Mike Boehm writes this about TAM in today's Los Angeles Times.
Rounding up our previous posts on the topic, on the day of the disaster relief sale and Gateway Japan opening:
All Artists Well; All Art Arrived or Arriving
Logistics Report -- How Much of the Art is Still Stuck in Japan?
Art As Irrelevant? Museum Faces Seeming Dilemma; Cancel Show Or Not?
Can This Sculpture From Japan Still Mean The Same?
Japanese Artists Said To Be Uninjured
Hopes, Thoughts With Japan]
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
It's A Small World -- Sumo Connections
Our old Latimes.com "The Secret City" column about the California Sumo Association: http://www.losjeremy.com/blog/archives/2004/09/the_slimmer_sid.html
The story of how TAM's sumo performance and artwork came to be, thanks in part to the CSA:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jocelynfoye/sumo-wrestling-on-clay-a-performance-and-sculptura
The story of how TAM's sumo performance and artwork came to be, thanks in part to the CSA:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jocelynfoye/sumo-wrestling-on-clay-a-performance-and-sculptura
The Time Between Shows
How TAM Spends the Three Week Interval Once One Exhibition Ends and a New Exhibition Opens
Today's Question for TAM's Max Presneill
TAM's exhibition, What's New, Pussycat? closed March 6, 2011. TAM's next exhibition, Gateway Japan, is as of this weeks-in-advance writing, scheduled to open today, March 26, 2011. (Hopes and thoughts.)
During The Time Between Shows (see this link for more information, please
http://writer.torranceartmuseum.com/2011/03/time-between-shows-part-ii.html), this blog checked in with TAM's curator and director Max Presneill.
We'll be presenting one question and one answer each day during a ten-day period. This is the final question and answer in the series. Scroll down the blog to see past related posts.
Again, please note that the questions and answers for this series dates back to March 6, 2011:
By now, much more information will presumably have become available regarding the six artists and one curator who were scheduled to fly from Japan to attend the Gateway opening -- and about the health and well-being of those and the other participating artists and their families.
Had the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami not hit earlier this month, the following would have been the business as usual reply at the Torrance Art Museum.
Jeremy Rosenberg: Gateway Japan comes next, opening three weeks after WNP closes... What happens during those 21 days? What other information can you share about the Gateway exhibition?
Max Presneill: One week to take down show, wrap everything and repack it into crates, ship out or deliver it, remove all signs of it.
Week 2 – we repair the walls – spackling and filling holes, repainting the walls, returning the space top pristine condition. The next show’s works start to arrive and get checked for condition, etc.
Week 3 – we install the new show. Hanging paintings, placing newly repainted pedestals out with sculptures, etc, putting title plaques up, making sure the website is updated, collecting the postcards and catalogs for the show, lighting it when hung, etc.
Then, Show Time for the opening reception. This is about half of the job, alongside with all the media stuff and PR that we do, while also carrying out the ongoing jobs that we have to attend to every week. It is a busy and difficult 3 weeks, I can tell you, but also some of the most exciting for us at TAM.
End of the Q&A series
During The Time Between Shows (see this link for more information, please
http://writer.torranceartmuseum.com/2011/03/time-between-shows-part-ii.html), this blog checked in with TAM's curator and director Max Presneill.
We'll be presenting one question and one answer each day during a ten-day period. This is the final question and answer in the series. Scroll down the blog to see past related posts.
Again, please note that the questions and answers for this series dates back to March 6, 2011:
By now, much more information will presumably have become available regarding the six artists and one curator who were scheduled to fly from Japan to attend the Gateway opening -- and about the health and well-being of those and the other participating artists and their families.
Had the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami not hit earlier this month, the following would have been the business as usual reply at the Torrance Art Museum.
Jeremy Rosenberg: Gateway Japan comes next, opening three weeks after WNP closes... What happens during those 21 days? What other information can you share about the Gateway exhibition?
Max Presneill: One week to take down show, wrap everything and repack it into crates, ship out or deliver it, remove all signs of it.
Week 2 – we repair the walls – spackling and filling holes, repainting the walls, returning the space top pristine condition. The next show’s works start to arrive and get checked for condition, etc.
Week 3 – we install the new show. Hanging paintings, placing newly repainted pedestals out with sculptures, etc, putting title plaques up, making sure the website is updated, collecting the postcards and catalogs for the show, lighting it when hung, etc.
Then, Show Time for the opening reception. This is about half of the job, alongside with all the media stuff and PR that we do, while also carrying out the ongoing jobs that we have to attend to every week. It is a busy and difficult 3 weeks, I can tell you, but also some of the most exciting for us at TAM.
End of the Q&A series
What Else Is On Your Mind?
Creating a Small but World-Class Series of Exhibitions
Today's Question for TAM's Max Presneill
TAM's exhibition, What's New, Pussycat? closed March 6, 2011. TAM's next exhibition, Gateway Japan, is as of this writing, scheduled to open March 26, 2011. (Hopes and thoughts.)
During The Time Between Shows (see this link for more information, please
http://writer.torranceartmuseum.com/2011/03/time-between-shows-part-ii.html), this blog checked in with TAM's curator and director Max Presneill.
We'll be presenting one question and one answer each day during an eleven-day period. This is day ten. Scroll down the blog to see past related posts.
Here's today's question and answer --
Jeremy Rosenberg: What else, about anything, is on your mind to share here?
Max Presneill: We are attempting to create a small but world class series of exhibitions that will present to our audiences the most famous living artists of our day, alongside those emerging artists we feel will be too one day.
We are trying to make sure we are global in our outlook and will bring the best international work to Torrance so they too can view it and interact with it without having to fly to New York or somewhere to see it.
We are trying to cover all aspects of contemporary visual culture in our programming – including Performance Art, Sound Art, panel discussions and artist made films amongst other things. This is a very hard task but one which we are succeeding with and wish to continue.
We want EVERYONE’s support. Come by the openings, drop in to see the show, let people hear about them through word of mouth. If Torrance can present this ambitious a program and people want to see it continue then partner with us in seeing it succeed.
Coming tomorrow: Gateway Japan -- preparing for the exhibition
(Note: This post was prepared prior to the horrific earthquake and tsunami. This blog is awaiting word about how the artists and curator from Japan and their families scheduled to be part of the exhibition are doing.)
During The Time Between Shows (see this link for more information, please
http://writer.torranceartmuseum.com/2011/03/time-between-shows-part-ii.html), this blog checked in with TAM's curator and director Max Presneill.
We'll be presenting one question and one answer each day during an eleven-day period. This is day ten. Scroll down the blog to see past related posts.
Here's today's question and answer --
Jeremy Rosenberg: What else, about anything, is on your mind to share here?
Max Presneill: We are attempting to create a small but world class series of exhibitions that will present to our audiences the most famous living artists of our day, alongside those emerging artists we feel will be too one day.
We are trying to make sure we are global in our outlook and will bring the best international work to Torrance so they too can view it and interact with it without having to fly to New York or somewhere to see it.
We are trying to cover all aspects of contemporary visual culture in our programming – including Performance Art, Sound Art, panel discussions and artist made films amongst other things. This is a very hard task but one which we are succeeding with and wish to continue.
We want EVERYONE’s support. Come by the openings, drop in to see the show, let people hear about them through word of mouth. If Torrance can present this ambitious a program and people want to see it continue then partner with us in seeing it succeed.
Coming tomorrow: Gateway Japan -- preparing for the exhibition
(Note: This post was prepared prior to the horrific earthquake and tsunami. This blog is awaiting word about how the artists and curator from Japan and their families scheduled to be part of the exhibition are doing.)
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Is Video Art Hard to Turn On?
Today's Question for TAM's Max Presneill
TAM's exhibition, What's New, Pussycat? closed March 6, 2011. TAM's next exhibition, Gateway Japan, is as of this writing, scheduled to open March 26, 2011. (Hopes and thoughts.)
During The Time Between Shows (see this link for more information, please
http://writer.torranceartmuseum.com/2011/03/time-between-shows-part-ii.html), this blog checked in with TAM's curator and director Max Presneill.
