Guest Speaker Allison Agsten, Director of The Main Museum, Los Angeles, presented “Access and the Museum” sharing information on how the museum is engaging the public with the most important ideas of our time through the art of Los Angeles. With a residency program at its center rather than a collection, The Main forefronts artists in its work and supports wide-ranging practices from artists at all stages in their careers. After Allison’s presentation, SCWCA members were invited to share their current work.
Art at Descanso Gardens, April 21, 2018
The gathering of SCWCA Members and Friends ( L to R) Ann Storc, Danielle Eubank, Melissa Reischman, Dellis Frank, Paula Kinsel, Karen Schifman, Marie Cenkner, Ellen Freyer
January 27, 2018
Networking with SCWCA members and a special presentation by renowned printmaker Mary Sherwood Brock.
Book Reading with Jennifer Doyle
July 7, 2013
Light brunch followed by a discussion with author and feminist scholar Jennifer Doyle on her newly published book “Hold it Against Me: Difficulty and Emotion in Contemporary Art.” This Hancock Park event is free to members
“She [Doyle] provides an entirely new way of thinking about how art can, if we let it, potentially hurt, touch and transform us.” – Amelia Jones
ART MATTERS July 21, 2013
Join an Art Matters Day at the Westwood home of Rosalie Friis-Ross. The afternoon will include sharing Artist Trading Cards, viewing a video on Sarah Sze (image included), who is representing the USA at the Venice Biennale this year and a discussion led by Karen Schifman on what’s happening in museums and with gallery representation for women artists.
Hammer Screenings: Videos by Kara Walker December 11, 2011
Hammer Museum Screenings: Videos by Kara Walker
Videos will be screened continuously from 11am-2pm and from 3pm-5pm. At 2pm there will be a Hammer Conversation with Kara Walker and Hilton Als.
December 7, 2008
Information We will focus on the work of Louise Bourgeois at the next ART MATTERS GROUP potluck, discussion, and DVD viewing from 6 to 9 PM on Sunday – 12/7/08. The meeting will be at the Brentwood home of member KESA KIVEL.
Recommended film Louise Bourgeois: “The Spider, The Mistress and the Tangerine” screening (2008, 99 mins.) on Wednesday – 12/3/08 at 7 PM at the UCLA Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90024. Co-directed by Marion Cajori and Amei Wallach, the film follows the artist as she produces her work, spends time with confidants, and reflects upon the traumatic personal history that informs her art practice.
Recommended exhibition Interested members are encouraged to view the current Louise Bourgeois exhibition at MOCA Grand Avenue (opened 10/25 and runs thru 1/25/09). Spanning the distinguished career of one of the most important artists of our time, this major survey—the first tour in the United States in 25 years—presents an extensive and deeply symbolic body of work. See an impressive selection of over 150 works from the 1930s to the present—including Bourgeois’s best-known sculptures and large installations as well as early paintings and significant pieces from Los Angeles collections.
August 24, 2008
Recommended exhibitions “Contradictions and Complexities” – contemporary Indian art by women at d.e.n. contemporary art and “Western Project, Mami Wata: Arts for Water Spirits in Africa and Its Diasporas” at UCLA Fowler Museum, “Haegue Yang: Asymmetric Equality” – multimedia installation by a Korean woman artist at Redcat Theatre Gallery and “Marlene Dumas: Measuring Your Own Grave” at MOCA Grand Avenue.
March 30, 2008
Recommended exhibitions:The Goat’s Dance: Photographs by Graciela Iturbide at the J. Paul Getty Museum; Kara Walker: My Complement, My Oppressor, My Love at the UCLA Hammer Museum; Spirits of LA and Tropics: A Contemporary View of Brazil, Cuba and Haiti at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery.
October 27, 2007
Recommended exhibitions:Body Double at the Luckman Gallery/Cal State Los Angeles, Cosima Von Bonin: Roger and Out at MOCA (Grande Avenue), A Woman’s Journey: The Life and Work of Artis Lane and Blacks in and Out of the Box at the California African American Museum in Exposition Park.
Program: After discussing the four exhibitions, there will be a screening of a 60 minute video, Works by Women: From the Heart. Artists featured are Lynda Benglis, Nancy Chambers, Clyde Connell, Janet Fish, Hermine Ford, Dorothy Hood, Mary McCleary, Gail Stack and Dee Wolff.
June 10, 2007
Recommended exhibitions:Ruth Weisberg Unfurled at the Skirball Cultural Center, Identity Theft: Eleanor Antin, Lynn Hershman, Suzy Lake at the Santa Monica Museum of Art, and Women Artists of Southern California: Then + Now at Track 16 Gallery.
Program: After discussing the three exhibitions, there will be a screening of a 40 minute video, Ruth Weisberg: On the Journey by Laura Vazquez.
October 22, 2006
Recommended exhibitions:Eva Hesse: Drawing and MOCA FOCUS: Lecia Dole-Recio at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Reading: Meridel Le Sueur’s poem “Rites of Ancient Ripening,” a short essay on aging and ageism, and an article titled “The Crystal Quilt: A Performance and Its Legacy” by Patrice Clark Koelsch.
Program: There was a screening of a 44 minute video, Making the Crystal Quilt. It documented a performance which took place on Mother’s Day at the glass-covered Crystal Count commercial center in downtown Minneapolis in 1987. The 430 black-clad older women over the age of 60 who participated discussed their accomplishments and reflections on self image, sexuality, family, community, illness, invisibility and activism to an audience of 3,000 people.
June 25, 2006
Recommended exhibitions:Family Legacies: The Art of Betye, Lezley, and Alison Saar at the Pasadena Museum of California Art. This exhibition explores how a mother and two of her daughters share a passion for transforming found objects and materials into personal artworks that reflect contemporary social issues. Through the lens of their mixed ancestry, the three artists interpret aspects of family and identity, race and gender. Something to Look Forward To: Abstract Art by 22 Distinguished African Americans at the California African-American Museum in Exposition Park. This exhibition pays homage to the exceptional talent, unique vision, and courageous persistence of 22 mature visual artists who have created dynamic abstract images and objects during extended and successful careers. Although only five of the artists are women, it is possible to see their work within the context of their peers and in relation to the Family Legaciesexhibition.
Reading: A chapter titled “The Image” from a new book by Lisa E. Farrington – Creating Their Own Image: The History of African–American Women Artists (Oxford University Press, 2005).
Program: After discussing the two exhibitions and the related book chapter, there will be a viewing of a 30 minute video, Betye and Alison Saar: Conjure Women of the Arts.
February 12, 2006
Recommended exhibitions:Contemporary Soliloquies on the Natural World (Karen Carson, Merion Estes, Constance Mallinson, Margaret Nielsen, Takako Yamaguchi) at USC Fisher Gallery, Meditations on the Natural World by Linda Vallejo at the Natural History Museum in Exposition Park, and AOR – A Solo Exhibition by Lita Albuquerque at The Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art at Pepperdine University.
Reading: Two articles which address current trends in the representation and collection of work by women artists: “The Art World’s Feminine Side” from the August/September 2005 issue of ART-TALK and “The X Factor” from the May 5, 2005 issue of The New York Times.
Program: We launched the year with a special event—attending a matinee performance of Permanent Collection at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. Thomas Gibbon’s award-winning drama examines how a revered collection becomes the focus of a battle over race, history, and culture. This play parallels the history of the Barnes Collection and its eccentric founder. The performance was followed by a post-play discussion at Karen Jacobson’s house.
