Out of the Wood and Into the Trees: Sonoma County Museum

Michael Cullen
Chest on a Stand
Friday August 24 is the opening of the annual Artistry in Wood exhibit at the Sonoma County Museum. The exhibit of fine woodworking is in collaboration with the Sonoma County Woodworkers Association (SCWA).
The Opening Reception is Friday, August 24 5-7pm
Possibly a coincidence, the museum is hosting two current exhibits featuring a woodworker's favorite raw materials:
Chester Arnold: Trees
and
Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Wrapped Trees
On Thursday Sept 6 at 6PM, nationally recognized furniture maker/designer Debey Zito will be discussing influences in her designs from Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts, and Asian designs.

Posted by Phil Gravitt

The week ahead

Gallery opening at Arc, Creativity Explored and an interesting talk at the CJM:

RubySpam. Love Story.

http://www.examiner.com/article/arc-gallery-opening-4squared-creativity-explored-disorder-more

Naoya Hatakeyama at SFMOMA

 

Man’s relentless efforts to master the environment. That’s the underlying message I took away from my visit to SFMOMA to see the current exhibition of photography by Naoya Hatakeyama. But there is a twist.

The first images in the exhibition are of expansive landscapes featuring dramatic mountains. The mountains, other than being pretty held no obvious message, they are just “pretty.”

The images I found more appealing were of abandoned and working quarries and were photographed as grand landscapes and had a definite message. From an anthropological point of view they tell a dramatic story of the consequences of the archaic notion, so persistently maintained by human kind, that nature can and should be conquered. Hatakeyama’s work so clearly shows us that the fact that the earth will never bend to the human will is lost yet on another generation.

Hatakeyama demonstrates how this quest of humanity to dominate the very environment that gives it life, is carried out by every means that is violent. The irony is dramatically evident in his imagery of the aftermath of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan. These images share a gallery with a sequence of photographs of quarry blasting, images that capture the brutally violent reality and consequence of the explosions. But still, what these images tell us is that despite every effort by “man,” nothing will ever match the violence of which nature is capable. Nature is the master and there is no such thing as conquering the environment.

Photos: © Naoya Hatakeyama

'When Artists Attack the King: Honoré Daumier and La Caricature, 1830-1835' at Cantor Arts Center

Long before Iranian cartoonist Mahmoud Shokraiyeh was sentenced to 25 lashings for drawing a parliament member in a soccer jersey, 19th-century caricaturist Honoré Daumier and his colleagues at the weekly Paris journal La Caricature endured prison sentences, fines, and litigation for their scathing portraits of king Louis-Philippe I of France, who came to power after the Revolution of 1830.

 The Cantor Arts Center presents 50 of these pioneering satirical works in “When Artists Attack the King: Honoré Daumier and La Caricature, 1830–1835,” which opens August 1. The exhibition, drawn entirely from the collection of the Cantor Arts Center, also features issues of La Caricature and large Daumier lithographs published for L’Association Mensuelle, a monthly print subscription,

More at: http://www.examiner.com/article/the-cantor-center-presents-19th-century-political-caricatures-by-daumier

Cindy Sherman at SFMOMA

Cindy Sherman. Untitled #92 (centerfold series).

http://www.examiner.com/article/cindy-sherman-at-san-francisco-museum-of-modern-art

Central Nigeria Unmasked:Arts of the Benue River ValleyCantor Art Center at Stanford

Even if it is just for the free parking on weekends close to the front door, the sunshine, or the Arizona cactus garden nearby, it is worth a trip to Cantor Arts Center at Stanford.

The Nigeria Unmasked exhibit includes 150 items showcasing various art forms and styles of two dozen not so well known ethnic groups living along the Benue River Valley.

Included are wooden figures, masks, clothing, shields, spears, plus recent paintings, photographs and sculptures.

Some of my favorites were a photo of boys in a hut that was wallpapered with American magazine covers; a metal and wood sculpture of two modern warriors with machine guns and ammo belts; and the above photo of BOTSWANA'S COWBOY METALHEADS by Frank Marshall.

Another reason to go to the Cantor is spending time in the Rodin Sculpture garden right before entering the museum, along with two rooms of Rodin sculptures inside.

After going through the musuem, head out the back door to the enclosed large courtyard holding Richard Serra’s heavy metal labyrinth sculpture, “Sequence.”

The Cantor also has several other exhibits including modern art and items from the Fisher collection. One wing holding the Native American basket collection is currently closed due to construction.

To round out the day, go to Bucks in Woodside for breakfast or lunch. The interior is a museum, the alligator carpet is a bit much, and the food is outstanding.

posted by Phil Gravitt

End of the month picks

Not that I can't think of a dozen more shows well worth seeing...

