Sad Francisco
Sad Francisco
Toshio Meronek
Hope You Like Burning Man Sculptures with Max Blue
49 minutes Posted Jul 6, 2026 at 12:01 pm.
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Show notes

Max Blue is San Francisco's only art critic left in legacy media (see: his column in SF Examiner); he also contributes regularly to Hyperallergic. 

Max gives the best brief introduction of the big art movements San Francisco is most well known for, and names names including: 

  • BXP, the company that benefited from the Vaillancourt fountain's removal) 

  • CIA Operation Mockingbird, the US government's mission to spread abstract expressionism across the globe

  • KAWS's hold on the Instagram background niche 

  • Randall Kline, SF Jazz founder behind the upcoming low-income artists' housing on Market Street

  • Sid Sijbrandij, the tech billionaire and art patron flooding public space with Burning Man installations

Max Blue: https://maxbluewriter.com

Max's Substack: https://maxblue.substack.com/

Max for the San Francisco Examiner: https://www.sfexaminer.com/culture/private-funding-of-public-art-prompts-questions-about-intent/article_89b311c0-108a-4464-b676-73548d51471f.html

Max for Hyperallergic: https://hyperallergic.com/author/max-blue/

Episodes: 

Hanky Code Art NSF Trash Cans with Christen Cioffi: https://www.patreon.com/sadfrancisco/posts/78664457

The Technofascist Plan for an Elite City in Solano County with Anna Kirsch: https://www.patreon.com/sadfrancisco/posts/audio-planning-f-107037093

Support the show and get new episodes early on Patreon: https://patreon.com/sadfrancisco