Her main performance is creating a huge clear sculpture of usually an animal and standing in.
Victorine explores other worldly dimensions within her art and creates an environment for her audience that really engulfs them. Her art focuses on a dream like state, playing with light and textures. She is a Swiss artist who participates in performance art. I replicated The Stroll by Claude Monet :)įor week 13 I am discussing Victorine Müller. Aside from that, I found this to be a very freeing experience.Īnd for anyone curious, here’s a photo of the finished product. That was until I started getting frustrated with the area I was working on. However, I forgot about it for this performance. I don’t know about you all, but whenever a camera is on me I always acknowledge it. Anyways, I thought this would be cool to do since we never really get to see ourselves when we are really focused in on something. No wonder I always have a headache after. I never noticed how much I move my face when I’m focused on something. Sure, I can see my hands create the work, but the out-of-body experience you have seeing yourself create from a third person perspective is eye opening. I think it allows me to finally “see” myself creating art. For some reason, seeing myself paint helps me feel more involved with the piece. I’ve been very stressed about this painting and so I thought recording my process would help me connect to the piece more. The painting in the video was due for my beginning painting class today (Thursday) and this was filmed on Tuesday. That’s why I decided to kill two birds with one stone for this performance. I have felt like I’ve been restricting myself creatively and I wasn’t sure what to do about it. He once had a staff, but these days, "it's either me or not at all," Batt said.Īuto Erotica is open seven days a week from 11am to 7pm and on Sundays from noon to 6pm.These past few weeks have been very stressful for me (and I’m sure for all of you too). The coffee house closed its doors in August.Īuto Erotica isn't busy enough for employees anymore, "which is unfortunate," Batt said. Auto Erotica has looked out on 18th Street for two decades.īatt is a former president of the Castro Merchants, and was one of the owners of Eureka Cafe on Castro Street. Sometimes, though, when someone makes him a very good offer, he can’t refuse. He also sells items on eBay, but "there are many things I won’t sell, because I can't replace them," he said. "I have people who come here every time they come to the city," Batt said.īatt buys what he thinks fits into his collection, and "sometimes it surprises me," he said. An illustration for former gay bar The Lion Pub.ĭue to changing demographics, more and more straight people come into the store, shopping next to gay tourists and collectors who visit from all over the world. "Last night a guy came in and said ‘I have a box of old magazines’," so Batt made a deal on the sidewalk and bought them. He advertises in newspapers, and a sign in front of the store asks people to sell him their collectables. "People here are either interested in San Francisco history in particular or gay history in general," he said. "I don't have the visibility I would have if I were on the ground level," Batt said, adding that this also means his rent is lower.īatt concentrates on San Francisco when it comes to his collection. A few people confuse it with cars, which is why he periodically gets phone calls asking for old repair manuals.īecause it's on the second floor, a lot of people consider the store a well-kept secret locals have told Batt that they've walked past for years, but never came up the stairs.
The shop's name was related to dildos and other sex toys "it meant self-pleasuring, that was how I viewed it,” Batt said. There are a lot of other dildo stores in the neighborhood, Batt notes. When his current space became available, he moved and slowly morphed the business into vintage porn. A selection of the VHS tapes on offer at Auto Erotica.īefore Auto Erotica, Batt had a dildo and leather store across the street, an offshoot of a mail-order company that he owned at the time. What brought him to San Francisco? "Freedom," Batt said. He's lived in San Francisco for 36 years, was born in Wisconsin, but grew up in Alaska. "There is a renewed interest in gay history," Batt said, citing material that reflects what happened during the early days of the AIDS crisis. DVDs, magazines, movies, cards, photos, posters, pins and even VHS tapes are just some of the things collectors and other shoppers are looking for. Twenty years ago, Auto Erotica moved into a second-floor commercial space on 18th Street where owner Patrick Batt focuses on vintage and collectable gay porn.