Interview: Caitlin Atkinson

It’s been an interesting few days for this SFist. Everyone has an agenda when they post on a blog. Everyone who posts on SFist has their own reasons and motivations for saying what they do. After reading all the comments from my interview with Sarah Low Daly, I realized that my interview agenda wasn’t clear. So here it is. The thing I love the most about the Bay Area, and the reason I’ll do my best to live here forever is all the really interesting and opinionated people around me. When I got the assignment to do the bulk of SFist interviews, I decided that I wanted to see the area through the lens of as many locals as possible. My questions are extremely Bay Area centric: they’re designed to illuminate how other people see this area and all the wonderful things in it. I’ve no idea exactly how you circumscribe the limits of journalism. I don’t even know if these interviews count or not. You can decide that question on your own. Please do view the interviews as a chance to discover something unexpected about the place you live and the people who inhabit it.

Today’s interview subject has a literal lens trained on the Bay Area. Caitlin Atkinson is a photographer whose art focuses mainly on her experiences (both real and dreamed). You can catch her work at SF Camerawork through the second of April. She’ll be lecturing there on the 22nd of March. Take a minute to see the Bay Area the way she does.

Name:
Caitlin Atkinson

Age and Occupation:
26, Photographer/artist

Introduce your self in one sentence:
http://www.caitlinatkinson.net

Home Town:
Nevada City, Ca

How long have you lived in the Bay Area and Where?
I moved to San Francisco to attend the California College of Arts and Crafts. I have lived in the same apartment in the inner sunset for over seven years. Although a little far out, it is more affordable, there are a number of good restaurants and I can walk to the park.

Favorite website:
The National Weather Service

Favorite local business:
SF Public Library

What I'm currently Reading:
Books: 1) Where I was From Joan Didion, 2) Straight Man Richard Russo, 3)Fears of your Life Michael Bernard Loggins, 4)Everyday Problems William Wegman. Magazines: W, Blindspot, Us weekly, Sunday New York times, In Style and the New Yorker.

Best Deal in San Francisco:
Still looking…

Favorite mode of transportation:
My bicycle was stolen, my car causes anxiety and I hate the germs and close contact with other people on public transportation. Walking on the other hand is
refreshing and thought-provoking.

Favorite local hangout:
Still looking…

SF has the BEST:
The best air quality.

You've never lived in SF until:
You have made at least one friend.

You can tell someone is a local here IF:
He or she overrates restaurants.

SF would be soooo much better if only:
The traffic in and out of the city didn’t exist, the art scene was less regional, the fog in the summer would disappear and liberals were less self-righteous.

Best Restaurant:
As a vegetarian Millennium is nice for fine dining.

Best movie scene filmed in or about SF:
Bullitt chase scenes and The Lady from Shanghai mirror sequence in bygone amusement park.

Favorite places to view art in SF:
SF Camerawork, Stephen Wirtz, James Nicholson, the CCA Wattis Institute and SFMOMA.

Place you always tell visitors to check out:
The Botanical Gardens and Marin hiking trails.

You have two hours and $15 bucks to kill in SF, what are you going to do?
I would start by picking up a snack at Arezmendi Bakery, and the NY Times, and then I would head over to the botanical gardens for a leisurely meal and stroll.

I have found/sold/bought the following on craigslist:
still looking....

I want all the SFists out there to:
visit a great photography show at SF Camerawork, En Masse, up until April 2. http://www.sfcamerawork.org