I made a visit to the Oakland
Museum today. I was aware they were
having a special exhibit where they had borrowed work from the SFMOMA while that
museum is closed and under reconstruction and expansion. I assumed it was work I had seen before and
was not expecting anything special – oh how silly of me. Once again, the Oakland Museum has done an
amazing job. They have integrated their
own work and included rarely seen work from both museums’ collection. Some of the work has never been exhibited before.
The exhibit, titled Fertile
Ground: Art and Community in California is the big don’t miss
museum show in the Bay Area right now.
There are four components to the show.
It begins with the 1930’s including WPA art, murals and political work influenced
by the San Francisco General Strike of 1934.
The SFMOMA’s Frida Kahlo portrait of her and Diego Rivera looks better
than ever and is finally show in context.
After the first section, you pass into the postwar years. You cross over from Telegraph Hill to North
Beach and are immersed in the world of the California School of Fine Arts, Rothko,
Diebenkorn, Cunningham et al. Next it’s
up to UC Davis circa 1970 when that little agriculture state university became
the epicenter of contemporary art in the Western U.S. The final component of the show takes viewers
to the 1990’s and includes an emphasis on political activism. There is a series of videos of different
demonstrations and political actions back then.
The videos got me all excited when I realized I was at many of those
demos. I have to go and watch them again
and look for myself on the walls of the museums. I already spotted a few people I know.
The show runs through
April 12, 2015 and I’ll be back to look a few more times before then.
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