1/10/2006
Two Shows
SFMoMA, San Francisco
Imposing Order: Some works in the exhibition employ the meticulous approach of the archivist, while others appropriate actual photographic archives. Drawn largely from SFMOMA's collection, Imposing Order includes photographs by Richard Barnes, Eve Fowler, Doug Hall, Candida Hofer, Nigel Poor, Richard Ross, Ed Ruscha, Thomas Struth, Hiroshi Sugimoto, and Larry Sultan and Mike Mandel. Mexico as Muse: Tina Modotti and Edward Weston: For a few exhilarating years in the 1920s, two of the major figures in 20th-century photography, Tina Modotti and Edward Weston, shared a passionate partnership with each other.
The ability to catalogue objects and capture exacting details has aligned the photograph with the archive. This exhibition highlights contemporary critiques of the notion of the archive, presenting artworks that explore the documentary nature of photography as well as the human compulsion to create order. Some works in the exhibition employ the meticulous approach of the archivist, while others appropriate actual photographic archives. Drawn largely from SFMOMA's collection, Imposing Order includes photographs by Richard Barnes, Eve Fowler, Doug Hall, Candida Hofer, Nigel Poor, Richard Ross, Ed Ruscha, Thomas Struth, Hiroshi Sugimoto, and Larry Sultan and Mike Mandel.
PUBLIC PROGRAMS
Discussion
The Impulse to Impose Order
Richard Barnes, artist
Erin Garcia, curatorial associate, photography, SFMOMA
Doug Hall, artist
Nigel Poor, artist
Terri Whitlock, curatorial associate, photography, SFMOMA
October 05, 2006
7:00 p.m.
Phyllis Wattis Theater
The exhibition Imposing Order presents work by contemporary photographers who examine archival practices. Diverse in approach and subject matter, these photographers share an interest in the ways in which art and artifacts are stored, catalogued, and displayed. Join artists Barnes, Hall, and Poor, along with exhibition curators Garcia and Whitlock, to discuss the archive and its relation to artistic practice.
Free with Museum admission.
*****************************************************
Mexico as Muse: Tina Modotti and Edward Weston
For a few exhilarating years in the 1920s, two of the major figures in 20th-century photography, Tina Modotti and Edward Weston, shared a passionate partnership with each other. They also shared an intense romance with photography and with Mexico, where they lived together from 1923 to 1926. At that time, Mexico was experiencing a period of political and social reinvigoration, and the vibrant cultural climate was both inspiration for and subject of their art. This exhibition includes some of the most significant photographs they made during their time in Mexico, pictures that count among the most memorable from each artist's career. Their relationship also comes alive through a trove of personal letters, postcards, and small photographs recently acquired by SFMOMA.
Tina Modotti
Portrait of Edward Weston, ca. 1924
Gelatin silver print
Collection of Susie Tompkins Buell CATALOGUE
Living in Mexico in the 1920s, Modotti and Weston were captivated by the people, politics, and activism that fueled the country’s cultural renaissance. Tina Modotti and Edward Weston: The Mexico Years traces their work in Mexico and features text by art historian Sarah M. Lowe plus 113 stunning black-and-white plates. Hardcover available for $49.95 in the MuseumStore.
INTERACTIVE FEATURE
Explore the lives of Tina Modotti and Edward Weston — two extraordinary 20th-century artists who shared a passion for photography, Mexico, and each other — and experience the vibrant cultural climate of Mexico that was both inspiration for and subject of their art. This interactive program includes film footage of Modotti and Weston, an interview with art historian Patricia Albers, and dozens of photographs and archival documents.
PUBLIC PROGRAMS
Art and Conversation
Tina Modotti in Mexico
Patricia Albers, writer and independent curator
October 27, 2006
Noon - 1:00 p.m.
Koret Visitor Education Center
Albers, author of the biography Shadows, Fire, Snow: The Life of Tina Modotti, examines Tina Modotti's activism and artistic productivity in Mexico. Albers addresses Modotti's ideology in the context of the cultural and political values espoused by many artists of the post-World War I generation.
Free with Museum admission.
...........
Free Tuesday Program
Revolution — Artistic, Personal, Political: Modotti and Weston in Mexico
Elizabeth Gand, curatorial associate, photography, SFMOMA
December 05, 2006
Noon - 1:00 p.m.
Phyllis Wattis Theater
What drew Tina Modotti and Edward Weston to Mexico? How did the country's postrevolutionary culture reorient their approaches to photography? Gand offers a closer look at the motives behind Modotti and Weston's remarkable pictures and shares insights into their joint legacy, as well as their distinctly individual careers.
Museum and program admission are free.
...........
FAMILY PROGRAMS
The Family Studio
December 17, 2006
Noon - 3:00 p.m.
Koret Visitor Education Center
SFMOMA's Family Studio explores art through hands-on projects for kids and docent-led tours. The December program addresses the power of images to tell stories, drawing on Mexico as Muse: Tina Modotti and Edward Weston to help participants create their own photo stories. The afternoon features docent-led family tours of SFMOMA's collection at 1:00 p.m and 3:00 p.m.
Free with Museum admission.
...........
ONGOING FILM AND VIDEO SCREENINGS
Tina in Mexico
By Brenda Longfellow, 2002, 60 min.
September 02, 2006 - January 02, 2007
Daily (except Wednesdays), 2:30 p.m.
From September 18 - October 31, 2006
Also on Thursdays, 7:00 p.m.
Koret Visitor Education Center
Free with Museum admission.
This exhibition includes photographs and other archival materials from Tina Modotti's personal correspondence donated by the Art Supporting Foundation, John "Launny" Steffens, Sandra Lloyd, Shawn and Brook Byers, Mr. and Mrs. George F. Jewett Jr., and anonymous donors.
Saturday, September 02, 2006 - Tuesday, January 02, 2007
SFMoMA
151 Third Street - San Francisco