OPEN SPACE » Videos

Happy Birthday, John Cage

Suzanne — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 13:00:05 +0000

[See post to watch Flash video]

Composer, philospher, poet, artist John Cage was born on this day in 1912. This video was made last winter, during The Art of Participation exhibition, when we were treated to daily noontime performances (usually with staff performers) of Cage’s seminal work 4′33″. Thanks to Tammy Fortin as always for fantastic video gesture.

4′33″ (1952) is a composition of silence lasting four minutes and thirty-three seconds. Without instrumentation, the score highlights ambient sounds surrounding the performance: noises in the environment and those produced by the audience. Having decided there is no such thing as absolute silence, Cage chose to define it as the absence of intentional sound. In this he was influenced not only by avant-garde composition and Surrealism, but also by Eastern philosophy and Zen Buddhism. Indeterminacy, chance, and nonlinear progression became integral to the structure of his music. By scoring silence, Cage sought to open his listeners to divine influences, making music a process of discovery rather than one of forced communication.

—Melissa Pellico, ‘John Cage’, The Art of Participation: 1950 to Now

Visible Means of Support: Precita Eyes does Kerry James Marshall

Suzanne — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:00:27 +0000

Surely if you’ve been in the building anytime in recent months, you’ve taken a look at our latest Haas Atrium commission, Kerry James Marshall’s monumental pair of murals called Visible Means of Support. Last February a team of painters from Precita Eyes Mural Arts Center, a community mural organization based in San Francisco’s Mission District, spent two full weeks of long, long days in the Atrium painting the works onto the huge, formerly-known-as-the-LeWitt-walls.

The murals depict Mount Vernon and Monticello, the estates of American presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Half-hidden in the paintings are also depictions of the slaves who supported plantation life. Appropriately, the SFMOMA Tammy-and-Megan team chronicled the muralists’ labors as the project unfolded. Thanks muralists! Thanks team! Thanks Kerry!

[See post to watch Flash video]

[Muralists at work last winter. Poster image: Christo Oropeza.]

Dance Anywhere Part II

Megan Z — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:34:28 +0000

Today we were treated to a dance performance in the Atrium, as part of National Dance Week’s Dance Anywhere Festival. It’s a Part II of sorts; a similar happening took place here last year.

Here’s a little clip from this afternoon. More at Flickr.

MTAA’s AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE

Suzanne — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 22:47:14 +0000

A sweet little robot-love interlude during last Saturday’s MTAA performance AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE (We Solemnly Promise That No One Will Get Naked), while Uni and her Ukelele perform R.E.M.’s Nightswimming, above. Every element of the event was dictated by popular vote, including subtitle, duration, location, audience, costume, theme, props, etc. As voted by the people, and to be interpreted by the artists, the performance was to take place in the freight elevator; be the exact length of R.E.M’s album Automatic for the People; include lawn chairs, potted plants, & robot costumes; and reference Marcel Duchamp, chat rooms, ukeleles & take-out food. Man, I love these guys. You wish you were here, for serious. More pics, more video, here.

Art of Participation: Closing Day

Suzanne — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 14:00:27 +0000

[See post to watch Flash video]

Janis Joplin said it best: Get it while you can. AoP closes today.

ANT FARM: Media Van v.08 (Time Capsule) Sealing Ceremony

Suzanne — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:33:40 +0000

Here are the guys from Ant Farm, at last night’s Media Van v.08 (Time Capsule) sealing ceremony, recording the video message to the future about the contents of the time capsule. A recap: Since November 5th when The Art of Participation opened, the Media Van’s HUQQUH (that green device with the steering wheel around it, and pronounced “Hookah”) has been capturing digital files chosen at random from museum visitors’ electronic devices (cameras, cell phones, iPods). Those captures are what’s being sealed up in the van (whole van sealed up) — to be accessed again only in 2030.

The men, left to right: Bruce Tomb, Curtis Schreier, Chip Lord [ANT FARM], plus Paul Rauschelbach, who did technical genius on the HUQQUH. (If I’ve got that correct.)

Part of the evening’s festivities also included THIS:

A signed one-page print-out, kind of broadside-style, showing a sequence of some of the four thousand one hundred and eighty-seven randomly captured files. All of the print-outs were different: my copy shows files 2335 through 2370, and each thumbnail includes the date and time of upload, and, in the case of music files, artist and song title. I feel like such a kid: THIS IS SO COOL! Bigger shot here; you can see the thumbnails better.

A few more pics of the event are here.

Erwin Wurm: The balance of desire

Suzanne — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 13:00:55 +0000

[See post to watch Flash video]

Just one more One Minute Sculpture video, to take you to the weekend. All the rest, here.

Erwin Wurm: Keep a cool head

Suzanne — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 13:00:04 +0000

[See post to watch Flash video]

Unsubstantiated office watercooler rumor has it that an especially exuberant visitor tried to fulfill Wurm’s “Keep a cool head” instructions to the letter of the law in ways that are, shall we say, incompatible with current museum policy. More One Minute Sculpture videos here.

And, tonight: The formal closing ceremony for Ant Farm’s Media Van v. 08 (Time Capsule), with Chip Lord, Curtis Schreier & Bruce Tomb in person, starting at 7, right after the Marioni salon. Again with the rumor having it, supposedly a “very famous” person is tonight’s beer-salon guest reader. I have no idea who, as believe me I’d leak it. Which is probably why I have no idea who. See you tonight!

Erwin Wurm: Sigmund Freud’s Dream

Suzanne — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 13:00:49 +0000

[See post to watch Flash video]

Happy Monday! What did you dream about this weekend? Come down and try it yourself. More on Erwin Wurm & the One Minute Sculptures just below.

Tomorrow! Bay Area artist Stephanie Syjuco, on DIY cardboard furniture, and ‘participation’ in art museums…

Erwin Wurm: The trap of the truth

Suzanne — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:10:24 +0000

As the Art of Participation exhibition winds down — or ramps up to wind down and close ( Feb. 8 ) — we’ll be posting up a series of text & video of various kinds of interaction, examination, and reflection on the participatory experience at SFMOMA. Following on from last week’s investigation of How Do You Participate with an Ant Farm Media Van, we also did a set of test-cases with Erwin Wurm’s One Minute Sculptures. These sculptures present a series of objects on a platform, with text instructions and picture diagrams indicating what you’re to do in order to enact the sculpture: for one minute. A very nice line from Kathrin Herzog at ArtFacts.net: “Contrary to Duchamp, Wurm designs not readymades, sculptures fixed into an unchanging form, but works that are constantly ready-to-be-made.“

[See post to watch Flash video]

We’ll have more of these in days to come. In the meanwhile, as it turns out, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are Wurm fans too. Here’s their take on his deal:

[update! less than 24hrs later, video pulled from YouTube for copyright claim. Bummer. Here’s the Wikipedia entry on the song & the video, and here’s a “Pretty Cool People” interview with Wurm.