We'll be presenting one question and one answer each day during an eleven-day period. This is day nine. Scroll down the blog to see past related posts.
Here's today's question and answer --
Jeremy Rosenberg: I haven't mentioned the Davida Nemeroff videos of yet... Anything you'd like to point out, artistically or otherwise about this smaller show that took place at TAM alongside What's New, Pussycat?
Related: How did they function, technically? Curators have told me in the past something along the lines of, "If only I could afford better headphones..."
I've also witnessed directors and others struggling to turn shows on in the mornings... What technical challenges does a docent / volunteer-reliant institution face when presenting vids?
Max Presneill: We have an easy monitor system so that only pressing the power button does it all – starts the DVDs playing and nothing else needs doing.
Coming tommorrow: TAM's long-term goal to present small but world-class series of exhibitions.
During The Time Between Shows (see this link for more information, please
http://writer.torranceartmuseum.com/2011/03/time-between-shows-part-ii.html), this blog checked in with TAM's curator and director Max Presneill.
We'll be presenting one question and one answer each day during an eleven-day period. This is day nine. Scroll down the blog to see past related posts.
Here's today's question and answer --
Jeremy Rosenberg: I haven't mentioned the Davida Nemeroff videos of yet... Anything you'd like to point out, artistically or otherwise about this smaller show that took place at TAM alongside What's New, Pussycat?
Related: How did they function, technically? Curators have told me in the past something along the lines of, "If only I could afford better headphones..."
I've also witnessed directors and others struggling to turn shows on in the mornings... What technical challenges does a docent / volunteer-reliant institution face when presenting vids?
Max Presneill: We have an easy monitor system so that only pressing the power button does it all – starts the DVDs playing and nothing else needs doing.
Coming tommorrow: TAM's long-term goal to present small but world-class series of exhibitions.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Did What's New, Pussycat Meet Your Original Intention?
Today's Question for TAM's Max Presneill
TAM's exhibition, What's New, Pussycat? closed March 6, 2011. TAM's next exhibition, Gateway Japan, is as of this writing, scheduled to open March 26, 2011. (Hopes and thoughts.)
During The Time Between Shows (see this link for more information, please
http://writer.torranceartmuseum.com/2011/03/time-between-shows-part-ii.html), this blog checked in with TAM's curator and director Max Presneill.
We'll be presenting one question and one answer each day during an eleven-day period. This is day eight. Scroll down the blog to see past related posts.
Here's today's question and answer --
Jeremy Rosenberg: WNP both plays homage to the forthcoming Pacific Standard Time (or perhaps challenges PST?) as well as serves to further introduce emerging artists...
In your essay, you wrote: "Our intention then is to examine the continued relevance of those years and how they have shaped and continue to shape art here and now, as Los Angeles expands its influence as a major art city of the world, onto new generations and geographies."
Now that the show is ending / over, did you achieve your intention? How so?
Max Presneill: I think we did in that we helped contextualize the art from the past years into a current practice of interest, as well as making a significant point in the continued relevance of those originating concerns and materials.
We mostly see exhibitions out there in the world of new art using old art to contextualize itself and we managed to open that up to flow both ways -- a rare and worthwhile feat, I think.
Coming tomorrow: Was it difficult to operate the videos in an exhibition?
During The Time Between Shows (see this link for more information, please
http://writer.torranceartmuseum.com/2011/03/time-between-shows-part-ii.html), this blog checked in with TAM's curator and director Max Presneill.
We'll be presenting one question and one answer each day during an eleven-day period. This is day eight. Scroll down the blog to see past related posts.
Here's today's question and answer --
Jeremy Rosenberg: WNP both plays homage to the forthcoming Pacific Standard Time (or perhaps challenges PST?) as well as serves to further introduce emerging artists...
In your essay, you wrote: "Our intention then is to examine the continued relevance of those years and how they have shaped and continue to shape art here and now, as Los Angeles expands its influence as a major art city of the world, onto new generations and geographies."
Now that the show is ending / over, did you achieve your intention? How so?
Max Presneill: I think we did in that we helped contextualize the art from the past years into a current practice of interest, as well as making a significant point in the continued relevance of those originating concerns and materials.
We mostly see exhibitions out there in the world of new art using old art to contextualize itself and we managed to open that up to flow both ways -- a rare and worthwhile feat, I think.
Coming tomorrow: Was it difficult to operate the videos in an exhibition?
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Update: All Artists Well; All Art Arrived or Coming During Next 36 Hours
[Previously about Japan:
Logistics Report -- How Much of the Art is Still Stuck in Japan?
Art As Irrelevant? Museum Faces Seeming Dilemma; Cancel Show Or Not?
And:
Can This Sculpture From Japan Still Mean The Same?
And:
Japanese Artists Said To Be Uninjured
And:
Hopes, Thoughts With Japan]
We received an update Monday afternoon from TAM's director and curator, Max Presneill. He confirms that all of the Japanese artists and curators participating in the upcoming Gateway Japan exhibition are okay, and he further says that all of their artworks have either now arrived at TAM or are expected to arrive today (Tuesday) or Wednesday.
Logistics Report -- How Much of the Art is Still Stuck in Japan?
Art As Irrelevant? Museum Faces Seeming Dilemma; Cancel Show Or Not?
And:
Can This Sculpture From Japan Still Mean The Same?
And:
Japanese Artists Said To Be Uninjured
And:
Hopes, Thoughts With Japan]
We received an update Monday afternoon from TAM's director and curator, Max Presneill. He confirms that all of the Japanese artists and curators participating in the upcoming Gateway Japan exhibition are okay, and he further says that all of their artworks have either now arrived at TAM or are expected to arrive today (Tuesday) or Wednesday.
Logistics Report -- How Much of the Art Is Still Stuck in Japan?
[Previously about Japan:
Art As Irrelevant? Museum Faces Seeming Dilemma; Cancel Show Or Not?
And:
Can This Sculpture From Japan Still Mean The Same?
And:
Japanese Artists Said To Be Uninjured
And:
Hopes, Thoughts With Japan]
This blog has previously noted that even while the previous TAM main exhibition, What's New, Pussycat was still open, a telltale sign of the continuim that is a full programming schedule had already arrived -- a lone package, from Japan, still sealed, wrapped in its mailing material, sitting on a side table in the office of the TAM curator and director.
That package, as it turned out, contained the work of artist Taku Anekawa. The art was mailed from the Tokyo gallery, Nanzuka Underground.
In the time since that early March TAM office visit and last week, the work of five other Japanese artists had arrived at the museum, according to TAM's Max Presneill.
(There are fourteen artists scheduled to participate in the Gateway Japan show who reside full or part-time in Japan. The other seven artists in the show are of Japanese heritage and reside full-time in the U.S.)
The Japanese works hadn't, however, arrived via international shipping.
Instead, work by Tomoo Gokita, of Japan, had come to TAM via his Los Angeles-based gallery representation. The same is true of Kenichi Yokono. Gil Kuno lives in both the U.S. and Japan, and his work is at TAM because the artist himself left Japan for L.A. the week prior the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear reactor damage. His work was here already.
As of last week's conversation with Presneill, what would happen if not all of the Japan-based works of art were able to make it to Torrance on time, owing to the damages in infrastructure abroad and/or changes in at least short-term priorities?
Good curators and administrators alike plan for successful projects but also improvise if and as needed. Presneill was unwilling to be too hypothetical when asked for any definitive answer to the above. One option, he acknowledged, could be to give the Japanese American artists more space in the show, with a public explanation of where the previously intended works were.
We'll check in with Presneill and his team this week and see how many of the pieces have now arrived, and what -- if any -- late changes in the show may occur.
Art As Irrelevant? Museum Faces Seeming Dilemma; Cancel Show Or Not?
And:
Can This Sculpture From Japan Still Mean The Same?
And:
Japanese Artists Said To Be Uninjured
And:
Hopes, Thoughts With Japan]
This blog has previously noted that even while the previous TAM main exhibition, What's New, Pussycat was still open, a telltale sign of the continuim that is a full programming schedule had already arrived -- a lone package, from Japan, still sealed, wrapped in its mailing material, sitting on a side table in the office of the TAM curator and director.
