Close up

At the beginning of the week I was at SFMOMA, checking out the Fisher Collection show. It was the first time I've gone to an exhibition with my iPhone, the first time I've visited a gallery with free wifi - and the first time, I think, when I've visited a gallery that had no rules against photography.

So here's the Sol Lewitt/Carl Andre room




Close to a Sol Lewitt




Closer ...




Close to a Sigmar Polke




Close to an Agnes Martin




Apart from the wire roping off the Serras (sensible) this was the only barrier I saw ...




... a strip of darker wood laid into the floor, raised enough that if you stand on it you notice it. Nice.

Apart from the poor security guard in the Sol Lewitt/Carl Andre room trying to convince a pair of kids that yes, they really could walk on one particular floor walk, I didn't see anyone getting warned for getting too close or taking pictures.

And I noticed that one of the friends I was with - a quite serious photographer - wasn't just taking shots to record the experience, or test things out, like I was. It was how he looked at and understood the works on show. It's not an argument I've thought of before in favour of galleries loosening their photography policies, but it's one that I now believe in.