Pacific Standard Time: Update #7

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It's been over a month since my last update, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been chasing down PST events. ;-)

We're halfway through the event's run, with many shows closing, but new exhibits opening. I went to give a farewell view to some of my favorite shows, such as the Hammer's Now Dig This! exhibition on LA's African-American art scene. As I was giving a final viewing to some of these artworks, melancholy came over me. So many of these works are hidden away in museum vaults or in private collections, I don't know if or when I'll be able to see them again.

For example, Ed Kienholz's Five Car Stud was created about 40 years ago, but has hardly ever been on view. What are the chances that I'll get to see it again? Likewise, all the lesser known minority artists rarely get shown. I know that one of the purposes behind the PST event is to alter the situation, to reveal the hidden treasures of the early LA art scene, but changing the established bias in the understanding of modern American art is a long-term project.

Although a strong counter-narrative is being proposed, such a fixed "history" is hard to shake, especially as many East Coast experts have so much invested in the current narrative.

Detail of Booster (1967) by Robert Rauschenberg

In any case, it's been fun and enlightening. I finally got to see the show at the Getty, which was awesome! I even got to attend a short talk on George Herms' assemblage piece, The Librarian. At another visit to the Norton Simon Museum, I attended a "spotlight" talk on John Baldessari's Fallen Easel. Likewise, the Hammer featured Maren Hassinger's River. I definitely appreciate these focus talks, brief though they may be, which enable me to benefit from the expertise of the curatorial staff in developing a deeper appreciation of the works under review.

Modernism in Art and Dance

Angel of the Americas (2005) by Perez Celis, on view at the Museum of Latin American Art

Last weekend, I paid another visit to the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) to see their exhibit, MEX/LA: "Mexican" Modernism(s) in Los Angeles 1930-1985, which I had seen briefly on a previous visit. The works on display were very thought-provoking.

This time, I took a leisurely stroll through the galleries, giving the pieces great consideration, both as regards their individual qualities and as regards their contribution to the overall premise of the show. Curation is often times like constructing an argument, beginning with a thesis statement, then laying out statements and evidence of support. An exhibition ought to be every bit as conceptually tight as a refined work of rhetoric or logic.

The MEX/LA show covers a wide range of artists, styles, and eras, but it succeeds in showing various approaches to the expression of a cultural construction. It's both aesthetically and intellectually engaging.

Portrait of the Artist as the Virgin of Guadalupe (1978) by Yolanda Lopez 

While I was at the show, a live dance performance by the Regina Klenjoski Dance Company took place within the galleries. I didn't know such an event was scheduled. So, it was a pleasant surprise for me. ;-)

Pacific Standard Time: Update #6

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Well, it's been a month since my last Pacific Standard Time update, which is why I dropped the "weekly" from the post title. Apparently, that would have been one very long week. ;-)

The reason for my lack of updates is that I wasn't attending enough events to justify the necessity for one. Of course, there were many awesome events in November, but my health difficulties kept me from experiencing them. I'm seriously hoping that I can soon start aggressively covering the art scene again, including the PST events. Moreover, I still haven't visited either the Getty or MOCA, both of which have been on my "to visit" list since October.

It's a frustrating situation.

Nevertheless, I've finally got enough to make for an interesting update. Last weekend, I was able to attend two PST related talks. The Norton Simon Museum had an informative "salon talk" regarding their exhibition, "Proof". And dnj gallery, at Bergamot Station, had an engaging talk featuring photographers, Robbert Flick and Susan Rankaitis. In both cases, the learning about the historical context in which the art pieces were created made for a fascinating topic.

As I finally seem to be making my way back into good health, with the assistance of modern medication, I'm chomping at the bit to get back onto the Art Beat. Woo hoo!!!