That package, as it turned out, contained the work of artist Taku Anekawa. The art was mailed from the Tokyo gallery, Nanzuka Underground.
In the time since that early March TAM office visit and last week, the work of five other Japanese artists had arrived at the museum, according to TAM's Max Presneill.
(There are fourteen artists scheduled to participate in the Gateway Japan show who reside full or part-time in Japan. The other seven artists in the show are of Japanese heritage and reside full-time in the U.S.)
The Japanese works hadn't, however, arrived via international shipping.
Instead, work by Tomoo Gokita, of Japan, had come to TAM via his Los Angeles-based gallery representation. The same is true of Kenichi Yokono. Gil Kuno lives in both the U.S. and Japan, and his work is at TAM because the artist himself left Japan for L.A. the week prior the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear reactor damage. His work was here already.
As of last week's conversation with Presneill, what would happen if not all of the Japan-based works of art were able to make it to Torrance on time, owing to the damages in infrastructure abroad and/or changes in at least short-term priorities?
Good curators and administrators alike plan for successful projects but also improvise if and as needed. Presneill was unwilling to be too hypothetical when asked for any definitive answer to the above. One option, he acknowledged, could be to give the Japanese American artists more space in the show, with a public explanation of where the previously intended works were.
We'll check in with Presneill and his team this week and see how many of the pieces have now arrived, and what -- if any -- late changes in the show may occur.
What's the Oddest Story From What's New, Pussycat?
Today's Question for TAM's Max Presneill
TAM's exhibition, What's New, Pussycat? closed March 6, 2011. TAM's next exhibition, Gateway Japan, is as of this writing, scheduled to open March 26, 2011. (Hopes and thoughts.)
During The Time Between Shows (see this link for more information, please
http://writer.torranceartmuseum.com/2011/03/time-between-shows-part-ii.html), this blog checked in with TAM's curator and director Max Presneill.
We'll be presenting one question and one answer each day during an eleven-period. This is day seven. Scroll down the blog to see past related posts.
Here's today's question and answer --
Jeremy Rosenberg: What's the oddest story or anecdote involving WNP that I wouldn't already know?
Max Presneill: The help I got from some of the artists in the show regarding getting ahold of some of the other artworks, not made by themselves, for the show. They were incredibly helpful and really went out of their way to help us acquire some of the works for WNP. Very generous of them and a side to artists often ignored -- people who don’t know any artists may think them as self-involved and thus selfish, or some other stereotype -- which is mostly untrue and that is odd.
Coming tomorrow: Did you achieve your intention in staging WNP?
During The Time Between Shows (see this link for more information, please
http://writer.torranceartmuseum.com/2011/03/time-between-shows-part-ii.html), this blog checked in with TAM's curator and director Max Presneill.
We'll be presenting one question and one answer each day during an eleven-period. This is day seven. Scroll down the blog to see past related posts.
Here's today's question and answer --
Jeremy Rosenberg: What's the oddest story or anecdote involving WNP that I wouldn't already know?
Max Presneill: The help I got from some of the artists in the show regarding getting ahold of some of the other artworks, not made by themselves, for the show. They were incredibly helpful and really went out of their way to help us acquire some of the works for WNP. Very generous of them and a side to artists often ignored -- people who don’t know any artists may think them as self-involved and thus selfish, or some other stereotype -- which is mostly untrue and that is odd.
Coming tomorrow: Did you achieve your intention in staging WNP?
Monday, March 21, 2011
Regrets? Would You Do Anything Differently?
Today's Question for TAM's Max Presneill
TAM's exhibition, What's New, Pussycat? closed March 6, 2011. TAM's next exhibition, Gateway Japan, is as of this writing, scheduled to open March 26, 2011. (Hopes and thoughts.)
During The Time Between Shows (see this link for more information, please
http://writer.torranceartmuseum.com/2011/03/time-between-shows-part-ii.html), this blog checked in with TAM's curator and director Max Presneill.
We'll be presenting one question and one answer each day during an eleven-day period. This is day six. Scroll down the blog to see past related posts.
Here's today's question and answer --
Jeremy Rosenberg: Any regrets regarding this show? Anything you'd do differently even given the same budget and staff size?
Max Presneill: If one spends 6 weeks living with a show there are invariably other artists that come to mind who would have been perfect to include. Not exactly a regret but something to be learned. Differently – there usually are things but those will remain with me alone, J.
Coming tomorrow: What's the oddest story involving What's New, Pussycat?
During The Time Between Shows (see this link for more information, please
http://writer.torranceartmuseum.com/2011/03/time-between-shows-part-ii.html), this blog checked in with TAM's curator and director Max Presneill.
We'll be presenting one question and one answer each day during an eleven-day period. This is day six. Scroll down the blog to see past related posts.
Here's today's question and answer --
Jeremy Rosenberg: Any regrets regarding this show? Anything you'd do differently even given the same budget and staff size?
Max Presneill: If one spends 6 weeks living with a show there are invariably other artists that come to mind who would have been perfect to include. Not exactly a regret but something to be learned. Differently – there usually are things but those will remain with me alone, J.
Coming tomorrow: What's the oddest story involving What's New, Pussycat?
Art as Irrelevent?
Museum Faces Seeming Dilemma;
Cancel Japan Show Or Not?
[Previously:
Can This Sculpture From Japan Still Mean The Same?
And:
Japanese Artists Said To Be Uninjured
And:
Hopes, Thoughts With Japan]
In the earliest days following the cataclysmic earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear reactor damage to all hit Japan, the Torrance Art Museum faced a seeming dilemma -- to cancel or to at least postpone the scheduled Gateway Japan exhibition, or to open and exhibit the show beginning March 26, 2011 as had been long-since planned.
The show was and still is to feature the artworks of fourteen full- or part-time residents of Japan, along with two Japanese co-curators.
Well, it turns out that seeming dilemma wasn't really a dilemma at all.
Assuming that the facts on the ground don't much change -- a significant assumption -- then TAM will proceed with the show as planned, with an added opening day fundraiser for the Japanese Red Cross.
A week or so ago, TAM's curator and director Max Presneill received an email from Ei Kibukawa, one of the two Tokyo gallerists who have become Presneill's co-curators for Gateway. In addition to providing this update on his and his family's safety as well as the situation in Tokyo and to the northeast, Kibukawa announced the redoubled intention of he and the artists in his circle to still come to Torrance for the show's opening.
Kibukawa said that the disasters make for a bleak immediate outlook for artists and art professionals in his nation. "I am afraid," Kibukawa wrote, "that it will be difficult to live by art business in Japan."
The gallerist goes on to say that Gateway is therefore "very good timing."
And as noted here, Kibukawa and the show's other co-curator, Yuko Wakaume, both in separate emails pushed for a philanthropic component to Gateway.
Wakaume wrote in part: "Artists [living] in Japan, they would like to do something for the sufferers..."
TAM's Presneill and newly hired TAM Assistant Curator Jason Ramos were already by that time discussing options. When Wakaume emailed to say she and the artists she knows in the show were intending to bring small artworks to donate for a charity sale, Presneill and Ramos et al. put the details together towards making that happen.
But as for the show itself, in a conversation in the days following the earthquake and tsunami, Presneill -- also an artist himself -- expressed undiluted confidence that his fellow painters and sculptors and otherwise would desire the show to go on.
"I know artists," Presneill said. "They aren't going to say that because of disaster we should give up the thing we most care about in the world."
He was referring to their art practices in general there, and not specifically to the TAM show. (And again, this comment was based on the still-standing initial information that all the artists and their families were safe and uninjured.)
Regarding the TAM show, Presneill asked and answered his own rhetorical question. "What does it matter if we're going to do it?" he said of the show. "On one hand it doesn't matter. On the other hand, of course it matters, and perhaps it matters even more."
Art and creative endeavors, Presneill said, make us fundamentally human. And in time of crises, the need to strive on with hope is particular vital.
"That momentum forward," Presneill said us crucial, "even in the face of whatever gets in their way -- people will create."
Can This Sculpture From Japan Still Mean The Same?
