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San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Artists Gallery, Building A
It is never easy to write about art. It is too subjective, too much a case of “I don’’t know anything about art, but I know what I like (or don’t like).” “Beyond Boundaries,” the show of multidisciplinary work at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) Artists Gallery could easily fall victim to such sentiments. There are those who loathe installation art. It is too amorphous, too difficult to pin down. No figures to admire, no landscapes to dream into. It is all concept and thought.
Of her work, Marta Sanchez-Vasquez, one of the exhibiting artists, says, “My work is rooted in conceptualism, and minimalism.” She continues, “My art explores life’s transitions — the dynamics of conflict, change in personal relations, translations of place and the passage of time.” A visit to her web site reveals an amazing array of diverse images and ideas.
The work of another artist, Joe Mangrum, explores the juxtaposition of modern life with our organic natures. Mangrum often employs iconographic and spiritual forms, such as mandalas or pyramids, in unusual ways. Scott MacLeod, whose installations take many forms, also sculpts, paints, writes fiction and poetry, and does performance art. His web curriculum vitae runs for four pages of single-spaced text.
It is as if all these artists have so much going on inside their heads that they cannot get it out fast enough.
And perhaps that is the appeal of installation/conceptual art. There is a spontaneity and a freshness to it. Even work that requires many hours of construction can have a slapdash look. It is work caught in the immediacy of the moment — a manifestation of an artistís feelings or memories, with a complete lack of preciousness. It speaks to now.
“Beyond Boundaries: Multidisciplinary work by Ruth Boerefijn, Scott MacLeod, Joe Mangrum, Carol Newborg, and Marta Sanchez-Vasquez” runs from June 7 to 30, with a reception for the artists on June 7. See June 7 for more information. Visit www.sfmoma.org/museumstore/artists_overview.html for more information about the SFMOMA Artists Gallery
– Jovanne Reilly
Photo: “Dartboards” by Scott MacLeod
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