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Press Office Event

SFMOMA PRESENTS LIVE EVENTS WITH ARTISTS CHRIS JOHANSON, MIKE MILLS, AND KATEŘINA ŠEDÁ

Monthlong Public Program Series Live Projects 3 Explores Art and Ideas Sparked by Museum’s Current Off-Site Exhibition Project Los Altos: SFMOMA in Silicon Valley

Released: January 06, 2014 · Download (406 KB PDF)

Through 29, 2014, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) will explore another side of Silicon Valley through Live Projects 3, a monthlong series of public programs including an artist talk, film screening, and participatory events and activities sparked by the work of artists featured in the museum’s current exhibition Project Los Altos: SFMOMA in Silicon Valley.

The exhibition presents seven newly commissioned, site-specific works by artists Spencer Finch, Christian Jankowski, Chris Johanson, Mike Mills, Kateřina Šedá, Alec Soth, and Jessica Stockholder, as well as two existing works by Jeremy Blake and Charles Garoian. Installed at indoor and outdoor locations throughout downtown Los Altos through March 2, 2014, the works respond to the distinctive character, history, and culture of this innovative region, known for its forward-thinking tech community.

As part of SFMOMA’s continuing On the Go education and public programming while the museum’s building is temporarily closed for expansion construction, Live Projects 3 invites audiences to meet three of the artists behind Project Los Altos and take part in collaborative art projects for everyone. Highlights of the event series include an artist talk at SFJAZZ Center with Chris Johanson, Mike Mills, and Kateřina Šedá; a screening of works by filmmaker Mike Mills at the Roxie Theater; and weekly participatory art projects designed by Project Los Altos artists and presented in partnership with the Los Altos Town Crier. Blue Bottle Coffee will continue its partnership with SFMOMA during the museum’s off-site phase, offering art-inspired treats.

A sampling of the diverse offerings that have taken participants on a journey of discovery to sites around the Bay Area since the Live Projects series debuted this fall includes conversations with various artists at SFJAZZ Center, a field trip to Angel Island, films at the Castro and Roxie Theaters, a family sing-a-long with SECA artist David Wilson, poetry readings at Crissy Field, and a performance by composer Luciano Chessa at the Neptune Society Columbarium in conjunction with Josh Faught’s work on display as part of the 2012 SECA Art Award exhibition. Upcoming installments of the series will focus on art and ideas inspired by the exhibition Public Intimacy: Art and Other Ordinary Acts in South Africa, jointly organized by SFMOMA and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (Live Projects 4, February‒March 2014), and the practice of SFMOMA’s expansion architects Snøhetta (Live Projects 5, May 2014). The public can find the most up-to-date Live Projects event and ticketing information at sfmoma.org/liveprojects.

 

Live Projects 3 Calendar of Events

 

Collaboration | Let’s Do This! with Project Los Altos Artists
January 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29, 2014
Online and in print
Participation: Free and open to the public

Throughout January, the public is invited to take part in a series of art actions for everyone with the artists of Project Los Altos. Each Wednesday during the month, the Los Altos Town Crier will publish a set of calls to action designed by one of the exhibition artists. The actions will be simple, fun, and thought-provoking: Charles Garoian suggests that readers to disconnect from the distractions of digital mediation to experience silence, quietude, and the slowness of actual time; Chris Johanson invites participants to use the form of a Venn diagram as the basis for creating a work of conceptual art; Christian Jankowski asks contributors to invent a new language; Jessica Stockholder asks participants to think about where art comes from by suggesting that they collect and organize objects; Alec Soth’s photography-based activity involves a real-life treasure hunt. Readers will be invited to follow the artist’s prompts, document the results, and submit digital and physical documentation to the Los Altos Town Crier or to SFMOMA’s Tumblr. A selection of the submissions will be published in the print edition of the Los Altos Town Crier and online.

 

Family Activities | SFMOMA Stories
January 11, 2014 | 11 a.m.–1 p.m.
Linden Tree Books | 265 State Street, Los Altos, CA 94022
Admission: Free and open to the public; RSVP requested

Families are invited to join SFMOMA educators at Los Altos favorite Linden Tree Books for book readings and hands-on art activities inspired by Project Los Altos. Participants will have the chance to collaborate on one of the artist-designed Let’s Do This! art actions published in the Town Crier. Special guest author to be announced.