Ann Weber at Dolby Chadwick. @the artist. photograph Nancy Ewart

http://www.examiner.com/article/dolby-chadwick-calligraphy-sf-arts-commission-asian-art-museum?cid=db_articles

Raunch and irreverence at the San Jose Museum of Art

Bawdy irreverence, iconoclasm, parody, and puns are hallmarks of the work spawned by the art department at the University of California, Davis, in the 1960s and 1970s. In keeping with the counterculture of the time, the tone of this humor was often aggressive and transgressive......

Walter Robinson’s larger-than-life, hot pink and melting animal cookies point to the realities of global warming, part of the current exhibit at the SJMA.
http://www.examiner.com/article/renegade-humor-at-the-san-jose-museum-of-art-thiebaud-at-the-berggruen

George KrevskyArt of Baseballcontinues

Robert Marosi Bustamante
Lincecum's Stride

The George Krevsky Art of Baseball exhibit continues at 550 California St. until mid July.

posted by Phil Gravitt

Nina KatchadourianSeat AssignmentCatharine Clark Gallery

Wigeon

I stumbled across Catharine Clark Gallery in the alley next to SFMOMA. The name sounded familiar, so I asked if they used to be somewhere else. Turns out they moved to 150 Minna Street five years ago from 49 Geary. So much for my motto, "Always on the Pulse of the Local Art Scene."

Katchadourian's creativity is boundless. She is possibly the most productive airline passenger ever to ask for more peanuts. Many of her photographs may have been staged right on her tray table, using airline magazines overlaid with peanuts, straws, black fuzz, whatever.

Self Portrait in the Flemish Style

Lavatory lines are already too long, however her photos and videos of Lavatory Self Portraits in the Flemish Style are worth the wait.

Gorilla Sweater

The Katchadourian show closes on June 9. If you go in the next 48 hours, suggest wearing fireproof suit and welders helmet left over from recent eclipse viewing, as I had to wade through a Milky Way of flying sparks to get to the Gallery.

The molten light show eminated from the middle of the street, where McGyver was adapting the ends of large black metal pipes with a power saw.

Upon further review, my clothes are intact; the sparks just seemed closer than they were. I'm sure Katchadourian would have captured the sparks and turned them into something special.

posted by Phil Gravitt

16th Avenue & Moraga Tiled Steps Project

For a little exercise, great views and beautiful tile work, visit The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps Project in San Francisco. The 163 tiled steps are an extention of Moraga Street between 15th and 16th Avenues, leading to Grand View Park.

The project was started in 2003 and completed in 2005. The design for the steps was created by local SF artists Aileen Barr and Collette Crucher. The San Francisco Parks Trust, now called the San Francisco Parks Alliance, sponsored the project, with the support of the Golden Gate Heights Neighborhood Association.

There are plenty of landings on the stairway for resting on the way up. The 10 to 15 foot wide open space on either side is filled with an interesting variety of plants, donated and planted by many people and groups, including the San Francisco Succulent and Cactus Society.

It is kind of amazing to think of the time, effort and cooperation it took to create this project, and still takes to maintain it.

It is worth a trip, or just an easy and fun detour off 19th Avenue if you are passing through.

Factoid: There are more than 1000 public stairways and paved paths in the Bay Area.

posted by Phil Gravitt

INTERNATIONAL ORANGE: The Bridge Re-imagined

Kids from 2 dozen SF public schools reimagine and recreate the Golden Gate Bridge with artworks in various medium.

Through August 4 at the Mills Building, 220 Montgomery Street, San Francisco.

The exhibition curator is Richard Olsen. Presented by The San Francisco Arts Education Project in cooperation with the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.

posted by Phil Gravitt

'Earthquake' opens at the California Academy of Sciences

A whole lotta shaking going on....

http://www.examiner.com/article/earthquake-opens-at-the-academy-of-science

"Phantoms of Asia' at the Asian Art Museum

The new show at the Asian Art Museum is at the top my my Memorial Day Weekend picks but the rest of the shows around the bay ain't half bad either. The "Cult of Beauty," the V&A's tribute to Victorian arts and crafts is still at the Legion while the de Young features several shows, including one showcasing the cutting edge prints of Roy Lichtenstein and Claes Oldenburg. There is art from Nigeria at the Cantor and SFMOMA is hosting the first of many tributes to the Golden Gate Bridge which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year.

