May 28, 2010

Five Questions: Walter Logue

Five questions to SFMOMA artists, staff, or guests. Walter Logue has worked at SFMOMA for 12 years as an operations technician.  Walter knows the building through and through and if things need doing, he’s there to make it happen.  (He also has the best gossip).  Walter is also a visual artist—you can see some of his work here and here.  He lives on Haight Street in San Francisco.

Walter Logue in the SFMOMA green room.

If you could steal any artwork in the world to have up in your home, what would it be?

Stealing’s a weird thing because you’re depriving other people of seeing it, but if I could have a single object, on one hand I’d like to have something old like an Albert Pinkham Ryder landscape, especially a seascape, or maybe an On Kawara box. Something contemplative. Or maybe a John McCracken leaning fiberglass piece. There’s a lot of stuff I could see living with forever.

What do you listen to while you work?

While I make artwork, lots of Velvet Underground, lots of classical music, lots of 1958-65 Jazz, particularly Eric Dolphy and Don Cherry. At work I just listen to whatever is playing wherever I am which is kind of interesting too.

Other than your phone or keys, what do you always carry with you?

At work, my radio, which I used to hate but now I love. And cigarettes. And my glasses and that’s about it.

What’s your favorite tool?

Probably a screw gun, because of the versatility of it.  It’s probably the thing I use the most. In terms of a physical object, I like awls for the way they look, and I like nail drivers, and I like 36-inch metal rulers with the cork on the back just as nice objects. I also like sawhorses, especially short ones.

What should I ask you?

What’s my favorite piece in the museum. It’s a tough one but probably the Bechtle Gran Torino painting in terms of what I like seeing a lot. When I first started working here I thought it was hideous and its slowly won me over to being a thing of transcendent power and beauty. I like it a lot. I like the Rothko painting too.

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