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Wondrous Strange: A 21st Century Cabinet of CuriositiesPost an Event »

SFMOMA Artists Gallery at Fort Mason

July 22 - August 29, 2010

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Fort Mason Center, Building A San Francisco, CA 94123
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Wondrous Strange: A 21st Century Cabinet of Curiosities Jo Ann Biagini, Untitled (detail), 2010; mixed media; 36 x 36 in.; photo: courtesy the artist
Opening reception on Thursday, July 22 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Organized by Maria Medua and Renée de Cossio of the SFMOMA Artists Gallery, Wondrous Strange: A 21st Century Cabinet of Curiosities features the work of artists including Misako Inaoka, Sharon Beals, Katherine Westerhout, Leslie Frierman Grunditz, Michele Muennig, Jo Ann Biagini, Bryan Tedrick, Jesse Hazelip, Kathy Aoki, Kirk Crippens, George Pfau, Donald Farnsworth, Jeremiah Jenkins, Agelio Batle, Shenny Cruces, Amit Greenberg, Brandon Truscott, Philip Ringler, Claire Pasquier, Mike Shine, and Steve Allen. The SFMOMA Artists Gallery space has been transformed in to a Wunderkammern, or wonder room. Similar to the original cabinets of curiosities, the display method dissolves the distinctions between culture and science, and craft and fine art inducing awe, especially in children. The sixteenth century’s cabinets of curiosities, precursors to today’s museums, were encyclopedic collections of specimens from the natural world, as well as man-made artifacts. These cabinets served as educational resources for artists and natural philosophers of the early modern period in Western Europe. Wondrous Strange, the exhibition’s title, is derived from Midsummer Night’s Dream, and looks at the wondrous and the strange as propellants for the imagination. Featuring works by more than a dozen Bay Area artists, the exhibition includes photography, sculpture, and painting and explores themes such as evolutionary biology and history, progress and decadence, and the carnal and the intellectual. This contemporary version of the Cabinet of Curiosities provides a rich environment for the work of these 21st century artists who strive to reconnect us to the sources of wonder. The SFMOMA Artists Gallery enlisted long-time members of the steam punk, oil punk, DIY, and the Burning Man communities because all of these movements recognize the practical and aesthetic innovations of previous eras. Intrigued by Edwardian times to the 1930s depression, they engage in historical fantasy and reclaim notions of self-reliance, workmanship, and craft. OPENING RECEPTION Come in costume and join us for the opening reception on Thursday, July 22 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Dress as time travelers, looking to the late 18th thru the early 20th century as sources for inspiration—prizes will be awarded for best costumes. Step into the Long Now Museum to see prototypes for the monument sized 10,000 Year Clock that the organization is building as an icon to long-term thinking. Clock engineers will be on hand to explain the intricacies of the mechanisms and to discuss the fluid nature of time itself. Other time-based aspects of the project including the micro-etched Rosetta Disk and Bristlecone Pines living at the Clock site will be on display. Just back from the LA Art Walk, the Golden Mean a.k.a. the Snail Art Car will also make an appearance. Created by Oakland blacksmith Jon Sarriugarte and his wife Kyrsten Mate, this transformed 1966 VW Bug shaped like a snail, transports 6 comfortably and has the added advantage of shooting flame from its feelers. Also from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., the punk band The Grannies will perform outside the gallery. The Grannies claim to have met in a police station in the Mission while being held for petty crimes involving Wild Turkey, electricity, naugahyde, Top Ramen, and Drano, among other things. There will also be burlesque performances by the Burley Sisters. Fierce and sexy…the Burley Sisters delve into the psyches of different characters, and explore their relationships to each other and to their histories, interacting with and seeking to provoke the audience. Inside the gallery, locally based opera singer and San Francisco Conservatory bound tenor Jonah Hopton will delight you with arias and art songs by Fauré, Massenet, Scarlatti, and Bellini. CLOSING EVENT On Saturday, August 28 from 2 to 4 p.m., the Artists Gallery will hold a closing event in honor of Johann Wolfgang Goethe’s birthday. A key figure in German literature of the late 18th and early 19th century, Goethe is best known as the author of Faust. Goethe is of particular interest because of his work often describes the practical and the poetic in conflict. Activities will include color theory exploration for children and a curator’s talk by Kathy Aoki. Aoki will also lead a curator’s talk on the Tomb Room, A Special Exhibit on Loan from the Museum of Historical Makeovers and provide an introduction to the Gwen Stefani Memorial Temple and archeological dig. SFMOMA Artists Gallery, Building A, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco Gallery hours: 11:30 a.m. –5:30 p.m.; Tues. through Sat.
Wondrous Strange: A 21st Century Cabinet of Curiosities Shenny Cruces, Satin Girl Cup, 2008; cone 6 porcelain, decal, luster, and satin ; 5 x 6 x 4 in.; photo: courtesy the artist
Wondrous Strange: A 21st Century Cabinet of Curiosities Donald Farnsworth, Antiquarian Library (detail), 2005; tapestry; 62 x 158 in.; photo: courtesy the artist
Wondrous Strange: A 21st Century Cabinet of Curiosities Sharon Beals, Swainson's Thrush, 2009; ink-jet print; 32 x 32 in.; photo: courtesy the artist
Wondrous Strange: A 21st Century Cabinet of Curiosities Leslie Frierman Grunditz, SeanO, 2009; mixed media; approximately 36 x 24 in.; photo: courtesy the artist
Wondrous Strange: A 21st Century Cabinet of Curiosities Kathy Aoki, Tomb Room (Temporarily Closed), 2009; mixed media; dimensions variable; photo: courtesy the artist
Wondrous Strange: A 21st Century Cabinet of Curiosities Kirk Crippens, Homage to Gursky: “Kirksky,” 2010; chromogenic print; 30 x 42 in.; photo: courtesy the artist
Wondrous Strange: A 21st Century Cabinet of Curiosities Misako Inaoka, Deer Hunter, 2009; mixed media; approximately 3 x 4 x 2 in.; photo: courtesy the artist
Wondrous Strange: A 21st Century Cabinet of Curiosities Agelio Batle, Tree man stump, 2009; graphite and resin on panel; 60 x 48 in.; photo: courtesy the artist
Wondrous Strange: A 21st Century Cabinet of Curiosities Michele Muennig, Older than Dream, 2009; oil on canvas; 30 x 24 in; photo: courtesy the artist