"It's All True" and It's All Good with Bruce Connor and the New SFMOMA
After a 3-year-closed-renovation, the SFMOMA is back in action, featuring the work of the late Bruce Conner, one of the country's most daring artists of the mid-20th century. Conner, a sculptor who hung with the Beats, was also one of San Francisco's biggest fans. His exhibit, "It's All True," runs through January 22nd.
On Black Friday, Mauricio and I were able to score free tickets (Thanks, Heather!!) for the newly-renovated behemoth which sits at 3rd and Mission Streets near Montgomery BART station. 2,700 tickets had been purchased for that day but we arrived on the earlier end and were able to focus, unmolested, on the 4th and 6th floors. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is now the nation's largest art museum, clocking in at 460,000 square footage of museum space. For best results, don't attempt to devour the whole institution in one day.
Deeply disturbed by nuclear annihilation and the violent tendencies of America, a lot of Conner's work has a macabre sensibility but he also had moments of real levity. One of his most celebrated works is a 5 minute video featuring dancer and singer Toni Basil of "Mickey" fame. His film, Breakaway, shows Basil's fluid street dancing edited in a way by Conner to give the performance a ghostly, ethereal appearance. It looks like she's shedding pieces of white cloth and at one point Basil is naked, celebrating her body. The whole thing makes you want to boogey. (A portion of the artistic video starts at minute 4.)
One tongue-in-cheek piece is Blue Plate/Special, a paint-by-numbers attempt at re-creating Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper. In this irreverent vein, we find that Conner spurns traditional modes and philosophies, like Christianity, in favor of fresh narratives and bold breakthroughs.
Conner, when he lived in the Bay Area, would scour flea markets for found items and gussy them up. He was opposed to the incredible waste and materialism of post-war America and believed in the power of redemption. He has a lot more artwork than mentioned here but I got in trouble for taking photos for this special exhibit. Check him out; there until January 22nd at SFMOMA.
------------
Two other noteworthy exhibits from the permanent collection are "German Art after 1960" and "Approaching American Abstraction." Some examples are below.
Joan Mitchell, an American artist in love with color
Sigmar Polke was a German painter influenced by mysticism and Native American spirituality. This one is called "The Spirits that Lend Strength are Invisible."
On Black Friday, Mauricio and I were able to score free tickets (Thanks, Heather!!) for the newly-renovated behemoth which sits at 3rd and Mission Streets near Montgomery BART station. 2,700 tickets had been purchased for that day but we arrived on the earlier end and were able to focus, unmolested, on the 4th and 6th floors. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is now the nation's largest art museum, clocking in at 460,000 square footage of museum space. For best results, don't attempt to devour the whole institution in one day.
Deeply disturbed by nuclear annihilation and the violent tendencies of America, a lot of Conner's work has a macabre sensibility but he also had moments of real levity. One of his most celebrated works is a 5 minute video featuring dancer and singer Toni Basil of "Mickey" fame. His film, Breakaway, shows Basil's fluid street dancing edited in a way by Conner to give the performance a ghostly, ethereal appearance. It looks like she's shedding pieces of white cloth and at one point Basil is naked, celebrating her body. The whole thing makes you want to boogey. (A portion of the artistic video starts at minute 4.)
One tongue-in-cheek piece is Blue Plate/Special, a paint-by-numbers attempt at re-creating Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper. In this irreverent vein, we find that Conner spurns traditional modes and philosophies, like Christianity, in favor of fresh narratives and bold breakthroughs.
------------
Two other noteworthy exhibits from the permanent collection are "German Art after 1960" and "Approaching American Abstraction." Some examples are below.
Joan Mitchell, an American artist in love with color
A 1983 de Kooning Piece
-----------------------
The best part of our day is realizing that San Francisco can lay aside its technological obsession and celebrate its artistic cachet. The SFMOMA feels like a turning point. Onward and upward, fair city!
Comments
Post a Comment