Who's the editorial queen behind the incredibly prolific, pivotal, and popular design blog SF Girl by Bay? Victoria Smith, that's who! With her influential boho-Modern style, love of collage, and thrift store shopping, we were waiting, just guessing to find out what Victoria's design-mind would relish at 20x200.
5 Perfect Picks
1) Toward Los Angeles, California, by Dorothea Lange
I love this photograph because it reminds me of a black-and-white snapshot I have of my father arriving in Los Angeles from Toronto, Canada in the late 1950s. I'm also a huge fan of Dorothea Lange's documentary-like photography.
2) Plate 22, Sheet 6, Ancient Courses Mississippi River Meander Belt, a 20x200 Vintage Edition
I really love this because although it looks like it could be someone's beautiful, but mindless doodle, it's actually a map created by cartographer and geologist Harold Fisk of the Mississippi River and its various courses through time for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
3) Verbenas on the Desert, by Phil Jung
The tones and composition in this photograph are just lovely, and it seems to tell a story of someone's lonely road trip across the country. A lost postcard they had every intention of sending to a loved one saying, "Wish you were here."
4) Uman, Hosang Park
I'm a big fan of aerial views. I'm the window seat person who stares out at the crazy landscapes we're flying by and looking for weird patterns and colors. This aerial view is wonderful and a little whimsical for all it's color and texture.
5) Sunday Date, by Hiro Kurata
This drawing is just weirdly wonderful. There's some strange kind of expectation going on. It's a 'Sunday Date' and yet she' appears to be inexplicably naked and the driver, who's fully clothed seems to be looking to her for direction . Where are they headed? And who's that face in the rearview mirror?
5 Q's + 5 A's
1) What's your favorite museum?
This is a tough one, but I'd say the Tate in London. I love the collection, but the space is a pretty impressive one as well.
2) What is your favorite color?
Pink with a splash of black.
3) Do you prefer a single statement piece or a salon wall?
I used to have a big salon wall and now I lean towards one big statement piece. I have a large ink stain painting by local artist Julian Hoenig above my sofa and I love it..
4) You've got $5M to spend on one piece of art. What would it be?
Probably some archival Diane Arbus photograph if I could swing it for $5M.
5) If you could be reincarnated as another artist, who would you want to be?
Is Grace Coddington an artist? She's an art director, but I think there's so much art in what she does. Plus, she gets to push around Anna Wintour and does it so gracefully. I'll be her in my next life.
The 411 on Victoria Smith
Victoria Smith is a San Francisco-based blogger, photographer, stylist, and soon-to-be author. Her photographic journal of San Francisco will be published by Chronicle Books in Spring 2015. Editor of one of the West coast’s most popular design & lifestyle blogs, sfgirlbybay, Victoria has a unique and varied background in the design industry.
A journalism major with an Advanced Arts degree in Interior Design, she has also worked as a freelance art buyer and stylist producing photo shoots for advertising agencies and designers on accounts such as Condé Nast Publications, including high profile home and shelter magazines Domino, Architectural Digest, and House & Garden. She is a contributing writer to Kinfolk, UPPERCASE, Anthology, and 7×7 magazines. When she’s not blogging, Victoria is incessantly Instagramming, or running around San Francisco, scouting the latest finds with her camera and trusty dog, Lucy.
Look out for her photographic book about San Francisco neighborhoods due out Spring 2015!
Professional Site: sfgirlbybay.com Blog: SF Girl By Bay Blog Twitter: @sfgirlbybay Instagram: @sfgirlbybay
