DISPATCH - May 3, 2012 (5:10 p.m.)
SOUTHAMPTON, NY
Interested in the Los Angeles art scene? The Parrish Art Museum has plenty of ways to discover the artists and the influences that launched international careers and gave rise to feminist art. Artist talks, lectures and a documentary are rolling out this week at the Southampton museum.
The programs offer multiple opportunities to gain insight into the art exhibited in "EST-3: Southern California in New York--Los Angeles art from the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection." The show presents a curated selection of the extensive DeWoody art collection. The show spans 40 years of art appearing in the L.A. art scene from the late forties to mid-eighties.
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'Same Difference" by Frederick Hammersley, 1959. Oil on linen, 12 x 8.5 inches. Photo: Gary Mamay.
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On tap tonight is "The Cool School" (or How LA Learned to Love Modern Art) is being screened tonight (May 3) at 7:30 p.m.
Tomorrow afternoon (May 4) launches "Fridays at Noon." For the next three Fridays, select East End artists will discuss the artwork in the exhibition with Alicia Longwell, the museum's Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Chief Curator, Art and Education. Mary Heilmann and Ned Smyth get things started.
On Sat night (May 5) at 6:30 p.m., author Gail Levin presents a lecture "1960s Los Angeles and the Birth of Feminist Art."
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"Interlocking Forms" by Karl Benjamin, 1959. Oil on canvas, 30 1/2 x 20 1/3 inches. Photo: Gary Mamay.
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"Lux III" by Larry Bell. Multiple, silkscreen, mirror and canvas, 36 x 36 inches. Photo: Gary Mamay.
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"EST-3: Southern California in New York--Los Angeles art from the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection" is a reaction to the J. Paul Getty Museum's series of over 60 exhibitions across Southern California that considers the "emergence of Los Angeles as an art center," according to the Parrish Art Museum. "EST-3" has the advantage of being presented outside the area it reveals. This results in a presentation of a survey of LA art that isn't influenced by backyard art world drama, according to The Parrish.
The exhibition is curated by David Pagel, a Parrish Art Museum adjunct curator who's based in Los Angeles. His selections capture the beginnings of what transformed into an explosive art scene, according to an exhibition release.
Exhibiting artists include David Hockney, John McLaughlin, Ed Ruscha, Dennis Hopper, Helen Pashgian, Beatrice Wood, John Baldessari, Guy de Cointet and others.
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"The Block Head" by Edward Kienholz and Nancy Reddin Kienholz, 1981. Concrete block, Fresnel lens system, wood, leather and transistor radio, 12 1/2 x 8 1/2 x 12 1/4 inches. Photo: Gary Mamay.
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"Untitled" by Craig Kauffman, 1968. Acrylic and lacquer on vacuum-formed Plexiglas, 34 x 56 1/2 by 11 1/2 inches. Photo: Gary Mamay.
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"Sandy" by Tony Berlant, 1964. Printed metal, brads and wood, 37 1/2 x 19 x 19 inches. Photo: Gary Mamay.
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DeWoody began collecting art that caught her eye and her pastime turned into an addiction, she said during a talk that opened the exhibition.
DeWoody may be unusual in that all of the art collection is display in her homes. "I love living with art," she said. "I love learning how they function and relate to the other pieces."
Many of the artworks DeWoody collected are from artists she met through her mother, DeWoody said. Early abstraction interested her immediately and she started making purchases.
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"Cargo Cult" by Martha Rosler (from the series 'Beauty Knows No Pain, or Body Beautiful'), 1965-1974. Photomontage, 40 x 30 inches. Photo: Gary Mamay.
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"EST-3: Southern California in New York--Los Angeles art from the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection" presents the art in a framework of people, places and things. This arranges the expansive holdings into a viewer-friendly experience. Artworks include paintings, drawings, mixed media, sculpture, photography and printmaking.
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"Untitled (Mullican Poster)" by Matt Mullican, 1982. Lead paint on paper, 62 x 43 inches. Photo: Gary Mamay.
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DeWoody's own thoughts on the exhibition and the process of putting it together was captured on a video that's posted on the museum's website.
BASIC FACTS: "EST-3: Southern California in New York--Los Angeles art from the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection" is on view through June 17, 2012 at The Parrish Art Museum, 25 Jobs Lane, Southampton, NY. http://parrishart.org/
Exhibition Tours take place on Saturdays at 2 p.m.
The Cool School" (or How LA Learned to Love Modern Art) is being screened tonight (May 3) at 7:30 p.m.
"1960s Los Angeles and the Birth of Feminist Art" will be presented by Gail Levin on Sat (May 5) at 6:30 p.m. Levin is the author of "Lee Krasner: A Biography"; "Becoming Judy Chicago: A Biography of the Artist"; and "Edward Hopper: An Intimate Biography."
Fridays at Noon in May feature East End artists discussing "EST-3: Southern California in New York - Los Angeles Art from the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection" with Alicia Longwell, the museum's Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Chief Curator, Art and Education. Programs begin at noon. Here's the speaker schedule: May 4 - Mary Heilmann and Ned Smyth. May 11 - Almond Zigmund. May 18 - Peter Schlesinger. Bring a lunch. Beverages will be provided.
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