Anyways, here are the shows that I've visited since the last update:

The Group Shoe (1962) by Roberto Chavez

Autry National Center

Art Along the Hyphen: The Mexican-American Generation

Peace Press Graphics

CSU Long Beach, University Art Gallery

Peace Press Graphics 1967-1987: Art in the Pursuit of Social Change










 

L.A. Diary excerpt #20 (1967) by Robbert Flick


dnj Gallery (Bergamot Station)

Then and Now












Gypsy Rose by Jesse Valadez

 
Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA)

MEX/LA "Mexican" Modernism(s) in Los Angeles, 1930-1985







 


Jivaroland Frog Cup (1968) by Ken Price

Norton Simon Museum

Proof: The Rise of Printmaking in Southern California












 

Brillo Boxes (1969) by Andy Warhol


 Pacific Asia Museum

46 N. Los Robles: A History of the Pasadena Art Museum










Enjoy!!!

Pacific Standard Time: Weekly Update #5

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Although my health has improved significantly, the wreckage of two days lost to illness has created a backlog of tasks and social obligations, crowding out most of my art appreciation time. I still managed to fit in a rich set of activities, but not to my customary "aesthete grade" desires.

I didn't see any new exhibits, but I did attend a couple of lectures. The Norton Simon Museum had two Pacific Standard Time events. First, I attended a spotlight talk on Claes Oldenburg's Fire Plug Souvenir- "Chicago August 1968" and the fireplug motif as expressed in his lithographed Notes 1968. It was an interesting contrast between Oldenburg's more familiar light-hearted "pop" pieces and his deceptively critical political/social works.

Then, I attended a lecture on Dennis Hopper's photograph, "Double Standard" (1961), given by Prof. Damon M. Willick of Loyola Marymount University. Using the photo as a jumping point, the lecture was a reading of the various trends salient in the Los Angeles art scene during the era of the photograph and of the ensuing decade. It was a broad examination, encompassing everything from LA car culture to emergent minority voices to the fetishization of image and surface content. It was a good intro talk for those new to the topic of Los Angeles art.

Double Standard (1961) by Dennis Hopper


Finally, I was able to attend a panel discussion, "High Voltage: The Watts Legacy", at the Hammer Museum. The panel was moderated by Dr. Darnell Hunt. The panelists were artists, John Outterbridge and Andrew Zermeno, and collector, Stan Sanders. It was an engaging conversation, bringing up topics of art as political speech, the art establishment's fluctuating level of acceptance for African-American artists, and the transformational role that the Watts Riots played in spurring artistic creativity.

So, focusing more on activities than viewings was a good change of pace. No doubt, I'll be back to my solitary gallery pacing next week, but I had a good time at these events. I'm very grateful to live in a civilization where experts are readily available to impart insight and information.

Operation Teacup (Tower Easter Week Clean-Up) (1965) by Milton Martinez

Here are the Pacific Standard Time exhibits that I attended:

Hammer Museum

"Now Dig This! Art and Black Los Angeles 1960-1980"

Norton Simon Museum

"Proof: The Rise of Printmaking in Southern California"










Enjoy!!!

Pacific Standard Time: Weekly Update #4

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Well, this week was a bit of a drag. Poor health and a busy schedule kept me from enjoying a week of art appreciation. Nevertheless, I was able to revisit an exhibit and see a new one. That's not too bad.

My schedule is looking mighty tight for this upcoming week. So I'm not expecting to do much PST art trips. Moreover, I'm drastically behind on checking out gallery shows. While I am fully enthusiastic about viewing the historic roots of the Los Angeles art scene, I've been neglecting the contemporary treasures that are on view at art galleries across the city. That's got to be remedied.

So, it looks like we'll be taking the PST project at a slower pace for a while. Well, at least that ought to allow me to catch up on writing about the exhibitions that I visited.

Anyways, here are the shows seen this week:

Armory Center for the Arts

"Speaking in Tongues: Wallace Berman and Robert Heinecken"

LACMA

"California Design, 1930-1965: Living in a Modern Way"







As with last week, I'm hoping to hit a big show this week. ;-)

Enjoy!!!

To Find a Matching Teapot

Doubled Handled Bowl (1987) by Beatrice Wood


For much of the history of western art, the "lowly" potter's craft has been overlooked, dismissed as mere decoration, as if ceramics were little more than playing with mud, expressing no "higher" aesthetic values.