And:
Japanese Artists Said To Be Uninjured
And:
Hopes, Thoughts With Japan]
In the earliest days following the cataclysmic earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear reactor damage to all hit Japan, the Torrance Art Museum faced a seeming dilemma -- to cancel or to at least postpone the scheduled Gateway Japan exhibition, or to open and exhibit the show beginning March 26, 2011 as had been long-since planned.
The show was and still is to feature the artworks of fourteen full- or part-time residents of Japan, along with two Japanese co-curators.
Well, it turns out that seeming dilemma wasn't really a dilemma at all.
Assuming that the facts on the ground don't much change -- a significant assumption -- then TAM will proceed with the show as planned, with an added opening day fundraiser for the Japanese Red Cross.
A week or so ago, TAM's curator and director Max Presneill received an email from Ei Kibukawa, one of the two Tokyo gallerists who have become Presneill's co-curators for Gateway. In addition to providing this update on his and his family's safety as well as the situation in Tokyo and to the northeast, Kibukawa announced the redoubled intention of he and the artists in his circle to still come to Torrance for the show's opening.
Kibukawa said that the disasters make for a bleak immediate outlook for artists and art professionals in his nation. "I am afraid," Kibukawa wrote, "that it will be difficult to live by art business in Japan."
The gallerist goes on to say that Gateway is therefore "very good timing."
And as noted here, Kibukawa and the show's other co-curator, Yuko Wakaume, both in separate emails pushed for a philanthropic component to Gateway.
Wakaume wrote in part: "Artists [living] in Japan, they would like to do something for the sufferers..."
TAM's Presneill and newly hired TAM Assistant Curator Jason Ramos were already by that time discussing options. When Wakaume emailed to say she and the artists she knows in the show were intending to bring small artworks to donate for a charity sale, Presneill and Ramos et al. put the details together towards making that happen.
But as for the show itself, in a conversation in the days following the earthquake and tsunami, Presneill -- also an artist himself -- expressed undiluted confidence that his fellow painters and sculptors and otherwise would desire the show to go on.
"I know artists," Presneill said. "They aren't going to say that because of disaster we should give up the thing we most care about in the world."
He was referring to their art practices in general there, and not specifically to the TAM show. (And again, this comment was based on the still-standing initial information that all the artists and their families were safe and uninjured.)
Regarding the TAM show, Presneill asked and answered his own rhetorical question. "What does it matter if we're going to do it?" he said of the show. "On one hand it doesn't matter. On the other hand, of course it matters, and perhaps it matters even more."
Art and creative endeavors, Presneill said, make us fundamentally human. And in time of crises, the need to strive on with hope is particular vital.
"That momentum forward," Presneill said us crucial, "even in the face of whatever gets in their way -- people will create."
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Can This Sculpture From Japan Still Mean The Same?
[Previous: Japanese Artists Said to be Uninjured]
In this earlier post-earthquake and tsunami post, Thoughts, Hopes With Japan, we wrote in part:
...The list of those artists is on the museum's home page, along with images of the artists' works -- some of which appear particularly more poignant in light of cataclysmic events....
The image from the forthcoming TAM exhibition, Gateway Japan that most clearly fits the above description is the sculpture by Akihiro Yasugi. That image is reproduced here in this post.
Yasugi is one of the Japanese artists affiliated with Yuko Wakaume, co-curator of the Gateway show. Yasugi was originally scheduled to come to Torrance to attend the opening reception. Our understanding through TAM is that's still anticipated to happen.
We asked TAM director and curator Max Presneill if, post disaster, he reads any of the pieces by Japanese artists in the show differently now than he did previously.
Yes, Presneill said, citing Yasugi's piece and Akira Shikiya's 'climbing men' piece as two primary examples. Presneill is an artist as well as a museum professional, and that informs the cautioning that he then provided.
Feel whatever you feel, Presneill essentially said, regarding any work of art. But don't mistake pathos or any observation or emotion drawn from current events or otherwise for the original intent of the artist.
"We can look at this in the light of events," Presneill said, "and that can affect how we see the work. But this is all in retrospect -- to assume that onto a work is unfair."
Or: "If the artist wasn't talking about earthquakes, then its an invention by us."
And: "That interpretation would be about our needs."
Image via Torrance Art Museum web site
Is it Easier to Install or Deinstall an Exhibition?
Today's Question for TAM's Max Presneill
TAM's exhibition, What's New, Pussycat? closed March 6, 2011. TAM's next exhibition, Gateway Japan, is as of this writing, scheduled to open March 26, 2011. (Hopes and thoughts.)
During The Time Between Shows (see this link for more information, please
http://writer.torranceartmuseum.com/2011/03/time-between-shows-part-ii.html), this blog checked in with TAM's curator and director Max Presneill.
We'll be presenting one question and one answer each day during an eleven-day period. This is day five. Scroll down the blog to see past related posts.
Here's today's question and answer --
Jeremy Rosenberg: Is it physically easier to set up an exhibition or to break one down?
Max Presneill: Easier to take down – and faster.
Coming tomorrow: Any regrets regarding What's New, Pussycat?
During The Time Between Shows (see this link for more information, please
http://writer.torranceartmuseum.com/2011/03/time-between-shows-part-ii.html), this blog checked in with TAM's curator and director Max Presneill.
We'll be presenting one question and one answer each day during an eleven-day period. This is day five. Scroll down the blog to see past related posts.
Here's today's question and answer --
Jeremy Rosenberg: Is it physically easier to set up an exhibition or to break one down?
Max Presneill: Easier to take down – and faster.
Coming tomorrow: Any regrets regarding What's New, Pussycat?
Saturday, March 19, 2011
What's the Greatest Compliment and the Greatest Insult The Last Show Received
Today's Question for TAM's Max Presneill
TAM's exhibition, What's New, Pussycat? closed March 6, 2011. TAM's next exhibition, Gateway Japan, is as of this writing, scheduled to open March 26, 2011. (Hopes and thoughts.)
During The Time Between Shows (see this link for more information, please
http://writer.torranceartmuseum.com/2011/03/time-between-shows-part-ii.html), this blog checked in with TAM's curator and director Max Presneill.
We'll be presenting one question and one answer each day during an eleven-day period. This is day four. Scroll down the blog to see past related posts.
Here's today's question and answer --
Jeremy Rosenberg: What's the greatest compliment you've received during this show -- and what's the worst insult?
Max Presneill: A ‘thank you’ from the artists when they say why they liked it (and it is accurate rather than just flattering) is the biggest compliment for me personally. The biggest insult was someone saying it is easy to do big shows like this one - maybe an accidental compliment.
Coming tomorrow: It is physically easier to install or to deinstall an exhibition?
During The Time Between Shows (see this link for more information, please
http://writer.torranceartmuseum.com/2011/03/time-between-shows-part-ii.html), this blog checked in with TAM's curator and director Max Presneill.
We'll be presenting one question and one answer each day during an eleven-day period. This is day four. Scroll down the blog to see past related posts.
Here's today's question and answer --
Jeremy Rosenberg: What's the greatest compliment you've received during this show -- and what's the worst insult?
Max Presneill: A ‘thank you’ from the artists when they say why they liked it (and it is accurate rather than just flattering) is the biggest compliment for me personally. The biggest insult was someone saying it is easy to do big shows like this one - maybe an accidental compliment.
Coming tomorrow: It is physically easier to install or to deinstall an exhibition?
Friday, March 18, 2011
Why Do TAM Exhibitions Last For Six Weeks?
Today's Question for TAM's Max Presneill
TAM's exhibition, What's New, Pussycat? closed March 6, 2011. TAM's next exhibition, Gateway Japan, is as of this writing, scheduled to open March 26, 2011. (Hopes and thoughts.)
During The Time Between Shows (see this link for more information, please
http://writer.torranceartmuseum.com/2011/03/time-between-shows-part-ii.html), this blog checked in with TAM's curator and director Max Presneill.
We'll be presenting one question and one answer each day during an eleven-day period. This is day three. Scroll down the blog to see past related posts.
Here's today's question and answer --
Jeremy Rosenberg: What factors go into deciding the duration of this -- or any -- TAM exhibition? Why six weeks or so in this case?
