pictures at an exhibition | de Young Museum

couple viewing photos (c) 2017 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

We spent Sunday morning at the de Young Museum, located in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. We concentrated our time on two special exhibitions.

Danny Lyon: Message to the Future. Lyon has been described as "a leading figure in the American street photography movement of the 1960s." This exhibition of 175 photos, as well as a few films and other objects of interest, will be on display until April 30; you've still got three weeks to take advantage of this opportunity. He focused his attention on documenting social and political issues with a special focus on marginalized members of society. There were photographs of the neighborhoods of lower Manhattan being torn down to make room for the World Trade Center's twin towers, civil rights protesters, prisoners, bikers, and persons living on the margins in rural areas in the United States, South America, and China. A very interesting set of photographs, I especially admired the photographer's ability to forge relationships with his subject, allowing him to capture some phenomenal portraits as well as candid shots.

photo on display at the Summer of Love Experience, de Young Museum, San Francisco

The Summer of Love Experience: Art, Fashion, and Rock & Roll. In the summer of 1967, I was sixteen years old and living on the east coast, 2500 miles from Haight Ashbury and totally unaware that the "summer of love" was even going on. This exhibit was a fascinating collection of posters, photographs, hippie clothing, buttons, and other artifacts recalling the culture of the 1960's. One poster featured Joan Baez and her two sisters, encouraging young men to resist the Draft. Its provocative title said it all — Girls Say Yes to Boys Who Say No. The photograph above shows a blissful couple in Golden Gate Park in 1967. Now close to 70 years of age, it makes me wonder where they are now!

San Francisco, one of the most popular U.S. destinations, has so much to offer visitors. Be watching this space for some follow up blog posts over the next week.

copyright (c) 2017 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.