 

Teacher Institute | Tracing Identity with Chris Johanson
Saturday, January 25, 2014 | 9:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
KQED | 2601 Mariposa Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
Admission: Free for educators; RSVP required

Co-presented by SFMOMA and KQED, this workshop, which provides educators with classroom materials and activities, focuses on how artists use narrative to make statements about themselves and their culture. Participants will examine works by artists in Project Los Altos and take part in a hands-on activity led by artist Chris Johanson.

 

Film Screening | Moving Portraits: Films and Short Works by Mike Mills
Sunday, January 26, 2014 | 7 p.m.‒10 p.m.
Roxie Theater | 3117 16th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
Admission: $10 general; $7 SFMOMA and Roxie members; tickets available through Eventbrite

Featuring works by acclaimed writer/director and Project Los Altos artist Mike Mills, this evening screening will include Mills’s new video A Mind Forever Voyaging Through Strange Seas of Thought Alone: Silicon Valley Project (2013), commissioned by SFMOMA for Project Los Altos. This work is a portrait of children of Silicon Valley tech workers, each sharing his or her vision of the future. Mills will be on hand to introduce the program, which will conclude with Beginners, the 2011 festival favorite starring Christopher Plummer and Ewan McGregor. Frequent SFMOMA collaborators Blue Bottle Coffee will create special treats available for ticket holders.

 

Artist Talk | Chris Johanson, Mike Mills, and Kateřina Šedá
Monday, January 27, 2014 | 7 p.m.–9 p.m.
SFJAZZ Center | 201 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
Admission: $10 general; $7 SFMOMA members, students, and seniors; tickets available at sfjazz.org.

Three of the artists featured in Project Los Altos will discuss their recent explorations of Silicon Valley. Chris Johanson, known for his deceptively simple paintings and works characterized by humor and vibrant color, created five site-specific sculptures for outdoor locations throughout downtown Los Altos. Mike Mills, director of Thumbsucker and Beginners, created a new three-part work, chronicling contemporary millennial change and looking at the city’s past, present, and future. Kateřina Šedá’s commission, Everything Is Perfect, invites residents of Los Altos to submit their everyday attributes and talents to celebrate the ordinary and the unique.

Support for Live Projects family programs is provided by Target. San Francisco Media Company is the official media sponsor of Live Projects.
 

About Project Los Altos: SFMOMA in Silicon Valley

Project Los Altos: SFMOMA in Silicon Valley  is a multisite exhibition located in the downtown area of Los Altos, a town situated in the heart of Silicon Valley. Through the work of nine national and international artists, this exhibition explores the history and culture of this innovative region, the community of Los Altos and its surrounding areas, and the distinctive character of each artwork’s setting. The featured artists are Jeremy Blake, Spencer Finch, Charles Garoian, Christian Jankowski, Chris Johanson, Mike Mills, Kateřina Šedá, Alec Soth, and Jessica Stockholder. On view at ten indoor and outdoor locations, Project Los Altos features existing artworks as well as newly commissioned, site-responsive projects, ranging from Jeremy Blake’s celebrated Winchester video trilogy to Alec Soth’s Silicon Valley portraits to Jessica Stockholder’s transformation of a public street intersection. While SFMOMA has previously commissioned works related to Silicon Valley, this exhibition marks the first occasion the museum is siting a major project in the region itself. Project Los Altos is free to the public and organized by SFMOMA in collaboration with the City of Los Altos and lead sponsor Passerelle Investment Company, a local group working to enhance the vitality of the Los Altos community.
 

About SFMOMA’s Off-Site Programming

During the construction of SFMOMA’s expansion project, the museum is on the go, presenting a dynamic array of collaborative and traveling museum exhibitions; public art displays and site-specific projects; and fresh education initiatives that will unfold throughout the Bay Area and beyond. In addition to Live Projects, SFMOMA is collaborating with seven Bay Area museums to present major thematic exhibitions on view at partner venues; creating site-specific installations of existing and newly commissioned work; and presenting an unprecedented statewide tour of its photography collection. Additional off-site programs are currently in development. As plans evolve, more details will be announced.

 

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SFMOMA is supported by a broad array of contributors committed to helping advance its mission. Major annual support is provided by Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund.  Major support for school, youth, and family programs is provided by the Wells Fargo Foundation, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, and Target. Education, conservation, and interactive technology programs are generously supported by the Leanne B. Roberts Fund for Education and The Getty Foundation.

 

 


Jill Lynch 415.357.4172 jilynch@sfmoma.org
Clara Hatcher Baruth 415.357.4177 chatcher@sfmoma.org
Press Office