Who is invited? Artists, collectors, and art enthusiasts.
What is it? A forum of vibrant discussion and time to share our goals, joys, treasures, questions, and puzzles, as they relate to the art scene today.
When is it? Every other month on a weekday evening with a cup of tea or a glass of wine, and thou.
Where is it? At the Anna W. Edwards Gallery, 237 East 14th Street, San Leandro. (Just a 15 minute drive from downtown Oakland. Write us for easy directions.)
What is it like? An open, friendly atmosphere, with all experience levels welcome.We begin the evening with each attendee sharing either a piece of one’s own artwork, or a latest or favorite art acquisition, or one’s response to a recent museum or gallery show or arts article you have seen. After this exchange, we will lead a discussion about a facet of contemporary art.
Our May 22nd topic is: How to preserve installation and performance art so that it may be experienced by future generations.
Many paintings demand only a patch of wall. Many prints and drawings need only a drawer. A book may be stored on a shelf. What happens when the artwork needs an entire room? Or is not even bounded by a room? Or when the art is highly perishable? Is today’s installation art display doomed to the same fate as the latest gadget -to be enjoyed for a time and then discarded when the next gadget replaces it? Often installation and performance artists sell prints, photographs, or other digital documentation of their work. Is this adequate? With paintings, prints, and books, we can experience the artwork in the same way our parents did and their parents did, provided the work is well preserved. How can the original experience of installation and performance art be preserved? What role can/should the museums play? The artists? The collectors? The dealers?
Coming up at the July “Art in the Hopper:” Making contemporary art from traditional subjects. – Reflections on show at Jewish Contemporary Museum (see Gallery Hop below). Plus Gerhard Richter, Neo Rauch, Markus Lüpertz creating contemporary church windows. Plus more to come.