In the Art of The Bay

Art. And the people that visit it.

Asian Art Museum: Phantoms of Asia

The Phantoms of Asia exhibit was amazing! Usually I find it hard to relate to Asian Art because it’s not my realm of “expertise,” but this exhibit made it a lot easier to follow the artist’s intent and thought process. Some of my favorites were the “Anonymity” display (Poklong Anading) and the piece “The Cult of Survival II” (Jagannath Panda).

The Cult of Survival II

The party atmosphere was also really fun for me to see. There were all sorts of people at the opening, from old hippies to young hipsters to people who just needed something to do on a Thursday night. It was a good experience for seeing all the different people who are interested in art, and to realize that there isn’t one particular “type” who goes to museums. When you gather everyone together in one space, you get to see how art can bring, really, the entire world together.

Something I’m Really Excited About

Tonight, I’m going to the Asian Art Museum’s Phantoms of Asia exhibit preview. I don’t quite know what to expect from the exhibit, but I’m always interested in the “world beyond” types of things and find that Asian spiritual rituals are often different and cool, so it should be a good experience. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to interview people as the agenda seems to include a lot of loud music and alcohol so I’ll have to check out the atmosphere first. Regardless, I think it’s an awesome opportunity to see more of who exactly the art community in SF consists of, as events like these tend to draw out the more serious museum-goers and members. Fingers crossed that it goes well!!

xo,

Madison

Kind of creepy wax figure at the Cantor Arts Center. A friend and I spent ~10 minutes trying to decide whether or not it was real. Title: Slab Man by Duane Hanson (1974-1975)

Kind of creepy wax figure at the Cantor Arts Center. A friend and I spent ~10 minutes trying to decide whether or not it was real.

Title: Slab Man by Duane Hanson (1974-1975)

Highlights Reel of Sorts: Interview Quotes

  • UC Berkeley:
  • "I've always wanted to go to this museum."
  • "If I'm travelling, I usually visit [a museum's] whole collection."
  • "We get a really diverse range of people, but I'd say there's a lot of hipster-y looking people and older, senior citizens."
  • "There's something that touches you inside of you when you see beautiful art."
  • "[Art museums] are significant because they offer an outlet for people to step away from the every day life that they're in. They get to take a refuge and take some time thinking about things... You get to use your brain in interesting ways, and I think that's one of the most important things you can do in life."
  • San Jose Museum of Art:
  • "My favorite part of the museum is the permanent collection... [specifically] William Wiley."
  • "Lately [I've seen] a lot of school groups... [And] Families bringing their children... Young people."
  • "It's very peaceful here. It's very mellow. You can figure out a lot about art here. It's a very calming place to work."
  • "You see every kind of people that are around the city."
  • De Young Museum:
  • "My sister's visiting from out of town and I wanted her to see."
  • "Whenever we go somewhere, I try to go to an art museum."
  • "[Docent-ing] is a continuous learning process... It's an ongoing educational process... Giving that information to the general public and meeting new people [is what I like best]."
  • "I see a lot of tourists, people from out of town."
  • "Usually when we go somewhere, we're going to see art museums... There were good reviews about this museum... It's a nice area in the park."
  • Cantor Arts Center:
  • "[The children I'm chaperoning] are in 5th grade, and they're supposed to go around and choose one piece from each room and draw it and then write a reflection."
  • "I think there's something about art that goes beyond reading about it and even seeing photographs in that it captures not just an expression or a moment of time but how people feel in that moment of time..."
  • "We both really have a keen interest in art, like it a lot, know the Cantor Museum, it's a great way to get to a museum without going to San Francisco. It's really great quality."
  • "It's all so magnificent, it's like comparing apples and oranges."
  • "We get a lot of people from around the world, actually. People that are here visiting for research... And then we get a lot of kids groups that come from schools for field trips."

Bests (so far):

  1. Museum for Kids: The San Jose Museum of Art
  2. Museum for Students: Cantor Arts Center
  3. Museum for 18-34: UC Berkeley Art Museum
  4. Museum for 35-50: The SF MoMA
  5. Museum for 50+: The De Young
  6. “In and Out” Experience: The De Saisset
  7. Daycation: The De Young
  8. Museum Café: SF MoMA
  9. Atmosphere: The San Jose Museum of Art
  10. Staff (friendliness and helpfulness): The De Young

Awesome outdoor art at SJ Museum of Art

Awesome outdoor art at SJ Museum of Art

The Last Few Days…

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while. School and study (and tumblr malfunctions) took up my focus the last week or so!

Anyways, here’s what I’ve been up to the past few days:

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Pictures from the MoMA that were supposed to go in the last post… Will have to figure out how this works.