American pottery of the mid-20th century challenged that ignorant and elitist frame of mind. And no place was more trendsetting and innovative than Southern California. One of the most distinctive ceramic artists was Beatrice Wood, who amazingly had learned the craft in her late 40s!!! According to the story, she was looking for a teapot to match a pair of lusterware plates, but couldn't find one. So, she decided to learn how to craft one for herself, beginning six decades of amazing luster glaze ceramic masterpieces.

Currently, the Santa Monica Museum of Art is exhibiting "Beatrice Wood: Career Woman - Drawings, Paintings, Vessels, and Objects" as part of the Pacific Standard Time event. It is a comprehensive display covering a wide selection of styles and themes that Wood had developed over the decades. Moreover, there are some really obscure works on display, such as her drawings or journals, which rarely receive viewings, providing rich insights into her creative process.

Luster Chalice with Ten Handles (1982) by Beatrice Wood

But the main draw for me were the alluring lusterware vessels. They have a dazzling faerie glamour that catches the eye, bringing to mind tales of magic and high heroics.

Pacific Standard Time: Weekly Update #3

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Not much to add this week. Halloween activities have dominated my schedule, reducing my art viewing just as much as they've crashed my blogging productivity, like a vortex into which most of my time and energy gets sucked. But in a good, fun way. ;-)

I only hit one new location but it was a major event for me. I visited the Pepperdine University exhibit in Malibu. I haven't been to up in that part of town for over a decade. It is a place into which I actively avoid going. Actually, the last time that I visited Malibu was also to see a show at Pepperdine, the "Agnes Pelton: Poet of Nature" exhibit back in 1996.

Well, if one of the goals of Pacific Standard Time is to get Angelenos visiting local regions to which they normally do not travel, then it succeeded as regards to me, perhaps even breaking my antipathy towards Malibu.

I also paid a second trip to the Norton Simon exhibit on printmaking, "Proof." It's a really extensive show, rewarding multiple visits, offering new insights with each viewing. The museum had a "spotlight talk" for one of the works in the show, Rufino Tamayo's "Mask" (1964), an intriguing work from an underappreciated Mexican master.

So here are my PST hits for the week:

Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, Pepperdine University

"California Art: Selections from the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation"

Norton Simon Museum

"Proof: The Rise of Printmaking in Southern California"










I'm hoping to hit another one of the big venues this week, either the Getty or MOCA. It'll be fun stuff!!!

Enjoy!!!

Desconocido

Roosevelt High School Walkouts (1970) by Oscar Castillo

I've written about the Pacific Standard Time event plenty of times over the past few weeks, but I don't believe that I have clearly articulated its premise. Its purpose is to document the artists and aesthetic movements that flourished in the Los Angeles area from 1945 to 1980. This is a critically important task because many of the participants of the events under review are getting up in age. Opportunities to record this firsthand testimony are diminishing with each passing year.

And that's why I'm so happy to see Oscar Castillo's photographs on display in "Icons of the Invisible" at UCLA's Fowler Museum. Creating a visual record of the wild days of the Chicano movement, Castillo utilized a photojournalist style in witnessing the lives and environs of Los Angeles' Latino community, a large population that was overlooked and disenfranchised by the various civic institutions, be it political or economic or artistic. In spite of its size and history as an integral part of the city, Latinos were "invisible" to mainstream society, relegated to the barrio.

Refusing to let these people slip away into a forgotten past, Castillo captured the moment through his camera, furnishing evidence of the turbulent era, a time when the downtrodden Chicano culture refused to quietly abide the cruelties of society, defiant even in the face of overt police brutality. With evocative imagery and uncompromising verity, Castillo's photography testifies to the struggle for respect and recognition.

Chicana at Gage Ave. and Whittier Blvd., East Los Angeles (1972) by Oscar Castillo

Sadly, these photographs have become "invisible" themselves, known only to students of the era or enthusiasts of urban cultural photojournalism. "Icons of the Invisible" brings these images back into view, allowing us to give witness to the moment, perhaps recognizing foreshadowing and prophecies of the current state of Latino society in Southern California.

