Collaborative efforts among artists, organizations, and their constituents can generate a productive exchange of ideas and bring the arts to new audiences. How fantastic is that?! Well, anyhow, as part of getting to know Catharine Clark, she tells me s...

Check out this SlideShare Presentation: Creative Commons Salon: Participatory Culture Offline View more presentations from Nina Simon .

Jumping at the Y , originally uploaded by levenj .

by James G. Leventhal Jaron Lanier came to speak at the Contemporary Jewish Museum as part of the Museum's LINK program,, a Jewish, Art, and Technology initiative at the CJM. Jaron Lanier purposefully positions himself as archaistic. He wants you to read a book. He wants you to think before you "tweet." He is also sometimes credited with inventing virtual reality . That's right, inventing virtual reality . And he has helped to craft some of the finest future visioning in a Philip K. Dick film, yet, as a creative consultant on Minority Report . He has jammed with "Q," Ornette Coleman, and been on tour with Yoko Ono. Jaron Lanier, Wild Thing , originally uploaded by levenj . Hearing Jaron Lanier speak at the CJM was a thrill for me. I'd been reading Lawrence Lessig and Chris Anderson , and was all excited about the 'wisdom of the crowds' and the potential of mass collaboration and social media's power to build networks and layers o...

Outside Berkeley Art Center , originally uploaded by levenj .

Basel Art , originally uploaded by levenj .

plug.in gallery , originally uploaded by levenj .

Fribourg: Find the Space Invader II , originally uploaded by levenj . space invaders in fribourg

Living Tableau at Impressionism Show: Degas , originally uploaded by levenj . A Friday evening at the de Young with young dancers and gentleman as Degas and dancers as part of programs on Friday evening free public programs on July 30, 2010 for exhibition Birth of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay (May 22, 2010 - September 6, 2010)

Peter Samis (SFMoma) et les espaces critiques collaboratifs , originally uploaded by dalbera . rode the train this morning with Peter :) felt like being close to equilibrium.

SF Gay Men's Chorus Presentation , originally uploaded by levenj . These guys seem to have had a transformational experience art #artslabsf from this to this pic above now, giving a persuasive and hilarious presentation about how Social Media's now working for them! such a thrill....

@jewsweum sold out for Holy Rollers

Columbia, MD , originally uploaded by levenj .

Wolf-Brown's Findings , originally uploaded by levenj . As a culmination of the Fund for Artists' grant program administered by The San Francisco Foundation and the East Bay Community Foundation, Wolf-Brown presented their findings on reasons for giving -- value statements on donor motivations!

Kickin' It , originally uploaded by levenj . OK. now we are off-and-running...from here on out it's all, "I can't believe he has reached this stage.." Woohoo!

CIMG0134 CIMG0133

@rossparry and James Lin of www.npm.gov.tw #djump #aam10

Photographer I , originally uploaded by levenj .

High Schoolers in Our Struggle , originally uploaded by levenj . Here at the CJM ...this is one of those "I frickin' love my job" moments...glad my cell phone got a perfect, blurry pic so I could get the feel for the kids in the galleries without any real faces without permission.

WSB , originally uploaded by levenj .

To follow up on an earlier post -- excited about being a part of Rocco Landesman's visit to SF , The New York Times ran a great article about Landesman's work. One of the pix is of Landesman and crew looking at the CJM...squint, you can seem it gleam in their eyes :) (Image: Jim Wilson/The New York Times "In San Francisco with his wife, Debby (behind him) and James Canales of the James Irvine Foundation." Was jazzed when he was first appointed...

Photo_072308_001 , originally uploaded by levenj . "The Kunstmuseum Basel, the world’s first public museum, began with the city’s purchase of a private collection in 1661...." http://www.apollo-magazine.com/features/5861208/part_3/the-evolution-of-the-kunstmuseum-basel.thtml

Jews on Vinyl , originally uploaded by levenj . Known as Israel’s Simon and Garfunkel, the duo split up like their American role models when one of them become Ultra-orthodox

Goodbye, John. John Killacky has been an important mentor for me during my time out here in the Bay Area. He has been an important mentor for SO MANY people and had a really profound impact on the arts in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Burlington, VT is a very lucky place!

Heard Robert Janes speak at JFKU and will be guest blogging for the Center for the Future of Museums. Here's Dr. Janes from December 2009.

Gay Men's Chorus , originally uploaded by cambodia4kidsorg . this are the guys from my earlier post , as pictured by Beth Kanter in her photostream on the event..what a great day! #artslabsf

At Natural History (Passover 2010) , originally uploaded by levenj . life is beautiful.

