Chris Cobb is an artist and writer. His art is characterized by a subversive wit and by formalism rooted in an anti-materialism. He uses installations, photographs or text depending on the project. While making art he has worked as a teacher, a chef, an obituary researcher, an antiques seller, a designer and a dj. His work has been shown at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, ATM Gallery, ONETWENTYEIGHT Gallery, the UC Berkeley Art Museum, the Worth Ryder Gallery, Triple Base Gallery, New Langton Arts, Adobe Bookshop, the Sacramento Center for Contemporary Art, Timberspace, Los Angeles, Mission 17 Gallery and others. His work has appeared in many publications including The Boston Globe, on NPR’s All Things Considered, The San Francisco Bay Guardian, Tenbyten Magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle, McSweeney’s.com, and Grafik Magazine.
He has written about music, art and culture for the Believer, Flash Art, Leonardo Magazine, Stretcher.org, Clamor Magazine, the KQED Arts and Culture Blog, Art Week, Artpractical.com, shotgun-review.com, and others. He has contributed to the following books: Sol LeWitt: 100 Views, The Best of Creative Nonfiction 2009 and Face The Issues by Carol Numrich. He has made two artist books: Portrait (2009) and A Man in the Street With a Knife (2010). He has an MFA from UC Berkeley and a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute.
Posts by Chris Cobb (Chris Cobb)
San Francisco Art Invades New York
May 15, 2013 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Back Page, Field Notes | 0 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: Good Quotes about Cats
May 7, 2013 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Back Page, Projects/Series | 1 Comment »
Did Occupy Really Change Contemporary Art?
May 1, 2013 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Back Page, Essay, Field Notes | 10 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: Dumb Art Jokes
April 26, 2013 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Back Page, Projects/Series | 2 Comments »
Social Media Bomb: Garbage in, Garbage Out
April 20, 2013 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Back Page, Essay | 0 Comments »
An Artwork Made in Cambridge, MA, at the Public Library
April 19, 2013 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Back Page, Field Notes | 0 Comments »
Carlos Villa 1936–2013
March 24, 2013 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Back Page, Essay | 7 Comments »
Living Room Dispatch LIVE from the Harlem Arts Salon: Toni Morrison and Ishmael Reed in conversation
February 24, 2013 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Miscellany | 7 Comments »
Watch LIVE: Toni Morrison, Ishmael Reed at Harlem Arts Salon on Sunday, Feb. 24, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
February 23, 2013 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Field Notes | 12 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: Maybe Painting Has Died After All
February 9, 2013 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 17 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: Printed Matter, NYC, Brings the Bay Area to L.A.
January 31, 2013 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 2 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: Terry Gross Freaks Out on Quentin Tarantino
January 4, 2013 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 11 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: My Gross New Year in Paris
December 31, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Back Page, Field Notes, Projects/Series | 2 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: The Hurricane and Courtney Love
November 27, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 0 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: Occupy to the Rescue: Revenge of the Hippies: Martha Rosler at MoMA
November 21, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 0 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: On Finding Barry McGee in Brooklyn
November 1, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 8 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: Meanwhile, in New York…
October 30, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 0 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: Our Binders Are Full of Women
October 17, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Back Page, Projects/Series | 0 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist a.k.a. That Weird Record Collector
October 8, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Back Page, Projects/Series | 1 Comment »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: Is Art School a Scam?
September 26, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 11 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: Trevor Paglen with Werner Herzog
September 20, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 0 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: Cops at Occupy Wall Street Anniversary
September 17, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 4 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: A View of Ground Zero
September 11, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 0 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: Obama as the Invisible Man
September 3, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 3 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: Gold Fever in North Beach?
August 23, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 8 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: PUSSY RIOT Is So Dangerous
August 17, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 0 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: Mars
August 6, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 0 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: Looking at New York Right Now
July 24, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 0 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: Advice for the Poor & Unknown
June 12, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 2 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: Cat Helicopters?
June 4, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 8 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: Facebook and Bible Prophecy
May 18, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 2 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: Is Ross Mirkarimi Really the Batman?
April 26, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 4 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: Carleton Watkins – Casualty of the 1906 Earthquake
April 18, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 3 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: I Just Love Werner Herzog
April 6, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 2 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: I am Only in Control of Vegetables
April 3, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 0 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: Sh*t Artists Say
March 19, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 4 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: Crazy for You
March 9, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 4 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: I’m Bob Dylan
February 22, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 0 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: On Killing Monday
February 13, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 1 Comment »
Why Is Occupy Oakland So Crazy?