Max Presneill: We look at how many shows we can do in a year, what shows we really want to do, the time it will take to deinstall one, prep the spaces back into a ‘new’ condition and then install the next show (we have a 3-week turnaround time which is very fast for a museum), making sure that the run of each is long enough so that anyone who wants to see it has time enough to get around to doing so. We do not keep them up as long as some museums because we feel that those who are interested have probably seen it by the end of a show and that our audience is by then looking forward to our next opening, or so I hope, J.
Coming tomorrow: What's the greatest compliment and greatest insult you've received during What's New, Pussycat?
During The Time Between Shows (see this link for more information, please
http://writer.torranceartmuseum.com/2011/03/time-between-shows-part-ii.html), this blog checked in with TAM's curator and director Max Presneill.
We'll be presenting one question and one answer each day during an eleven-day period. This is day three. Scroll down the blog to see past related posts.
Here's today's question and answer --
Jeremy Rosenberg: What factors go into deciding the duration of this -- or any -- TAM exhibition? Why six weeks or so in this case?
Max Presneill: We look at how many shows we can do in a year, what shows we really want to do, the time it will take to deinstall one, prep the spaces back into a ‘new’ condition and then install the next show (we have a 3-week turnaround time which is very fast for a museum), making sure that the run of each is long enough so that anyone who wants to see it has time enough to get around to doing so. We do not keep them up as long as some museums because we feel that those who are interested have probably seen it by the end of a show and that our audience is by then looking forward to our next opening, or so I hope, J.
Coming tomorrow: What's the greatest compliment and greatest insult you've received during What's New, Pussycat?
Thursday, March 17, 2011
How TAM decides what artwork goes where?
Should Kristin Klosterman's piece be alone?
Today's Question for TAM's Max Presneill
TAM's exhibition, What's New, Pussycat? closed March 6, 2011. TAM's next exhibition, Gateway Japan, is as of this writing, scheduled to open March 26, 2011. (Hopes and thoughts.)
During The Time Between Shows (see this link for more information, please
http://writer.torranceartmuseum.com/2011/03/time-between-shows-part-ii.html), this blog checked in with TAM's curator and director Max Presneill.
We'll be presenting one question and one answer during an-eleven day period. This is day two. See the post above for day one.
Here's today's question and answer --
Jeremy Rosenberg: The Kristin Klosterman piece -- before the show opened, you were discussing with artists and your staff and volunteers whether or not to try and fit a second artwork in that specially-built room your team prepared as a four-walled space within the larger gallery space.
You decided not to house that additional artwork there, I gather. What happened to that other work? And are you happy with the decision?
(Full disclosure, that's my second-favorite piece in the show, after the Claudia Morse code work -- think the Klosterman looks perfect as is.)
Max Presneill: It actually was a collaboration between Kristin and Laddie John Dill. He placed his neon tubes in sand on the floor – it was these elements that lit up the paintings of Kristin. We decided that only their joint project would be featured in that space so as to avoid any confusion about the collab work and to allow a perceptual experience that was not interfered with by other works.
Tomorrow: What factors go into deciding the duration of this -- or any -- TAM exhibition? Why six weeks in this case?
During The Time Between Shows (see this link for more information, please
http://writer.torranceartmuseum.com/2011/03/time-between-shows-part-ii.html), this blog checked in with TAM's curator and director Max Presneill.
We'll be presenting one question and one answer during an-eleven day period. This is day two. See the post above for day one.
Here's today's question and answer --
Jeremy Rosenberg: The Kristin Klosterman piece -- before the show opened, you were discussing with artists and your staff and volunteers whether or not to try and fit a second artwork in that specially-built room your team prepared as a four-walled space within the larger gallery space.
You decided not to house that additional artwork there, I gather. What happened to that other work? And are you happy with the decision?
(Full disclosure, that's my second-favorite piece in the show, after the Claudia Morse code work -- think the Klosterman looks perfect as is.)
Max Presneill: It actually was a collaboration between Kristin and Laddie John Dill. He placed his neon tubes in sand on the floor – it was these elements that lit up the paintings of Kristin. We decided that only their joint project would be featured in that space so as to avoid any confusion about the collab work and to allow a perceptual experience that was not interfered with by other works.
Tomorrow: What factors go into deciding the duration of this -- or any -- TAM exhibition? Why six weeks in this case?
Details About TAM Japan Fundraiser
[Previous: Japanese Artists Said To Be Uninjured]
Here is the email call for artists and the public regarding the just-organized fundraiser coinciding with the opening reception of the still-happening Gateway Japan show on March 26.
The idea originated in an email from one of show's Japanese co-curators, who said artists in her circle coming for the show would bring small artworks to donate for charitable sale.
Picking up on that idea, TAM's text follows:
Here is the email call for artists and the public regarding the just-organized fundraiser coinciding with the opening reception of the still-happening Gateway Japan show on March 26.
The idea originated in an email from one of show's Japanese co-curators, who said artists in her circle coming for the show would bring small artworks to donate for charitable sale.
Picking up on that idea, TAM's text follows:
“An easy give and take” (quoted from Jackson Pollock)
A fundraiser event for the Japanese Red Cross
Saturday 26th March, 12 noon – 9pm at the Torrance Art Museum
Calling ALL artists
On Saturday 26th March the Torrance Art Museum will place tables out in the patio area and ask that artists who wish to support the relief efforts for Japan bring a small artwork to donate. We will ask $50, cash only, for ALL artworks - all of the funds raised to be donated to the Japanese Red Cross.
Works can be delivered to the museum from 12 noon onwards and will be available to buy at any time, with anything sold removed there and then by buyer. The fundraiser will continue throughout the Opening Reception, from 6-9pm, of the exhibition Gateway Japan – an exhibition of Japanese and Japanese American artists (details below).
FOR THE PUBLIC
Please come and show your support, meet the artists who have flown in from Tokyo for this event as well as our local artists and the artists who are donating to this event - and for the small amount of $50 walk away with an original work of art, see a real Sumo Wrestling bout, meet some great artists, and knowing that a great cause was served too.
Any unsold works will be placed online for sale after the opening reception on a dedicated website.
More information is available at www.torranceartmuseum.com
PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO ANYONE AND EVERYONE
The Time Between Shows -- Part IV
SMMOA's Lisa Melandri
Here's another entry in our continuing series of asking museum and gallery curators and directors about how they feel about, and experience, the time between shows -- the period following the public end of one exhibition and the public opening of the next.
[Previous: curators; a preparator; photos.]
"I think that there is often a sadness at seeing something go that you enjoyed and worked on for so long but it is a quick reaction because you are really focused and sometimes anxious about the logistical concerns of the 'next one'— the crates arriving on time, the installation going smoothly, and then the thrill of seeing all the work out and in the same place. A little sadness gives way to an extraordinary amount of excitement and expectation."
-- Lisa Melandri, Deputy Director for Exhibitions and Programs, Santa Monica Museum of Art
[Previous: curators; a preparator; photos.]
"I think that there is often a sadness at seeing something go that you enjoyed and worked on for so long but it is a quick reaction because you are really focused and sometimes anxious about the logistical concerns of the 'next one'— the crates arriving on time, the installation going smoothly, and then the thrill of seeing all the work out and in the same place. A little sadness gives way to an extraordinary amount of excitement and expectation."
-- Lisa Melandri, Deputy Director for Exhibitions and Programs, Santa Monica Museum of Art
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Japanese Artists Said To Be Uninjured
[Previous: Hopes, Thoughts With Japan]
Sixteen full or part-time residents of Japan are scheduled to participate in the Torrance Art Museum's upcoming exhibition.
All sixteen of those people are apparently accounted for and uninjured following the catastrophic 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit the island nation.
That's the news, relayed second-hand, thanks to TAM director and curator Max Presneill's email exchanges with two Tokyo gallery directors who are in touch with the various artists.
Presneill has corresponded with Ei Kibukawa, who runs the Eitoeiko gallery in Tokyo, and Yuko Wakaume, who is Presneill's co-curator for the forthcoming TAM Gateway Japan show.
