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Currents within a Collection: Elise S. Haas
The Elise S. Haas Bequest: Modern Art From Matisse to Marini is on view at SFMOMA till June 2. Open Space is pleased to host a series of posts highlighting Mrs. Haas’s network of personal connections, from SFMOMA assistant curator of painting and sculpture Caitlin Haskell, and featuring graphics by designer Adam Machacek. Elise S. [...]
Thinking about User Participation in Terms of Negotiated Agency
Early this month, I got the chance to hear legendary game designer Will Wright (Sim City) give a talk. I've followed Wright's work for years because of his unique perspective on the potential for game-players to be game-makers - in other...Show More Summary
Thomas Day: Man, Maker, Mogul
Thomas Day, Newel, 1855, Glass-Dameron House, North Carolina. Photo © Tim Buchman 2013 The elegant Grand Salon was the setting for a panel discussion on the many lives and interests of Thomas Day, the subject of the Renwick Gallery’s, Thomas...
Party with the planets this Memorial Day: See the closest gathering of any three planets until 2021
As you celebrate this upcoming Memorial Day weekend, take some time to appreciate an interesting sight in the sky — the gathering of Mercury, Venus and Jupiter low in the west-northwest at dusk. Right now, you notice Jupiter setting in … Continue reading ?
Currents within a Collection: An Alternative History of the Elise S. Haas Bequest
The Elise S. Haas Bequest: Modern Art From Matisse to Marini is on view until SFMOMA temporarily closes its doors June 2, and as we wind down these last few days, Open Space is pleased to host a series of posts from assistant curator of painting and sculpture Caitlin Haskell, highlighting one of the museum’s [...]
Emails from the other side: When it comes to ushabtis, is it possible to miss something you never had?
Our correspondence with Ankh Hap, the original Museum mummy, continues this week with a discussion of ushabtis — miniature funerary figurines placed in ancient Egyptian tombs and meant to take the place of the deceased should they be called upon … Continue reading ?
Pulitzer Staff Meets Artist Juan William Chávez
Last month the Pulitzer staff visited Juan William Chávez at his arts and community garden workshop space in Old North. Juan is an artist well known for his Pruitt-Igoe Bee Sanctuary Project, which Creative Capital recently honored with...Show More Summary
Indiana by the Numbers
The new exhibition Indiana by the Numbers (opening this Friday, May 24) traces the history of their design and fabrication, tells the story of their display before they were donated to the IMA in 1989, and provides a glimpse into their recent restoration and repainting by the IMA conservation department.
The Boxer
In 1954 Garry Winogrand, then a twenty-six-year-old commercial photographer, was commissioned by Sports Illustrated to do a story about a young boxer named Nick Biondi. The two struck up a friendship and stayed in touch until Winogrand moved away from New York in 1971. When SFMOMA and the National Gallery announced plans to organize a [...]
1975
In Sacramento, one of the girls who stood vigil outside a Los Angeles courtroom waiting for her “father to be released” in 1969, makes headlines again six years later. Charles Manson follower, Lynette Fromme, attempts to assassinate President Gerald Ford in a gesture that she claims is in defense of the Redwood Forest. “I stood [...]
What We Do Is Secret: Sydney Cohen
Lately I’ve become obsessed with the paintings of Sydney Cohen, the Oakland-based artist who is also an adjunct painting/drawing professor at CCA. We met there last summer teaching painting in the “Pre-College” program on the Oakland campus. Warm and unpretentious, we became fast friends commiserating about the joys and frustrations of teaching high-school [...]
What do HMNS, Superman, Stargate and steampunk have in common? Find out on May 25 at Comicpalooza
If you’ve been to the Wiess Energy Hall recently, you’ll remember the energy music video that starts off with “Energy is all around us.” Energy is all around us. It’s in the news every day. It’s also a prominent feature … Continue reading ?
Get started early: HMNS child development class Early Investigations doubles capacity for summer
Until recently, our Early Investigations program — designed to pique the interests of young scientists aged 5 to 8 — could only permit 50 kids per day. But due to popular demand, we’ve doubled our capacity to 100 children for … Continue reading ?
Lebbeus Woods, Architect: Mr. Woods, Be My Valentine
Lebbeus Woods, Architect is on view at SFMOMA till June 2. Open Space is pleased to be hosting a series of posts on Woods’s work and legacy. We close the series with a heartfelt missive from the University of Illinois library to Lebbeus Woods, discovered in the university’s archives by Daryl McCurdy, architecture and design [...]
Upcoming Cineconcert: Andrew E. Simpson and The Wind
On May 19th, composer and pianist Andrew E. Simpson will perform his original score for the 1928 silent film The Wind at a special afternoon screening at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery. Lillian Gish, the "First...
San Francisco Art Invades New York
Sometimes in New York this thing happens – you are going out and suddenly you find yourself surrounded by folks you know from San Francisco. After a while you might pause, stare up at the sky and ask to nobody in particular, “Where are they all coming from?” Even when you talk to complete strangers [...]
AAM 2013: Let's Talk in Baltimore
I'm heading to the American Alliance of Museums' annual conference this weekend, and I'm psyched to reconnect with friends and mentors and meet new people who can inspire and stimulate fresh ideas.
This year, I'm involved in two sessions:
Tuesday,...Show More Summary
Language to be Loved At
Nathaniel Dorsky’s films are the opposite of language, and don’t need it. He talks about poetry, but only because he is talking about what’s ineffable, about what is beheld by the eyes, but also held inside of the body. His camera stares, and when, in the dark of the theater, the slow, silent images are [...]
Fabricating for an Exhibition: Jim Baxter and Thomas Day: Master Craftsman and Free Man of Color
The exhibition Thomas Day: Master Craftsman and Free Man of Color opened last month at the Renwick Gallery. Georgina Goodlander chatted with Jim Baxter, an exhibits specialist at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, who created architectural components inspired by Day's...