February 2, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Essay, Field Notes | 21 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist: Art in America Is Just Like the Khmer Rouge
January 28, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 7 Comments »
Diary of a Crazy Artist
January 25, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Projects/Series | 13 Comments »
NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION: No More Boring Art
January 9, 2012 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Back Page | 1 Comment »
Occupy Wall Street: It Ain’t Over Yet
November 17, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Field Notes | 3 Comments »
How Occupy Wall Street Mobs Attacked Bankers over the Weekend
November 8, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Essay | 0 Comments »
It’s November 5th. What the Heck Is Guy Fawkes Day?
November 4, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Essay | 0 Comments »
Clouds of Tear Gas in Oakland
October 25, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Field Notes | 0 Comments »
Slavoj Žižek on Broadway after Speaking at Occupy Wall Street
October 12, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Field Notes | 0 Comments »
Occupy Everything
October 10, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Back Page | 5 Comments »
Why Not Forgive All Student Loans to Artists to Stimulate the Economy?
September 22, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Essay | 32 Comments »
View of Lower Manhattan from the Brooklyn Bridge
September 10, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Back Page | 0 Comments »
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein, a First Edition from 1933
August 23, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Back Page | 0 Comments »
Anonymous Comic Book Antiheroes Protest BART Rider Slaying
August 16, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Field Notes | 6 Comments »
Sex Work Pays for Art School and Student Loans, She Said
August 5, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Essay | 6 Comments »
Man in the High Castle
July 22, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Back Page | 0 Comments »
Admit It, Deep Down You Think New York Is Really Just Better than San Francisco in Every Way.
July 15, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Essay | 18 Comments »
Historic Marriage Equality Law Passes in New York – Everyone Turns Gay and the World Ends!
June 25, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Field Notes | 1 Comment »
Ai Weiwei Released on Bail after “Confessing to his Tax Crimes” with No Mention of Why the Government Demolished His Shanghai Studio with Bulldozers a Few Months Before He Was Arrested
June 22, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Field Notes | 0 Comments »
NOTE TO SELF : OMG! There Is No Privacy!
June 17, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Back Page | 8 Comments »
A Very Long Post About the Extraordinary Artist and Poet and Storyteller and Singer and Philosopher and Influential Activist and Fighter of Inner Demons Gilbert Scott-Heron
June 4, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Field Notes | 0 Comments »
Are San Francisco Artists Still Just a Bunch of Liberal Hippie, Left-Wing Drug Addicts and Alcoholics that Hate America?
May 13, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Conversations, Field Notes | 5 Comments »
The Conspirator
May 2, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Field Notes | 0 Comments »
JACK SPICER: A Non-Tragic Universe
April 23, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Back Page | 0 Comments »
Inbox
April 16, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Back Page | 0 Comments »
150th Anniversary of the Civil War Today
April 12, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Back Page | 1 Comment »
Who Is Ai Weiwei and Why Is He in Jail?
April 9, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Field Notes | 0 Comments »
Your Student Loans Are Totally Killing You, Dude
March 23, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Field Notes | 16 Comments »
Elizabeth Taylor, Iconic Actress Passes 1932-2011
March 23, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Field Notes | 0 Comments »
Faster Than a Speeding Bullet! More Expensive than a Diamond-Encrusted Skull!
March 20, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Essay, Field Notes | 9 Comments »
Do These Images Really Threaten the Very Fabric of Our Society, Corrupt our Children and Poison the Well of Moral Goodness we All Live by?
March 4, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Essay | 3 Comments »
Happy Late Valentine’s Day, Louise Bourgeois
February 15, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Back Page | 3 Comments »
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair! – Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1818
February 11, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Back Page | 0 Comments »
Mubarak Defiant
February 10, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Back Page | 0 Comments »
One More Tweet Before I Die
February 8, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Field Notes | 2 Comments »
FYI: The Revolution Has Just Been Tweeted
February 6, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Field Notes | 2 Comments »
Robbing Your Mamma To Pay Your Poppa
February 1, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Field Notes | 6 Comments »
Where Art Is a Matter of Life and Death
January 23, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Conversations, Field Notes, Projects/Series | 1 Comment »
The Artists’ Bar
January 6, 2011 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Conversations | 7 Comments »
To Various Persons Talked to All at Once
December 22, 2010 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Back Page | 2 Comments »
Kenny Dorham’s Cousin Is an Artist
December 15, 2010 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Conversations, Field Notes | 0 Comments »
“You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave” – Hotel California
December 8, 2010 | By Chris Cobb | Filed under Field Notes | 0 Comments »
