SF MoMA: An Artistic Gem to California’s West Coast

The SF MoMA, a gem of a museum in the city of San Francisco is featuring several exhibitions in the month of April. One of which is the New York photographer Diane Arbus, who’s work will be shown till the end of the month. Another exhibition titled “German Art After 1960”, features works by several artists which included Gerhard Richter and Anselm Kiefer and will be ongoing. The museum’s temporary exhibitions, along with its ongoing exhibitions is an incredible experience for anyone with a curiosity for art and culture. It is an experience that is truly unforgettable and will leave those like myself who witness it in awe.

The Diane Arbus exhibition, titled “In the Beginning”, displays much of the artist’s photography from the early years of her career from 1956 to 1962. Arbus’s work shows the life of many ordinary New Yorkers in everyday life, a subject which the artist found to be endlessly rich and full of possibility and potential. It’s important to note that the SF MoMA does not allow photography in this exhibit, but I can say that this did not put a damper on seeing the exhibition by any means. The subject of Diane Arbus’s work is one that left myself (and many others I’m sure), curious as to what life was like for those she photographed in 1960’s New York. The nature of her work is almost narrative. And each person having their own story told through the artist’s medium, like the tattooed Jack Dracula (figure 1) and bare-breasted stripper (figure 2).

Figure 1 (left): Diane Arbus, Jack Dracula at a bar, New London, Cnn. 1961. Black and white photograph.

Figure 2 (right): Diane Arbus, Stripper with bare breasts sitting in her dressing room, Atlantic City N.J. 1961. Black and white photograph. 

The ongoing exhibition “German Art After 1960” is one of which the viewer senses a great deal of sensitivity in terms of its subject. This was one of the most reflective exhibitions that the SF MoMA has to offer, in my humble opinion. Many of the works on display were that of German painter and sculptor Anselm Kiefer, whose masterpieces are as huge in size as they are in content and meaning. Kiefer’s work explores the Nazi legacy through his art and the use of several different materials, much of which are deemed as unusual. Much of the works were created during the 1980’s and question the nature of German culture and the change brought about because of World War II. His 1982 work titled Die Meistersinger (figure 3), is one which explores the transformation of German culture through Wagner’s iconic opera “Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg” (The Mastersingers of Nuremberg) which had been appropriated by Adolf Hitler, who was a great admirer of the opera, to signify the German Empire he so greatly wanted. Another work in the exhibition is Margarethe (1981) whom is often a common subject in other works of Kiefer used to symbolize the Aryan race, which the German chancellor claimed to be supreme (figure 4). 

   

Figure 3 (left): Anselm Kiefer, Die Meistersinger (The Mastersingers), 1982. Oil, acrylic paint, resin, straw, and paper on linen. 110 1/4 in. x 149 3/4 in. 

Figure 4 (right): Anselm Kiefer, Margarethe, 1981. Oil, straw, emulsion, and gelatin silver print on linen. 114 1/4 in. x 157 3/4 in. 

These are only some of the works and exhibitions which the iconic museum has to offer. The experience of the SF MoMA is a must see for anyone who is visiting San Francisco. It features some of the greatest modern and contemporary works like that of Mark Rothko (figure 5) and Roy Liechtenstein (figure 6) as well as the several others whom I have mentioned in this review. I urge everyone to go as it is a museum that no one can regret going to. Though this was my first time, I already know I will be back in the future and anxiously look forward to it.

Figure 5 (left): Mark Rothko, No. 14, 1960, 1960. Oil on canvas. 114 1/2 in. x 105 5/8 in.

 Figure 6 (right): Roy Lichtenstein, Figures with Sunset, 1978. Oil and Manga on Canvas. 107 in. x 167 in. 

Nick Shepard: De bekende wereld

The other week, my Baroque art history professor Rachel Miller had invited CSUS art faculty member and fine art photographer Nick Shepard to discuss his work with us as we  are learning about Dutch still life art in class. During his lecture, he had discussed his works that were part of a series he refers to as "De bekende wereld" which "explores the contemporary world through the lens of master painting." Much of his work was representative of Dutch still life, which Shepard has encountered first hand while studying abroad in the Netherlands while in college.

(Above) Nick Shepard Made in China (2010)

Shepard's work explores the notion of "making the familiar strange" and takes on a combination of different elements. While studying abroad in Europe, he traveled to the Netherlands where he encountered works by Jan van der Velde and Rembrandt, which had really made an impression on him. He was really fascinated with the idea of how during the Baroque era in the 17th century, Dutch still life was the "high fashion of the time" and wanted to explore how that could be related to our time now in the 21st century.

Nick Shepard Still Life with Real, Fake and Dyed Flowers (2010)

The above work is still life depicting different kinds of flowers. He was fascinated with the idea that in the Baroque era, artists weren't able to have a bouquet of random flowers like we are able to have today. In the 17th century it would often be difficult if not impossible to gather together different kinds of flowers, due to them being grown in regions that were far away and in different seasons. Nick described his work as an onion, and that the viewer needed to "peel back the layers" of the artwork in order to gain a greater understanding of his work. He also mentioned that it is okay to simply enjoy the piece, which I liked. He wants the work to be aesthetically pleasing and is able to achieve this with the lush colors and whimsicality of the objects that he chooses to photograph in his still life works. 

