Jim Campbell, Digital Watch (installation view), 1991; Collection SFMOMA, purchase through a gift of Doris and Donald Fisher; © Jim Campbell; photo: Sarah Christianson
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) lecture series Art Sandwiched In returns this spring on March 14 and May 6 with two panel discussions exploring art in the ever-evolving digital landscape and public art that is presented beyond museum walls.
Organized by SFMOMA’s Modern Art Council (MAC)—the museum’s premier fund-raising auxiliary for over 75 years—this celebrated series gathers artists, curators, and other prominent members of the broader arts community. This season’s panelists include leading artists Bill Fontana, renowned for his pioneering experiments in sound; Chris Sollars, whose work revolves around the reclamation and subversion of public space; and Catherine Wagner, who works in photography as well as site-specific public art. The digital panel discussion features Alan Braverman and Elliot Loh, founders of The Giant Pixel Corporation, each of whom has extensive experience in web and digital environments.
The themes of this year’s series are especially fitting as SFMOMA moves into its off-site phase beginning June 3, 2013, for construction of its new expansion that will open in early 2016. During this period, SFMOMA will reimagine the role of the museum and its communities—off-site and online—with an extensive array of collaborative and traveling museum exhibitions; public art displays and site-specific installations; and newly created education programs throughout the Bay Area and beyond.
This year’s Art Sandwiched In features the return of the series’ popular “education over lunch” format on March 14 in addition to a new cocktail reception setting for the May 6 discussion. Tickets start at $150. Reservations can be made by calling the Modern Art Council at 415.357.4125 or emailing mac@sfmoma.org.
Proceeds from Art Sandwiched In support SFMOMA’s exhibitions and also enable the museum to serve more than 50,000 students, teachers, and families each year through innovative education programs.
“Given this exciting time at SFMOMA, we’re thrilled to engage in these conversations that are incredibly timely and relevant not only to the museum but to the larger arts community,” says Modern Art Council President Joni Binder Shwarts. “This year’s panelists will undoubtedly share insights that reflect both the local and global nature of their work.”
Art Sandwiched In is organized by SFMOMA’s Modern Art Council. Special thanks to the event chairs Courtney Dallaire and Sydney Cresci, and Art Education Sponsors Joni Binder Shwarts, Courtney Dallaire, Rebecca Schumacher, Bea Wood, and Annie Robinson Woods.
A New Age in Art: Access and Opportunity
Thursday, March 14, 2013, noon
The Schwab Room, SFMOMA
Panelists include: Alan Braverman, engineer and entrepreneur, The Giant Pixel Corporation; Willa Koerner, digital engagement associate, SFMOMA; Elliot Loh, creative designer, The Giant Pixel Corporation; and Chris Sollars, artist. Moderated by Frank Smigiel, associate curator of public programs, SFMOMA.
In the new digital landscape, social media has become a robust hub for sharing, showcasing, and engaging with art in a dynamic manner. From artists to dealers to museums, the increased accessibility for participation has challenged the traditional perception of the art experience and created new avenues for the distribution, consumption, and acquisition of art. The discussion will seek to create a discourse about how institutions, artists, and organizations are confronting the need to use social media to connect with the next generation of artists, patrons, and consumers.
Beyond the Museum Walls: Envisioning Public Art
Monday, May 6, 2013, 6 p.m.
The Schwab Room, SFMOMA
Panelists include: Neal Benezra, director, SFMOMA; Bill Fontana, artist; and Catherine Wagner, artist. Moderated by Janet Bishop, curator of painting and sculpture, SFMOMA.
Public art has a unique capacity to transform the experience of the urban environment—either temporarily or permanently—through newly sited, newly commissioned, or sometimes wholly spontaneous works. Our panel will go behind the scenes with a number of past and future projects, from artistic inspiration to the complexities of realization. With SFMOMA becoming a “museum without walls” during the upcoming construction of its expansion, this topic will be of particular interest as the museum comes into direct dialogue with the city environs..