The red lotus that was just installed in the Civic Center Plaza is the outside symbol of an exciting, exhausting and bold exhibit inside the Asian Art Museum, now located inside the revamped  Beaux Arts building that formerly housed the old San Francisco Public Library.

http://www.examiner.com/article/take-an-art-break-this-memorial-day-weekend

Last DayBest of DoubleClickSF City Hall Gallery

Last day for Best of DoubleClick photo exhibit at SF City Hall Gallery. You can vote at the same time.

posted by Phil Gravitt

The world of the senses, Tibetan art at the Exploratorium

http://www.examiner.com/article/the-world-of-the-senses-on-view-at-the-exploratorium-san-francisco

Free admission this weekend

To the Oakland Museum and a dozen other places. Such a deal!


http://www.examiner.com/article/free-museum-weekend-around-the-bay-area?CID=examiner_alerts_article

“Scapes”Elena ZolotnitskyPaul Mahder Gallery

This solo exhibition of new oil paintings showcases Zolotnitsky's skill at portraying emotional facial expression with limited facial detail.

The show runs through June 12 at Paul Mahder Gallery on Sacramento Street in SF.

The first two weekends in June, Zolitnitsky is participating in East Bay Open Studios, in Berkeley.

Paintings Tolstoy Cuture (left) and Nude on Green (right) shown above from artlondon.com

posted by Phil Gravitt

Buckminister Fuller at SFMOMA

To boldly go where no man has gone before," might have been Buckminster Fuller's motto, which is well demonstrated by the current show at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). While not a retrospective, there is more than enough to overwhelm the visitor.
http://www.examiner.com/article/bucky-fuller-s-utopian-vision

On Apology CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art

On Apology is a study on the now prevalent spectacle of the public apology, and is produced by the graduating class of the Graduate Program in Curatorial Practice at the CCA Wattis Institute. The exhibition consists of two floors of video, several walls of text, and a 20 page paper handout.

The videos I found most intriguing were Australian Shaun Gladwell’s Apologies 1-6, six videos running a total of 27 minutes. I saw two of the six videos. In each one, the camera is looking down a different two-lane road blurring and stretching into the desert. A road kill kangaroo lies in the gravel on the left side of the road, fairly close to the camera, and in focus.

In one video, a white tractor trailer and a smaller black vehicle are coming up the road. A motorcycle rider dressed completely in black, riding a black motorcycle, crosses the screen and appears to almost run over the kangaroo. As the motorcycle rider parks nearby and walks toward the kangaroo, it becomes clear that the film is in slow motion and the distances are distorted.

The rider looks like he is almost standing over the kangaroo, however he walks about thirty feet back to the kangaroo from his motorcycle. The tractor trailer and black vehicle, which were close when the film started, are taking forever to get closer.

The motorcycle rider carefully looks over the body of the kangaroo, gently touching its head while brushing away flies. The rider's slow motion hand movements suggest he is wafting incense in a religious ceremony. Eventually the rider picks up the kangaroo and wanders out into the road, as if apologizing for what had happened before he arrived.

Gladwell didn’t stage the kangaroos; each sequence was filmed where the kangaroo was found.

In addition to Shaun Gladwell, the exhibit includes works by Erick Beltrán, Mark Boulos, Keren Cytter, Omer Fast, Ragnar Kjartansson, Amalia Pica, Slavs and Tatars, Cassie Thornton, Dawn Weleski, and Artur Zmijewski.

Photo from Apology To Roadkill 2007, Sydney Morning Herald

CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art On Apology
April 19 to May 19, 2012
Upper and Lower Galleries, Kent and Vicki Logan Galleries
1111 Eighth Street (at 16th and Wisconsin)
San Francisco

The CCA Wattis building appears to take up the whole block. Many rooms are just walls open to the high ceiling, reminiscent of a short, modern Cow Palace, except with wonderful natural light. Flash mob classes take place in the large wide center of the hall running the length of the building. Chairs, display tables and rolling billboards are moved into place for a class, and when it is over, people and equipment disperse quickly in all directions.

Some displays and projects from various design and graphics classes remain along the side walls. I walked along about 15 feet away, squinting while trying to make out the detail in each one without disturbing the small classes nearby.

One architectural model caught my eye. A large walled patio, built of tan cement, was populated with several white three-legged plastic tables, green and yellow shrubs, colorful curved rocks, and dark pools. Half the patio was shaded by a leaning wall awning above. I wondered why there were no chairs with the tables.

As I got further away, I looked back and realized it was an empty pizza box.

Parking is a little tight at CCA. If you don’t live close enough to walk, and don’t have a bicycle or motorcycle, take a cab. If you drive, I recommend a Smart car with curb feelers, a low profile windshield wiper, and the bumpers removed.

posted by Phil Gravitt