Kibukawa and Wakaume's emails speak to the devastation to the northeast, as well as the limited power, gas, water, phone service, and public transportation in Tokyo. One of the pair notes feeling a "BIG" -- in all caps -- aftershock while or perhaps just prior to corresponding.
Kibukawa and Wakaume's emails both mention the nuclear crisis -- which has worsened since.
As of the time of their emails, each of the pair still plan on coming to Torrance for the opening reception. Each clearly expects the exhibition to still take place, indicate how it could be cathartic, and request that it be charitable.
The Museum is already planning a special art sale towards the latter -- and also posted a banner on its website homepage advising how to text money for eathquake relief.
Originally, as many as eight of the twelve year-round Japanese resident artists were expected to come to Torrance for the opening.
Kibukawa's email indicates that he will still be bringing the artists in his circle -- either three or four people. Wakaume was -- and still is -- anticipated to travel with three or four others.
More information will be posted here as it becomes available; all of this is clearly subject to change.
The fourteen full or part-time Japanese residents in the Gateway exhibition line-up are:
Masura Aikawa
Taku Anekawa
Shusuke Ao
Shingo Francis (lives in Japan and U.S.)
Tomoo Gokita
Yuki Hashimoto
Minako Kumagai
Gil Kuno (lives in Japan and U.S.)
Satoshi Saegusa
Keiko Sakamotoo
Akira Shikiya
Akihiro Yasugi
Kenichi Yokono
Yuki Yoshida
Sixteen full or part-time residents of Japan are scheduled to participate in the Torrance Art Museum's upcoming exhibition.
All sixteen of those people are apparently accounted for and uninjured following the catastrophic 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit the island nation.
That's the news, relayed second-hand, thanks to TAM director and curator Max Presneill's email exchanges with two Tokyo gallery directors who are in touch with the various artists.
Presneill has corresponded with Ei Kibukawa, who runs the Eitoeiko gallery in Tokyo, and Yuko Wakaume, who is Presneill's co-curator for the forthcoming TAM Gateway Japan show.
Kibukawa and Wakaume's emails speak to the devastation to the northeast, as well as the limited power, gas, water, phone service, and public transportation in Tokyo. One of the pair notes feeling a "BIG" -- in all caps -- aftershock while or perhaps just prior to corresponding.
Kibukawa and Wakaume's emails both mention the nuclear crisis -- which has worsened since.
As of the time of their emails, each of the pair still plan on coming to Torrance for the opening reception. Each clearly expects the exhibition to still take place, indicate how it could be cathartic, and request that it be charitable.
The Museum is already planning a special art sale towards the latter -- and also posted a banner on its website homepage advising how to text money for eathquake relief.
Originally, as many as eight of the twelve year-round Japanese resident artists were expected to come to Torrance for the opening.
Kibukawa's email indicates that he will still be bringing the artists in his circle -- either three or four people. Wakaume was -- and still is -- anticipated to travel with three or four others.
More information will be posted here as it becomes available; all of this is clearly subject to change.
The fourteen full or part-time Japanese residents in the Gateway exhibition line-up are:
Masura Aikawa
Taku Anekawa
Shusuke Ao
Shingo Francis (lives in Japan and U.S.)
Tomoo Gokita
Yuki Hashimoto
Minako Kumagai
Gil Kuno (lives in Japan and U.S.)
Satoshi Saegusa
Keiko Sakamotoo
Akira Shikiya
Akihiro Yasugi
Kenichi Yokono
Yuki Yoshida
Was TAM's Exhibition A Success?
And How Is Success Here Judged
Today's Question for TAM's Max Presneill
TAM's exhibition, What's New, Pussycat? closed March 6, 2011. TAM's next exhibition, Gateway Japan, is as of this writing, scheduled to open March 26, 2011. (Hopes and thoughts.)
During The Time Between Shows (see this link for more information, please
http://writer.torranceartmuseum.com/2011/03/time-between-shows-part-ii.html), this blog checked in with TAM's curator and director Max Presneill.
We'll be presenting one question and one answer during an eleven-day period.
Today's question and answer --
Jeremy Rosenberg: How was What's New, Pussycat? received? And what are useful criteria for deciding how any show has been received? Does quantity of attendees matter? Quality of critical reviews? Volume of tweets? Reaction of the artists involved?
Max Presneill: WNP was a big one -- in reputations of the artists involved, in the amount of buzz and attention. We had a really big opening and the number of visitors was high over the entire run. I don’t know what the exact figures were (they are being tallied up now) but they were very good. Of course sheer numbers does not tell you if a show was good or not. Nor does the amount of reviews or tweets, etc.
For me the criteria of the quality of an exhibition is a more subtle affair – ones own judgment, those of ones peers too, both count. It is a critical evaluation a bit like how anyone can tell when furniture is well laid out in a room (for the install), well lit, etc. In some ways it is a success if people like it and do not even notice the hand of the curator -- if things just seem to be well placed, the flow through the space is smooth, the works lit so you don’t even pay that attention and most importantly of all, if the theme is strong enough to encourage conversations about the show and the works selected for it create an engaging experience. The artists themselves are often the harshest critics of these matters so having them happy is a big plus too.
Tomorrow: Kristin Klosterman and Laddie John Dill.
During The Time Between Shows (see this link for more information, please
http://writer.torranceartmuseum.com/2011/03/time-between-shows-part-ii.html), this blog checked in with TAM's curator and director Max Presneill.
We'll be presenting one question and one answer during an eleven-day period.
Today's question and answer --
Jeremy Rosenberg: How was What's New, Pussycat? received? And what are useful criteria for deciding how any show has been received? Does quantity of attendees matter? Quality of critical reviews? Volume of tweets? Reaction of the artists involved?
Max Presneill: WNP was a big one -- in reputations of the artists involved, in the amount of buzz and attention. We had a really big opening and the number of visitors was high over the entire run. I don’t know what the exact figures were (they are being tallied up now) but they were very good. Of course sheer numbers does not tell you if a show was good or not. Nor does the amount of reviews or tweets, etc.
For me the criteria of the quality of an exhibition is a more subtle affair – ones own judgment, those of ones peers too, both count. It is a critical evaluation a bit like how anyone can tell when furniture is well laid out in a room (for the install), well lit, etc. In some ways it is a success if people like it and do not even notice the hand of the curator -- if things just seem to be well placed, the flow through the space is smooth, the works lit so you don’t even pay that attention and most importantly of all, if the theme is strong enough to encourage conversations about the show and the works selected for it create an engaging experience. The artists themselves are often the harshest critics of these matters so having them happy is a big plus too.
Tomorrow: Kristin Klosterman and Laddie John Dill.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
The Time Between Shows -- Part III
The Preparator's View
Last week, we heard from seven art and culture museum and gallery curators and directors about how they feel about and experience the time between shows -- the period following the public end of one exhibition and the public opening of the next.
Today, we present a preparator's view of that same period.
Here's the link back to what the curators and directors said.
And here's what Matt Driggs, an L.A.-based artist, curator, and accomplished preparator, says:
"As most of the people that have written on this subject are on the curating side
of the "between exhibitions," I will speak to my experience as Chief Prepartor
and Exhibition Designer at the USC Fisher Museum of Art.
"The Fisher is a small-to-medium sized institution perhaps a little bit bigger than the Torrance Museum. At the Museum, between shows it was all hands on deck - the preparators, curator, educator, receptionist and even the director could be called on to perform a task (though the director was usually the last person you would ask
for help).
"An exhibit would end -- the old artwork was taken down, placed in crates, packed
and shipped out -- walls were torn down, new walls put up - mudded and painted,
and new crates were shipped in for the upcoming exhibition.
"Curators became registrars - white gloves placed on hands to remove the artwork from the crates (as not to mark up the object) and every nook and cranny of the artwork checked for scratches, nicks or marks. If there was an aberration on the painting or sculpture, it is marked down on the condition report to provide proof that the Museum was not liable for its damage.
"When there was a small exhibit at the Fisher, I would perform 90% percent of the
installation work. If there was an elaborate installation for an exhibit, I
could be in need for up to seven [additional] preparators to install and handle artwork. During these busy times I would act more as facilitator than workhorse, moving with each of the workers and stopping to help them when a difficult task would come up.
