The Power of Art!!!
Saw the Bruce Conner show yesterday at the deYoung in San
Francisco (not known for its contemporary exhibits, but Conner is
a "Bay Area" artist., so it fits, somehow) Can't quite speak
right since (well, did I ever?). A great show, a great
installation, and the hardbound catalogue for $65 is incredible.
The museum had run out of the hardbound ones, which are so
beautifully done, but found it at the "Green Apple Bookstore" on
Clemente. My friend touches the "green apple" on the wooden
sculpurative figure at the front of the store for luck when he
goes to and from. I decided to do the same...nice, a good
thought, a great bookstore.
This is an amazing traveling exhibit from the Walker Art Center
(you prob'ly already know that), and I believe it ends in Los
Angeles, next. What an output this man had, what an intricacy,
me...i did wooduts with a Dremel Tool, he did his Mandala imagery
with scratch over scratch over scratch of ink. So beautiful. So
meditative, becomes more and more intricate. The thing was, I
knew Bruce Conner from the "Bay Area Assemblage Movement" And if
I had not seen this exhibit, I wouldn't have seen the
progression, from assemblage, to work on paper, to photograms
(life size!!), to his amazing collage, to print, well too much to
tell about, which is so important. The catalogue is great. Get
it. It's lovely.
Um, but if you see the exhibit,
don't get stoned beforehand
you don't need to.
PK
