Autumn exhibits bring the bling
By: Janos Gereben
Special to The Examiner
August 30, 2009
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| IF YOU GO: Cartier and America; Where: California Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park, San Francisco; When: Dec. 19 through April 18; Tickets: $20; Contact: (415) 750-3600, www.famsf.org (Courtesy Photo) |
SAN FRANCISCO — Got a hankering to see gold and jewels? Check ’em out at two exhibits on their way in The City.
The House of Cartier, which opened at 635 Fifth Ave. in New York in 1909, marks its centennial in the United States this year. The anniversary will be celebrated with “Cartier and America” at the Legion of Honor, which is curated by Fine Arts Museums’ Martin Chapman in cooperation with Cartier and the Cartier Collection in Geneva.
More than 150 objects from the “king of jewelers and jeweler to kings” — who provided celebrities from the Belle Epoque through the 1970s with their most spectacular jewels and Tank watches — will be on view.
Derived mostly from Cartier’s private collection, the show includes jewelry of the Gilded Age and Art Deco periods as well as freestanding works such as the famous mystery clocks.
Cool pieces worn by Americans — including rock crystal and diamond bracelets worn by Gloria Swanson in “Sunset Boulevard,” Daisy Fellowes’ famous tutti frutti necklace and a panther brooch made for the Duchess of Windsor — will be on view, too.
Glittering world of Siam
“Emerald Cities: Arts of Siam and Burma, 1775-1950” features more than 100 works from Thailand (Siam) and Myanmar (Burma), mostly from the Doris Duke Collection, which the Asian Art Museum acquired in 2002.
Gilded and mirrored ritual vessels, mother-of-pearl inlaid furniture and paintings will be on display in a show about a region famous for ornately carved furniture, lavishly decorated miniature shrines, gilded statues and elaborately illustrated manuscripts.
Both countries share the Buddhist tradition; curator Forrest McGill says the writings and religious thought of the period “emphasized the gorgeous, flowering, bejeweled, heavenly city of the gods. This view of a luxurious and fantastical Eden is evident through the artworks on view in the galleries.” [Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin St., S.F., Oct. 23-Jan. 10. $17. (415) 581-3500, www.asianart.org]
Pop culture on parade
Berlin-based South African artist Candice Breitz is known for her composite video portraits and installations of pop music idols in humorous, sometimes denigrating, contexts. Interestingly, her work both contributes to and fights society’s preoccupation with celebrity.
“On View: Candice Breitz” at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art beginning Oct. 1 features the U.S. premiere of “Working Class Hero (A Portrait of John Lennon),” the latest installment in Breitz’s ongoing music series. Previous pieces have focused on Bob Marley, Michael Jackson and Madonna.
For “Working Class Hero,” Breitz recruited 25 Lennon fans to perform songs from the 1970 album “John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band” in a professional recording studio.
Another work, “Mother,” a pastiche of six famous actresses’ performances in the role of a mother, reflects on the connection between “Hollywood’s representation of dysfunctional parenthood and the cultural experience of being raised on movies.” [S.F. Museum of Modern Art, 151 Third St., Oct. 1-Dec. 20. $9-$15. (415) 357- 4000, www.sfmoma.org]
Nifty images of San Francisco
Some big-name photographers’ works appear in “An Autobiography of the San Francisco Bay Area” opening at SF Camerawork.
The center for photography observes its 35th anniversary with a two-part exhibition focusing on The City — its people, places and ever-evolving cultural landscape. The first part, “San Francisco Plays Itself,” explores ways artists document their own lives and the lives of others.
Among the artists represented: Catherine Wagner, Larry Sultan, Catherine Opie, Judy Dater, Annie Leibovitz, Kota Ezawa, Jim Goldberg, Richard Misrach and John Chiara. [657 Mission St., S.F., Sept. 10-Oct. 31. $2-$5. (415) 512-2020, www.sfcamerawork.org]
THE LIST
Sausalito Art Festival
Sept. 4-10. $5-$20.
Going strong since 1952, the Labor Day art event features local and international artists displaying thousands of works — paintings, sculpture, fiber art, jewelry, glass, woodwork, ceramics and more. [Marinship Park, Marinship Way, Sausalito, (415) 331-3757, www.sausalitoartfestival.org]
Alternative Press Expo
Oct. 17-18. Price to be announced.
The little cousin to the huge Comic-Con and its Hollywood superstar connections in Southern California enjoys its lower-key indie status in the Bay Area. [Concourse Exhibition Center, 620 7th St., S.F., www.comic-con.org/ape/ape_exhib.php]
Philippe Bertho
Oct. 17. Free.
The pop illusionist comes to San Francisco in his second U.S. tour, titled “In the Mind’s Eye,” offering original paintings as well as limited edition prints. He appears at two locations at Martin Lawrence Galleries in The City. [2 to 4 p.m. at 366 Geary St., (415) 956-0345; 7 to 9 p.m. at 747 Beach St., (415) 229-2784, www.martinlawrence.com]
Passport 2009
Noon to 4 p.m. Oct. 24. $25.
The San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery inaugurates a Mission district art experience in which visitors collect original stamps created by area artists. [Home base is Mission Playground, Valencia Street between 19th and 20th streets, S.F., (415) 554-6080; www.sfartscommission.org/gallery]
Futurism’s First 100 Years
Oct. 14-18. $9-$15.
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti’s “Manifesto of Futurism,” a document published in 1909 embracing technology and modern life, is honored with a performance and lecture series dealing with futurism’s relationship to the development of innovative art forms. [S.F. Museum of Modern Art, 151 Third St., S.F., (415) 357-4000, www.sfmoma.org]
