Comments on: Wonderland, A Follow-Up http://blog.sfmoma.org/2009/09/wonderland-a-follow-up/ ..................................... "Only dull and powerless artists defend their art by reference to sincerity" ---Kazimir Malevich............................................ Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:58:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Adrienne Skye Roberts http://blog.sfmoma.org/2009/09/wonderland-a-follow-up/comment-page-1/#comment-23811 Adrienne Skye Roberts Sun, 20 Sep 2009 03:56:44 +0000 http://blog.sfmoma.org/?p=6113#comment-23811 Mark, Thank you for sharing your experience with Wonderland. I'm glad to hear that you have also had a positive experience working on the project. As an independent contractor hired from outside the museum to contribute the SFMOMA blog and as someone who has written primarily about projects and artists working publicly, the description of being "entrenched" in the arts establishment is very ill-fitting to my practice. My work as an activist and volunteer with local non-profits and community organizations are the largest influences on my arts related writing and curating. My use of the museum's public, editorial-free zone as a forum to discuss artists projects occurring outside the institution is about as entrenched as I get. Your distinction here raises an interesting question that may direct the conversation away from Wonderland (or perhaps it is related, given that the exhibition began as a graduate course at the San Francisco Art Institute). Can the institution also be activated as a site for engaging in social justice work? While the form and actions are different than activist work, there are, without a doubt, activist-scholars working within museums and academies. Mark,

Thank you for sharing your experience with Wonderland. I’m glad to hear that you have also had a positive experience working on the project.

As an independent contractor hired from outside the museum to contribute the SFMOMA blog and as someone who has written primarily about projects and artists working publicly, the description of being “entrenched” in the arts establishment is very ill-fitting to my practice. My work as an activist and volunteer with local non-profits and community organizations are the largest influences on my arts related writing and curating. My use of the museum’s public, editorial-free zone as a forum to discuss artists projects occurring outside the institution is about as entrenched as I get.

Your distinction here raises an interesting question that may direct the conversation away from Wonderland (or perhaps it is related, given that the exhibition began as a graduate course at the San Francisco Art Institute). Can the institution also be activated as a site for engaging in social justice work? While the form and actions are different than activist work, there are, without a doubt, activist-scholars working within museums and academies.

]]> By: tobymarx http://blog.sfmoma.org/2009/09/wonderland-a-follow-up/comment-page-1/#comment-23581 tobymarx Sat, 19 Sep 2009 04:03:01 +0000 http://blog.sfmoma.org/?p=6113#comment-23581 Your comments about engagement with the community and a "desire to have the broader and long-term social justice issues surrounding this exhibition addressed." ring somewhat hollow and even condescending, coming as they do from someone entrenched in the very exclusive San Francisco arts establishment. As an artist who has lived and worked in the central city for years,* and as a member of the community who has worked with John Melvin and Lance Fung in the development of Wonderland, I wholeheartedly endorse this project in large part because they have indeed been deeply engaged with the community and have addressed issues of social justice with sensitivity and--perhaps most importantly--the desire to learn about and understand the people who call the Tenderloin home. Mark Ellinger *if you want my credentials, visit my website Your comments about engagement with the community and a “desire to have the broader and long-term social justice issues surrounding this exhibition addressed.” ring somewhat hollow and even condescending, coming as they do from someone entrenched in the very exclusive San Francisco arts establishment. As an artist who has lived and worked in the central city for years,* and as a member of the community who has worked with John Melvin and Lance Fung in the development of Wonderland, I wholeheartedly endorse this project in large part because they have indeed been deeply engaged with the community and have addressed issues of social justice with sensitivity and–perhaps most importantly–the desire to learn about and understand the people who call the Tenderloin home.

Mark Ellinger

*if you want my credentials, visit my website

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