Pacific Standard Time: Weekly Update #2

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When you head over to the Pacific Standard Time website to look at the exhibitions participating in this massive event, it looks like an impressive number, spanning a wide variety of topics and styles, but you don't realize its truly colossal scope and size until you actually attempt to make a comprehensive viewing, hitting gallery after gallery and museum upon museum, immersing your mind in a flood of art and craft, concept and design, creative visions speaking anew from decades past.

It's exhausting, but totally rewarding.

Having now visited ten venues, I've seen a significant percentage of the exhibitions currently on view. Although I hope to write up my PST experience in blog posts, it's not likely that I will be able to give a comprehensive report on each show that I've visited. So, if you have any questions about a specific event, feel free to ask me by leaving a comment on this post. I'll try to provide a prompt and full answer.

Here are the shows that I've attended this week:

A+D Architecture and Design Museum:

Eames Designs: The Guest-Host Relationship

Craft and Folk Art Museum

The Alchemy of June Schwarcz: Enamel Vessels from the Forrest L. Merrill Collection

Golden State of Craft: California 1960-1985

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Asco: Elite of the Obscure, A Retrospective

California Design, 1930-1965, "Living in a Modern Way"

Edward Kienholz: Five Car Stud 1969-1972, Revisited


Maria Nordman Filmroom: Smoke 1967-Present

Mural Remix: Sandra de la Loza

LA><ART

John Outterbridge: The Rag Factory

I reviewed this show in "Torn and Tattered"

Santa Monica Museum of Art

Beatrice Wood: Career Woman - Drawings, Painting, Vessels, and Objects









Enjoy!!!

(Milestone note: I have now posted at least once a day for 100 days.)

Torn and Tattered

The Rag Factory (2011) installation by John Outterbridge at LA><ART


Rags, the word conjures up images of cheap, disposable, dirty cloth. Rags are the opposite of riches.

Rags are the thematic subject of an installation by John Outterbridge at LA><ART, entitled "The Rag Factory." Through the process of assemblage, Outterbridge constructs an environment that explores the manner in which context influences the perception of beauty and value. The humble rags are both the lowly discards of a banal consumerism and the elegant fabrications of an artistic sensibility.

The installation spans two gallery spaces of LA><ART. In Gallery One, Outterbridge has designed a hanging curtain of multicolored, knotted rags, bathed from various angles in brilliant light, a scintillating textile rainbow.

Close up of The Rag Factory installation in Gallery One

An entrancing assemblage of color and texture, Outterbridge transforms the lowly rags into an object of beauty. But a stroll into the next room dispels the glamour.

Domestic Designs to Adore and Delight

Horn Back Chair with Spindles and Low Curving Arms (c.1960) by Sam Maloof


When discussing the development of the Los Angeles Art scene, the avant-garde of conceptual art or the emergence of minority artists rightfully command significant attention, but there was a quieter innovation underway out in the Pomona Valley.

"The House That Sam Built" is an exhibit at the Huntington Museum featuring the creativity of the Pomona school in developing a modern sensibility to those art forms frequently classified as the "decorative" arts, such as furniture design or ceramics. This movement was led by Sam Maloof, the great furniture designer, who brought a strong aesthetic of lyric modernism to functional craftsmanship. His influence dominated Los Angeles decorative design and spread out becoming a distinctive late-20th century style.

I always get a laugh when I see the Pomona school being distinguished from the LA scenes, as if it were someplace off among the redwoods or in the remote Sierras. Sure, if you take your Southern California geography directions from Bugs Bunny and make an ill-advised turn at Rancho Cucamonga. ;-)

Chair after Hans Wegner (1952) by Sam Maloof

I'm pleased that the Huntington has put together a strong exhibit to showcase this very influential school of design. Maloof and his students are just as much a part of the LA aesthetic as anything turned out of the Ferus Gallery in the 1960s. It's a fine part of the Pacific Standard Time exhibition.

Pacific Standard Time: Weekly Update #1

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I've mentioned in passing that there is currently a massive Southern Californian cultural event, Pacific Standard Time, which is a coordinated curation among various cultural institution to exhibit and assess the art of Los Angeles from approximately 1945 to 1980. Given the unprecedented scope of this project, I'm trying to experience as much of it as I am able.

