Tuesday, June 4, 2013

SFMOMA on the go

After a 4-day extravaganza to end all museum extravaganzas, SFMOMA closed on Sunday for a 2 1/2 year expansion plan to make room for the Fisher Collection and other anticipated purchases.

People took photos of themselves in front of favorite artworks on every floor, and stood in line for hours to see the 24-hour film "The Clock." The free Family Day had a variety of activities for the kids, including making a model of a trebuchet and flinging non-lethal boulders. No castle walls were destroyed but there was a lot of laughter.

49,467 attended the museum, partied throughout the night and ended the celebrations at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday with a free-form dance through the atrium and out onto the street. As closings go, it was a joyous event.

But the museum is not going away. If anything, it's going to be even more present. "We're not going to let you forget about us," SFMOMA Director Neal Benezra told the crowd. "The lights may go off here at 6 o'clock this evening, but we'll be turning on the lights all over the city for the next 2 1/2 years until we see you all back here in 2016."

Bay Area's own Mark di Suvero's sculptures are on display at Crissy Field.  The eight sculptures scattered across the 26.5-acre field is the largest display of di Suvero's work on the West Coast. It is also the largest public single-site, single-artist exhibition mounted by SFMOMA and the pilot for an Art in the Park program by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which manages the field. The exhibition is free and will be up for a year.

The mammoth sculptures are also large enough to withstand the hurricane force of the wind coming through the Golden Gate Bridge. In fact, they are so study that it seems a shame that di Suvero wasn't put in charge of building the Bay Bridge. The bridge might have been built faster and with a greater respect for the steel bolts and girders.

"Lure: Bay Area Artists Explore the Sea" at SFMOMA's Artists Gallery at Ft. Mason. The America's Cup is the news of the day and several museums are taking advantage of the fact. This exhibit will bring together works by Bay Area artists whose art is inspired by the sea. Opening Saturday, June 15, 2013. 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.Building A, Fort Mason Center San Francisco, CA 94123. Free to the public.

 Teresita Fernández, Fire, 2005. Silk yarn, steel armature, and epoxy, 96 x 144 in. Collection SFMOMA, Accessions Committee Fund purchase; copyright © Teresita Fernández.

"Beyond Belief. 100 Years of the Spiritual In Art." Jointly organized by the Contemporary Jewish Museum and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, this expansive exhibition — spanning the years 1911 to 2011 — journeys into the far-reaching connections between spirituality and modern and contemporary art. Featuring diverse works by artists ranging from early 20th-century visionaries such as Paul Klee and Piet Mondrian to leading postwar and contemporary artists including Jay DeFeo, Kiki Smith, and Zarina, Beyond Belief offers a fresh new vision of familiar and lesser-known works from SFMOMA’s collection. On view June 28 through October 27, 2013. Admission is free for SFMOMA members. 

http://www.examiner.com/article/sfmoma-on-the-go

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