at the sfmoma we were admiring peter wegner's guillotine of sunlight, guillotine of shade piece and the security guard came over. he was a shorter man who, in a very thick accent, suggested the piece was either very interesting or a piece of shit. we had a good laugh and he used this entrance point to tell us a little about his past and his ideas.

originally from china, and trained as a civil engineer, he later joined the military and advanced to the rank of colonel. he had travelled to saudi arabia for work and had eventually wound up in san francisco. from the way he talked he had worked at moma for a while. coming around to his original question, he said he had applied his theory of life to art.

"it's all about articulation," he said, talking care to enunciate the word. there is a certain irony in this as there are some parts of what he said that i'm not sure about, and he didn't leave much space for questions in his well-honed monologue.

he told us how the artists ability to articulate the piece is what made it interesting, otherwise, he said, what are we to get from it? the title is 'guillotine,' he noted, bending over and pretending to behead himself. cutting light. he smiled. this was the tie-in to his background as an engineer.

he told us about how he had been confronted by head of security once about his on the job chattiness and how the ability to articulate his response had earned him respect. at this point in the story he excuses himself to tiptoe over and, like a hunting lion, asks some viewers to step back behind the line. when he walks back over he continues. "i told him my job was about 3 things. 1) security," he said locking step and saluting us. "2) keeping people moving through the space. and 3) public relations. i make people smile. it makes them relax. they have a good time. they enjoy their visit. this took him by surprise. he did not expect such an articulate response."

he then relayed how at the opening to the present show he had helped more than 3,000 people through the space in a clear, calm manner. "enjoy yourselves, but please keep moving. the message had to be simple and polite."

"you're a people engineer," i said, laughing.

"i'm a real engineer, too," he exclaimed and proudly took out his military i.d. card and his engineer's license. civil engineer, it stated.

"you don't look like a people person! so serious!" i remarked on the photos.

"yes, and i had more hair!"

several more times through his story he asked people to step back behind the line in the same manner as before.

he shook our hands in the end and told us to enjoy the show, and to remember the importance of articulation.

these are the rare, random moments when i actually like people, despite their egocentricity and pride.

he noted that he was known as "paul, the crowd controller." if you see him, be sure to stop for a chat.