"During my time at the Museum I could had scrubbed the floor with little more than a toothbrush and the next minute (after a hand wash and some white gloves) moved and installed a painting well worth over a million dollars."
-- Matt Driggs, former Exhibition Designer and Chief Preparator at the USC Fisher Museum and former Curator at Edward Giardina Contemporary Art and Raid Projects.
Again:
Here's the link back to what the curators and directors said.
And here are a few photos from the time currently at TAM between shows.
Today, we present a preparator's view of that same period.
Here's the link back to what the curators and directors said.
And here's what Matt Driggs, an L.A.-based artist, curator, and accomplished preparator, says:
"As most of the people that have written on this subject are on the curating side
of the "between exhibitions," I will speak to my experience as Chief Prepartor
and Exhibition Designer at the USC Fisher Museum of Art.
"The Fisher is a small-to-medium sized institution perhaps a little bit bigger than the Torrance Museum. At the Museum, between shows it was all hands on deck - the preparators, curator, educator, receptionist and even the director could be called on to perform a task (though the director was usually the last person you would ask
for help).
"An exhibit would end -- the old artwork was taken down, placed in crates, packed
and shipped out -- walls were torn down, new walls put up - mudded and painted,
and new crates were shipped in for the upcoming exhibition.
"Curators became registrars - white gloves placed on hands to remove the artwork from the crates (as not to mark up the object) and every nook and cranny of the artwork checked for scratches, nicks or marks. If there was an aberration on the painting or sculpture, it is marked down on the condition report to provide proof that the Museum was not liable for its damage.
"When there was a small exhibit at the Fisher, I would perform 90% percent of the
installation work. If there was an elaborate installation for an exhibit, I
could be in need for up to seven [additional] preparators to install and handle artwork. During these busy times I would act more as facilitator than workhorse, moving with each of the workers and stopping to help them when a difficult task would come up.
"During my time at the Museum I could had scrubbed the floor with little more than a toothbrush and the next minute (after a hand wash and some white gloves) moved and installed a painting well worth over a million dollars."
-- Matt Driggs, former Exhibition Designer and Chief Preparator at the USC Fisher Museum and former Curator at Edward Giardina Contemporary Art and Raid Projects.
Again:
Here's the link back to what the curators and directors said.
And here are a few photos from the time currently at TAM between shows.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Thoughts, Hopes With Japan
Like people everywhere, our thoughts and hopes are with the people of Japan, and the Japanese diaspora.
The Torrance Art Museum's next scheduled exhibition is titled, Gateway Japan, and is to feature the works of 21 artists who are either from Japan, or of Japanese heritage.
The list of those artists is on the museum's home page, along with images of the artists' works -- some of which appear particularly more poignant in light of cataclysmic events.
At least six of the Japanese artists, and the Japanese co-curator of the show, had been scheduled to travel to Torrance and attend the Gateway opening reception.
A box from one of the artists had already arrived at the museum.
We'll check in now with TAM's director to see if he's heard from any of the seven. More here when we learn more.
The Torrance Art Museum's next scheduled exhibition is titled, Gateway Japan, and is to feature the works of 21 artists who are either from Japan, or of Japanese heritage.
The list of those artists is on the museum's home page, along with images of the artists' works -- some of which appear particularly more poignant in light of cataclysmic events.
At least six of the Japanese artists, and the Japanese co-curator of the show, had been scheduled to travel to Torrance and attend the Gateway opening reception.
A box from one of the artists had already arrived at the museum.
We'll check in now with TAM's director to see if he's heard from any of the seven. More here when we learn more.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
The Time Between Shows - Part II
As noted in our previous post, this blog emailed the following question to Max Presneill, TAM's director and curator:
"What's New, Pussycat, closes March 5. Are the final few days of a show -- particularly one you co-curated -- exciting? Sad? Bittersweet?"
Presneill's emailed reply:
"By the time the close of a show arrives we are already way into the next exhibition – arranging shipping, getting the catalog together and that sort of thing. We have moved on from that particular relationship and are courting the next one, ha, ha."
How would Presneill's response compare with that of fellow art and culture professionals in and around Los Angeles?
We checked in with a handful of those folks this week, asking about their own experiences between shows they've put together or overseen.
The below are among the texted and emailed replies:
**
"To me it was like a Saturday... A restful period between work periods."
-- Adolfo V. Nodal, curator, gallery and museum director
**
"I like the time between shows -- one of my favorite things about it is the potential inherent within the empty yet charged space."
-- Irene Tsatsos, Director of Gallery Programs, The Armory Center for the Arts
**
"It only looks like a breathing space from outside, usually it's a hectic time -- the exhibition may be closed as far as the public is concerned, but the logistics of deinstallation and reinstallation then arise -- getting stuff off the walls/floor, packed up, stored or returned/picked up; patching and painting walls, even moving them; collecting unpacking and installing new work. To say nothing of the PR, website update, writing and printing labels, catalogs etc. And of course conceptualizing and designing new exhibitions.
"There's a great book called "Art Worlds" by Howard Becker, from the `80s which unpacks some of the people and tasks involved with the intention of demonstrating that work is not the product of a single artist but everyone who supports the work's production and display, from canvas weavers to security staff; the action of a multiplicity not a singular individual, in other words.
"When I was co-directing Raid [Projects] with Max [Presneill] we did a new exhibition every month, that was a conveyor belt of action that never stopped. Maybe the first or second week of the exhibition were times of a slight lull -- but that might just have been the result of collapse due to exhaustion."
-- Janet Owen Driggs, curator, writer, former co-director of Raid Projects
**
"At the Studio [for Southern California History] the period in between exhibits usually is a scurrying period of cleaning and whitewashing. It is often a period of cleansing and the last time we did it in between Law & Disorder and Love is Living Large there was a great excitement waiting for the new exhibit. I normally am too exhausted to really think about it. However, I am usually so sick of an exhibit by the time it goes down that to have it go away is a fantastic feeling of accomplishment."
--Sharon Sekhon, Founder & Executive Director, the Studio for Southern California History
**
"In my experience that period is when I have felt a nice concentration of creative energy. The sense of possibility in the new presentation is still felt because it is still being realized and the type of questions that run through your mind are will it live up to my expectations? will the artist be able to actualize their ideas? how will everything look installed?"
-- Name Withheld, director of an arts and culture organization
**
"The period between exhibitions is full of hustle and bustle. It feels like there are a million and one things to accomplish, and all while we are winding down the previous exhibition! Has all the art been received yet, when is it being installed? Are the press kits finished, post card, catalog, website, is the gallery prep done? It's all very exciting!"
-- Colton Stenke, former Assistant Curator, Torrance Art Museum
"What's New, Pussycat, closes March 5. Are the final few days of a show -- particularly one you co-curated -- exciting? Sad? Bittersweet?"
Presneill's emailed reply:
"By the time the close of a show arrives we are already way into the next exhibition – arranging shipping, getting the catalog together and that sort of thing. We have moved on from that particular relationship and are courting the next one, ha, ha."
How would Presneill's response compare with that of fellow art and culture professionals in and around Los Angeles?
We checked in with a handful of those folks this week, asking about their own experiences between shows they've put together or overseen.
The below are among the texted and emailed replies:
**
"To me it was like a Saturday... A restful period between work periods."
-- Adolfo V. Nodal, curator, gallery and museum director
**
"I like the time between shows -- one of my favorite things about it is the potential inherent within the empty yet charged space."
-- Irene Tsatsos, Director of Gallery Programs, The Armory Center for the Arts
**
"It only looks like a breathing space from outside, usually it's a hectic time -- the exhibition may be closed as far as the public is concerned, but the logistics of deinstallation and reinstallation then arise -- getting stuff off the walls/floor, packed up, stored or returned/picked up; patching and painting walls, even moving them; collecting unpacking and installing new work. To say nothing of the PR, website update, writing and printing labels, catalogs etc. And of course conceptualizing and designing new exhibitions.
"There's a great book called "Art Worlds" by Howard Becker, from the `80s which unpacks some of the people and tasks involved with the intention of demonstrating that work is not the product of a single artist but everyone who supports the work's production and display, from canvas weavers to security staff; the action of a multiplicity not a singular individual, in other words.