 

Nick Shepard Occident/Orient (Tea Time) (2014)

Crocker Art Museum 3/26/17

Crocker Art Museum: "The Forbidden Fruit" and "Japan-America: Points of Contact"

It had been a while since I had last visited the Crocker Museum, and I was so thrilled I had gone!

(Above and right) Me looking at Mark Bauer's Though I Walk Through the Valley of Reason (2016, acrylic on canvas). This was one of the first pieces that really caught my attention right as I got to the second floor of the Crocker. I liked the surrealism that seemed to be portrayed through Bauer's work. It had an almost psychedelic feel to the work as well, so I thought. 

"The Forbidden Fruit" - Chris Anetman of Meissen

One of the exhibitions was porcelain work by Chris Anetmann, an American born artist who had gone to work at Meissen Porcelain Manufacturing Company in Germany. Her work is meant to revive and reinvent the tradition of porcelain making. Anetmann had collaborated with several other porcelain artisans in Germany in order to create her series of figures. 

This series of work is inspired by the Rococo period and artists like Watteau and Fragonard. Anetmann treats much of her figures with a sense of eroticism, which allows it's viewer to fantasize about the subject matter upon which they submerge themselves into a world which during the 18th century was truly "forbidden." 

Much of the figures in the series are also inspired by theatrical characters from Commedia dell'arte, having been very popular during the 18th century in Europe. As mentioned before, the figurines are depicted in a very erotic matter. While viewing this exhibit, Fragonard's painting The Swing had come to mind. Just as Fragonard depicts the "peeping" young boy staring up into the young girl's dress, Anetmann does so with her characters only in a much more bold sense. Which I have to admire her for. When looking at the figurines, one is also able to see men having erections as they are in the company of very fair maidens who tease them with delight. The series brings the Rococo period into a new light. One of which is far more deep in desire and lust. 

"Japan-America: Points of Contact"

One of the other main exhibitions featured at the Crocker Art Museum when I had gone was the "Japan-America" exhibit. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take pictures, though I tried and that didn't go over so well (there was one sign in the corner that no one could see- in my defense!). The featured works were those by both American and Japanese artists. Much of the works were prints, paintings, panel screens, pottery and even some furniture. I've always loved Asian art, so this exhibit was really appealing to me! I liked the contrast of how Americans depicted Japanese versus how the Japanese were depicting Americans and their culture. I've always found art of Asia to be so exotic- which I understand can be seen as politically incorrect, being that the word "exotic" is so often seen as depicting that which is both strange and unfamiliar. However, I choose to use it nonetheless, not as a means to belittle or demean the cultures, but in a sense to describe it in terms of both wonder and beauty. 

Of the many works featured in "Japan-America" there was one which in particular I was really excited to have seen. (Above) There was an original print of Hiroshige's View of Mount Fuji from his series of 36 prints titled Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji. These were woodblock prints by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Ando Hiroshige who had done a series in 1852 and 1858. I had first learned about these prints while taking Art3B (Asian Art) with Professor Chirapravati. The course truly allowed me develop such a deep appreciation and love for Asian art and continues to be one of my favorite art history classes I have ever taken.

(Above) This work really reminded me of Edward Hopper's 1942 painting Nighthawk (oil on canvas).

The work is arguably very similar to Hopper's iconic American masterpiece, which perhaps inspired the artist.

(Left) Tip Toland  
Wallflower  2011
Stoneware, with paint, pastel, and synthetic hair, wood and wallpaper.

Toland's piece is one of which seems to startle it's viewer upon first glance. The work is a sculpture that could also be considered somewhat of an installation piece as well. The girl in the work appears so lifelike to the point where it is almost disturbing. While the piece exhibits a fascinating aesthetic, it also saddens and is able to attain sympathy from its viewer. The unnamed girl holds a donut while she stands awkwardly with her knees locked, head cocked and cheeks very flushed as though timid.

(Above) Judy Chicago Test Plate for Hatshepsut, Great Pharaoh of Egypt in 18th Dynasty 

1977-78 Ceramic. 

Upon seeing this work, I almost instantly knew this had to be the work of none other than Judy Chicago. It is a purely feminist work, as Chicago herself is regard as a feminist artist. Having been a ceramic plate it really made me recall her Dinner Party installation work which had been so controversial during its release in the late 1970's. The work, clearly symbolic of a woman's vagina, is made to commemorate the great woman Pharaoh Hatshepsut, who is regarded as being on the first great women in recorded history "whom we are informed." 

 (Above) I have to consider this work to be one of my favorites in the Crocker Museum. The work is titled Celebration and was painted  by Irving Norman using oil on canvas. The Lithuanian-born American artist painted the work in 1953 and is supposed to represent clone like people who have been caught up in rush hour and are constricted by small urban spaces and modern technology. The painting also has to do with poverty and war, themes which resonate within the doom and gloom that the work portrays. Norman wanted the work to point out the shortcomings of human behavior and felt that by doing this people may be more aware and considerate of their own actions. The piece also reminded me of the very surreal and imaginative works of Heironymus Bosch, the great Dutch Renaissance artist.