Ideally, I would have time to give a full review post to each exhibit that I visit. Yeah, that's the plan, but I can't honestly expect it to become a reality. Instead, I plan on giving a brief progress report of my week's PST adventurers.

Here are the exhibits that I've seen since the event started earlier this month.

Fowler Museum at UCLA:

"Mapping Another L.A.: The Chicano Art Movement" and "Icons of the Invisible: Oscar Castillo"

Hammer Museum

"Now Dig This! Art and Black Los Angeles 1960-1980"

Huntington Museum
"The House That Sam Built: Sam Maloof and Art in the Pomona Valley, 1945-1985"

EDIT: I reviewed this show in "Domestic Designs to Adore and Delight" on October 19.

Norton Simon Museum

"Proof: The Rise of Printmaking in Southern California"

Orange County Museum of Art

"State of Mind: New California Art Circa 1970"

Ben Maltz Gallery at Otis College of Art and Design

"Doin' It in Public: Feminism and Art at the Woman's Building"


I reviewed this show in "Appreciating Herstory" on October 9.







Yeah, I've been busy. I'll try to write up my experiences in dedicated posts. I'll be using the "Pacific Standard Time" tag to make it easier for accessing these posts. This will also help finding art gallery posts that are related to this event, but not actually an official exhibit.

In any case, I hope my adventures in Pacific Standard Time will keep you all entertained and informed.

Enjoy!!!

Kinetic Visions through a Rainbow Lens

Fred Eversley's works are on exhibit at the William Turner Gallery until October 29, 2011


"Cool School" or "Finish Fetish" or "Plastic Minimalism" are all terms that get bandied about when talking about the work of Fred Eversley, occasionally as a derogative. But this exhibit at the William Turner Gallery gives us another chance to assess these slick polyester resin works. What is the premise of Eversley's style?

First, it it is an expression of meticulous craftsmanship in designing simple forms. Reflective and slick, they sometimes deceive your eyes into misperceptions of the piece's actual curvature. Is it convex, concave, or level? Perception of form depends upon how the light plays upon the surface.

Second, the reflections and refractions create a dynamic play of light through the structure of these minimalist sculptures. The work itself is but a vehicle through which the viewer distinguishes myriad visions of space and motion. Eversley doesn't capture the kinetic experience in his works, but assists the viewer in realizing the kinesis that exists at every moment all around them.

Peer through these plastic mediums and you will experience an exhilarating aesthetic reflection of your present situation.

Eversley, cast polyester resin, 19.5 inches in diameter

Eversley's work is all about the experience of viewing. The "artistic ego" or "conceptual statement" is not of importance. Each viewer, each environment, each variation in frame of orientation creates a novel visual sensation. These works are masterpieces of indeterminacy.

Appreciating Herstory

Otis College is exhibiting "Doin' It in Public" as part of the Pacific Standard Time art event.

There is currently a vast artistic curation and exhibition project underway in the Los Angeles area called Pacific Standard Time. It's premise is to celebrate and display the Los Angeles art scene from 1945 to 1980, the foundational era upon which contemporary LA art builds. Obviously, in an enormous population center like Los Angeles, there will be many narrative and historical strands that will be considered.

So I began my exploration of Pacific Standard Time with a visit to Otis College's exhibit "Doin' It in Public: Feminism and Art at the Woman's Building." It's a fascinating look at the woman's art movement and how the establishment of a feminist institution gave birth to a wide array of creative endeavors, from the aesthetic to the sexual to the political.

In terms of exhibiting original art, there wasn't much. It was more of an anthropological and historical show, which is cool with me. There were plenty of informative media displays. One could spend hours at the exhibit just looking at the videos or listening to recordings. I especially enjoyed the reconstruction of a few performance art installations.

American Dining: A Working Woman's Moment (1987/2011) by the Waitresses

For me, the documentation of the artistic-political collectives was the most compelling part of the exhibit. It seems as if this was where the creative energy of the Woman's Building in forming a community identity and fostering progressive artistic and political activities came together strongest.