|
de Young Celebrates Artist-in-Residence Lise Swenson
11/18/2005 Friday, 25 November 2005 San Francisco, 15 November 2005--The de Young museum celebrates the culmination of Lise Swenson’s project “Questions” and “Answers” with a reception on Friday, 25 November 2005. As the inaugural artist-in-residence at the new de Young, Swenson’s video art incorporated opening preparations and celebrations in an exploration of the role of museums in contemporary culture.
“Questions” and “Answers”
Presented in two parts, Lise Swenson’s project includes “Questions,” a 20-minute documentary on view through daily screenings in the Koret Auditorium, and “Answers,” an installation in the Kimball Education Gallery. “This work was my way of thinking about and contemplating the role of the fine arts museum in contemporary culture,” said Swenson.
“Questions” includes artist interviews and performances. In addition, as part of the project, Swenson organized a panel discussion about the role of museums, held at the LAB and moderated by Glen Helfand, between Fine Arts Museums staff Harry Parker, Director of Museums, and Timothy Anglin Burgard, Curator in Charge of American Art, and Chair of Museum Studies, John F. Kennedy University, Marjorie Schwarzer, and artist Andy Cox.
In “Answers,” Swenson has constructed a 30 monitor video installation in the de Young’s Kimball Gallery. During the museum’s opening weeks, Swenson conducted interviews with over 600 visitors of all ages. She asked questions about museums: “Who do they belong to? Whose point of view is represented? Are they important?” She then edited the interviews and installed them onto monitors according to the participants’ height, creating a cascade of talking heads sculptures ranging in height from 4’ to 6’4”.
The Kimball Education Gallery and Artist Studio Program
Located in the de Young museum’s admission free zone, the Kimball Education Gallery serves as an orientation space for visitors of all ages. A flexible space within the museum, this gallery explores the context surrounding works of art and engages visitors directly in the creative process.
The Artist Studio Program provides public access to the intimacy of an artist’s studio. Each month, the de Young invites a different Bay Area artist to use the Kimball Education Gallery as their studio. The first of its kind in an American art museum, this program allows artists-in-residence to work and interact with the public as they prefer: setting up workshops or demonstrations, transforming the gallery space as their work develops, or involving visitors through direct participation.
Lise Swenson
Lise Swenson is a filmmaker, artist, and educator who has been deeply involved with media arts in the Bay Area since the early 1980s. She views storytelling and art as powerful tools for cultural shift and social change; and sees her work as directly involved in forging new ways of seeing and believing. In 1984 she co-founded ATA, (Artists’ Television Access), a non-profit media arts access and education facility. She also served for many years on the Film Arts Foundation board, the ATA board, and was a member of the SF Art Institute Artists’ Committee. In 1995, Swenson founded TILT (Teaching Intermedia Literacy Tools), a nonprofit that teaches the fundamentals of media literacy and moviemaking to youth. Swenson’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. She has received numerous awards, including a 1999 San Francisco Bay Guardian Goldie Award for outstanding achievement in film and video. Swenson was also the recipient of a Creative Work Fund grant for her first social justice feature film, “Mission Movie”, a fictional adaptation of true life stories from San Francisco’s Mission District. In addition to her residency at the de Young, Swenson is currently working with artist Lynn Hershman on the film “Strange Culture.”
About the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
The de Young museum and its sister museum, the Legion of Honor, together comprise the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the largest public arts institution in the city and one of the largest art museums in the United States.
The Legion of Honor is located in San Francisco's Lincoln Park (34th Avenue and Clement Street). Its collections span 4000 years and include major holdings in Rodin sculpture; paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, Watteau, de la Tour, Vigée Le Brun, Cézanne, Monet, and Picasso, among other Dutch, Italian, German, English, and French masters; a 15th-century Spanish ceiling, European decorative arts, tapestries, and over 70,000 prints and drawings.
Founded in 1895 in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, the de Young museum has been an integral part of the cultural fabric of the city and a cherished destination for millions of residents and visitors to the region for over 100 years. In October 2005, the de Young reopened in a state-of-the-art new building and attracted more than 50,000 visitors during its opening weekend. Designed by the Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron and Fong & Chan Architects in San Francisco, the new de Young provides San Francisco with a landmark art museum to showcase the museum’s significant collections of American art from the 17th through the 20th centuries, art from Central and South America, and from the Pacific and Africa, as well as an important and diverse collection of textiles.
Museum Hours:
Tuesday-Sunday: 9:30 a.m.-5:15 p.m.
Friday: Open until 8:45 p.m.
Admission Fees:
Adults $10, Seniors $7, Youth 13-17 and college students with ID $6 Children 12 and under FREE
First Tuesday of Each Month FREE
Muni visitor discount (with fast pass or transfer) $2 DISCOUNT
Admission for museum members is always FREE.
de Young
Golden Gate Park
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 863-3330
www.deyoungmuseum.org
|