"When I was co-directing Raid [Projects] with Max [Presneill] we did a new exhibition every month, that was a conveyor belt of action that never stopped. Maybe the first or second week of the exhibition were times of a slight lull -- but that might just have been the result of collapse due to exhaustion."
-- Janet Owen Driggs, curator, writer, former co-director of Raid Projects
**
"At the Studio [for Southern California History] the period in between exhibits usually is a scurrying period of cleaning and whitewashing. It is often a period of cleansing and the last time we did it in between Law & Disorder and Love is Living Large there was a great excitement waiting for the new exhibit. I normally am too exhausted to really think about it. However, I am usually so sick of an exhibit by the time it goes down that to have it go away is a fantastic feeling of accomplishment."
--Sharon Sekhon, Founder & Executive Director, the Studio for Southern California History
**
"In my experience that period is when I have felt a nice concentration of creative energy. The sense of possibility in the new presentation is still felt because it is still being realized and the type of questions that run through your mind are will it live up to my expectations? will the artist be able to actualize their ideas? how will everything look installed?"
-- Name Withheld, director of an arts and culture organization
**
"The period between exhibitions is full of hustle and bustle. It feels like there are a million and one things to accomplish, and all while we are winding down the previous exhibition! Has all the art been received yet, when is it being installed? Are the press kits finished, post card, catalog, website, is the gallery prep done? It's all very exciting!"
-- Colton Stenke, former Assistant Curator, Torrance Art Museum
The Time Between Shows
This blog emailed the following question to Max Presneill, TAM's director and curator:
"What's New, Pussycat, closes March 5. Are the final few days of a show -- particularly one you co-curated -- exciting? Sad? Bittersweet?"
Presneill's email reply:
"By the time the close of a show arrives we are already way into the next exhibition – arranging shipping, getting the catalog together and that sort of thing. We have moved on from that particular relationship and are courting the next one, ha, ha."
"What's New, Pussycat, closes March 5. Are the final few days of a show -- particularly one you co-curated -- exciting? Sad? Bittersweet?"
Presneill's email reply:
"By the time the close of a show arrives we are already way into the next exhibition – arranging shipping, getting the catalog together and that sort of thing. We have moved on from that particular relationship and are courting the next one, ha, ha."
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Exhibition Breakdown
What goes up, must come down....
Photos shot a couple of days after the conclusion of What's New, Pussycat?
Photos shot a couple of days after the conclusion of What's New, Pussycat?
Eavesdropping
Eavesdropping at the museum:
Man: You smell really nice.
Woman: Thank you. People always say that.
Man: Well, you do.
Woman: I don't know why. I smoke. I don't wash my clothes that often.
Man: Hmm.
Woman: I do use cocoa butter in my hair.
Man: That must be it.
Man: You smell really nice.
Woman: Thank you. People always say that.
Man: Well, you do.
Woman: I don't know why. I smoke. I don't wash my clothes that often.
Man: Hmm.
Woman: I do use cocoa butter in my hair.
Man: That must be it.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
First Sign of Spring
If the First Sign of Spring is Bears Awakening From Slumber, then the first sign of a new exhibition is a box bearing art, still sealed, newly arrived from Japan, sitting on a side table in a museum director's office.
TAM's next show, Gateway Japan, opens later this month.
TAM's next show, Gateway Japan, opens later this month.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Alpine Village: An Art Review
Alpine Village
An Art Review
Take the 110 South towards TAM, exit at Torrance Boulevard.
What’s the can’t miss banner at the bottom of the off-ramp?
“Alpine Village.”
There’s also some accompanying text about a $19.95 champagne brunch, or something like that.
Here’s the web buzz on the Village.
And the joint’s own website, decorated pre-St.Patrick’s day with shamrocks, lays claim to being home to both Oktoberfest and weekly salsa classes. Eurozone, baby.
That Alpine sign got WIR thinking about food and the world’s great museums….
Go to the Met in New York and you’ll sit on those concrete front steps eating a hot dog or a pretzel from a cart. (Alas, health department, no more potato knishes?)
Go to the National Gallery in D.C. and sit in the European sophisticate espresso bar / fruit tart café, near where the water pours down.
As noted here, go to the Ufizzi and consume a flavor of gelato for each block along the way.
The Getty has a decent, affordable cafeteria with those killer sunset ocean views, too. Get the soup and one of those airplane bottles of wine, right?
We’ll stop here for the moment, but a question hangs…
Why is it that areas around art galleries tend to be lousy with restaurants, but museums tend to have push carts, food trucks, or their own joints?
Is it zoning? Size? Fear that if my man TiGeorges’ Chicken restaurant catches fire it’ll burn down The Temple of Dendur?
Or is it is simple as that museums are their own destination – often for tourists and school kids? Whereas high end galleries cater to the wealthy who can afford to pay for a fine meal to go along with the Rauschenberg they just acquired?
Or that to visit a gallery is free, while a museum trip for a couple or family of four can bust the billfold, leaving little left over except to go to the McDonald’s that is shamefully incorporated into the Air & Space Museum in D.C., or the California Science Center in L.A.’s Exposition Park?
(On second thought, fast food at science and technology museums does make sense.)
Anyway, the Torrance Civic Center has vending machines; TAM has a staff break room.
Here’s to Alpine Village opening an annex on the sculpture patio.
An Art Review
Take the 110 South towards TAM, exit at Torrance Boulevard.
What’s the can’t miss banner at the bottom of the off-ramp?
“Alpine Village.”
There’s also some accompanying text about a $19.95 champagne brunch, or something like that.
Here’s the web buzz on the Village.
And the joint’s own website, decorated pre-St.Patrick’s day with shamrocks, lays claim to being home to both Oktoberfest and weekly salsa classes. Eurozone, baby.
That Alpine sign got WIR thinking about food and the world’s great museums….
Go to the Met in New York and you’ll sit on those concrete front steps eating a hot dog or a pretzel from a cart. (Alas, health department, no more potato knishes?)
Go to the National Gallery in D.C. and sit in the European sophisticate espresso bar / fruit tart café, near where the water pours down.
As noted here, go to the Ufizzi and consume a flavor of gelato for each block along the way.
The Getty has a decent, affordable cafeteria with those killer sunset ocean views, too. Get the soup and one of those airplane bottles of wine, right?
We’ll stop here for the moment, but a question hangs…
Why is it that areas around art galleries tend to be lousy with restaurants, but museums tend to have push carts, food trucks, or their own joints?
Is it zoning? Size? Fear that if my man TiGeorges’ Chicken restaurant catches fire it’ll burn down The Temple of Dendur?
Or is it is simple as that museums are their own destination – often for tourists and school kids? Whereas high end galleries cater to the wealthy who can afford to pay for a fine meal to go along with the Rauschenberg they just acquired?
Or that to visit a gallery is free, while a museum trip for a couple or family of four can bust the billfold, leaving little left over except to go to the McDonald’s that is shamefully incorporated into the Air & Space Museum in D.C., or the California Science Center in L.A.’s Exposition Park?
(On second thought, fast food at science and technology museums does make sense.)
Anyway, the Torrance Civic Center has vending machines; TAM has a staff break room.
Here’s to Alpine Village opening an annex on the sculpture patio.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Art as Everyday
A screen grab of City of Torrance official tweets, demonstrating the interplay here between city, art, and service.
From an outsider's point-of-view, at least, being included matter-of-factly in tweets like the above could help further popularize and demystify what goes on at cultural institutions.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
MeetUp at TAM? They did.
Plus, Tom Jones and more from the World Wide Web.
MeetUp at TAM? Looks like these four women did.
Search "What's New Pussycat Torrance" and two clicks brings a surfer to, "BaldessariYourLife."
(The first click was here.)
And, before the Pussycat exhibition concludes March 5, here's a YouTube link to some singer.
Search "What's New Pussycat Torrance" and two clicks brings a surfer to, "BaldessariYourLife."
(The first click was here.)
And, before the Pussycat exhibition concludes March 5, here's a YouTube link to some singer.
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