Spectra Gram Session , originally uploaded by levenj . This was part of the Spectra Gram portion where Beth Kanter asked the participants to place themselves along a line from Social Media "Flyer" to "Crawler" then the group engaged and presented across the spectrum. It was a great activity. What an amazing day...To see Beth Kanter's slides click here . To view the twitterstream click here -> #artslabsf

Check out this SlideShare Presentation: Hewlett Foundation Artslab Slides View more presentations from Beth Kanter . #artslabsf

I just had this totally amazing experience. Working with Beth Kanter and a host of others (esp. -- SF Foundation! Hewlett! Grants for the Arts! Wallace! Theatre Bay Area! Koret! ), we've got this great program Leveraging Social Media ( READ MORE HERE ) going @jewseum . I am sharing a table with two men from the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus , the oldest Gay Men's Chorus in the country. And as we went around with introductions, one of the men representing the SFGMC said something like - we are still not sure if there's value in using Twitter. I did a quick search for "gay mens chorus" on Twitter - part of the "listening" Beth Kanter encourages as Stage 1. The results early on included the "tweets" below for Gay Men's Choruses around the country. WOW! Read: "Beth's Work Has Impact." Thank you, Beth. ...and it's not so much about the money, right? it's actually about 'influencers' and meaningful...

Rocco Landesman @ ybca , originally uploaded by levenj . Leah Garchik writes about it here "A tour of the Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Contemporary Jewish Museum was, Landesman affirmed, an object lesson in that kind of urban revitalization. Read more: here .

Noelle, Merritt and Deborah in the Galleries , originally uploaded by levenj . I may have just had one of the best weekends of my life at the meeting of the Western Museums Association's Program Committee at the Getty Center (March 19-20, 2010) thanks to co-chairs Merritt Price and Jacqueline Cabrera, preparing for WMA Portland75. It also happens we sold our house on Friday, and found a great place we put an offer down on. Karen and Lil E did Disney. Sunday, America's Healthcare Bill passed. Dad's latest operation seemed to have been a great success. All around a great, great weekend. I feel fortunate and ever grateful.

Jim Tharp sent me The Fran Lebowitz Reader and it was such a relaxing, well-crafted distraction. Both classic and nostalgic, a few quotes leapt out for sharing and as tribute to Jim: On Communism – “The common good is not my cup of tea – it is the uncommon good in which I am interested…” (35) On Popular Music – "We attired ourselves in shiny garments so as to accurately reflect the hopes and dreams of the general public. We entered elevators, cars, planes, telephones, and just about every place you couldn’t think of. We were an inescapable influence on the culture and inspired a fanatical devotion, for we made a joyful noise unto the bored." (122) On Nature – “Now, nature, as I am only too well aware, has her enthusiasts, but on the whole, I am not to be counted among them. To put it rather bluntly, I am not the type who wants to go back to the land – I am the type who wants to go back to the hotel.” (233) On Apartment Hunting in Downtown New York – “Tuesday: Let de...

Purim 2010: Rabbi Bloom Doing a Really Good Kurt Cobain , originally uploaded by levenj . ...in fact, it's right after the Purim Spiele at Lil E's school. The Rabbi had just done his part as Queen Esther -- always a crowd pleaser. Heading over to pick up his guitar and keep the kids singing, he looked just too much like Kurt Cobain. To round it out, he actually did a Purim song to the tune of Green Day's "21 Guns."

Click here to download a copy of Dovid Katz , Grammar of the Yiddish Language , 290 pp. Gerald Duckworth and Co: London 1987.

Coffee before Inside the Activists Studio , originally uploaded by levenj .

Michael Krasny and Panel at Inside the Activists Studio , originally uploaded by levenj . Great Frickin' Day! Right before I start for-real and full-time at the CJM I went to Inside the Activists' Studio with panelists including: - Caitlin Sislin, Advocacy Director for Women's Earth Alliance - Erin Potts who created the Tibetan Freedom Concerts with the Beastie Boys and is now www.atctower.net - Daniel Kaufman, Founder and Director of the One Percent Foundation - Jon Gilgoff, L.C.S.W., Founder and Executive Director of Brothers on the Rise It ends up Erin Potts (who gave a serious shout out to Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat [please see #7 here ], well Fugazi actually) is married to Jon Voss of Look Back Maps , so we finally met, because he was there, too. There's so much more to say in terms of how this is EXACTLY what museums are to be encouraged to do right now . And all kinds of other things about motivations; what Erin Potts had to say about "culture...