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Inside Out Issue 6

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WINTER/SPRING 2012 INSIDE | OUT A NEW STATE OF MIND AT THE OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA ALL OF US OR NONE THE ENDURING RELEVANCE OF POLITICAL POSTERS WEARABLE ART MARGARET DE PATTA’S TRAILBLAZING JEWELRY A NEW VIEW OF THE YEAR . THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING . 1968
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Page 1: Inside Out Issue 6

w i n t e r / s p r i n g 2 0 1 2

InsIde | Outa ne w state of mind at the Oakl and museum Of califOrnia

all of us or none

the enduring relevance of

political posters

wearable art

margaret de patta’s

trailblazing jewelry

a new view Of the year.

that changed everything. 1968

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Dear Members and Fellow Citizens!

In the coming months, the Oakland Museum of California will present a number of exhibitions that provide opportunities for historical reflection on the intersection of culture and social activ-ism, as well as chances to consider the continued relevance today of issues of identity, justice, and citizen participation.

Opening in January is Question Bridge: Black Males, a multi-platform conversation about Black male identity. This topic, of course, has an important national as well as local context, and we are pleased to partner with distinguished artists Chris Johnson and Hank Willis Thomas; a national team of educators and advi-sors; and the Brooklyn Museum of Art, which will present the exhibition during the same period as OMCA.

A few weeks later, we will open The 1968 Exhibit, a first-of-its-kind partnership between four history museums that collaborated on an exhibition with deep resonance in the four cities: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Chicago, Atlanta, and Oakland. For anyone who lived through 1968 and remembers that year’s life-changing events, the exhibition will not only stir memories but inspire comparisons to our world today. Accompanying The 1968 Exhibit is a presentation of highlights from our recent acquisition of the All Of Us Or None archive of some 23,000 political posters. Like Question Bridge, this show explores art-making in the service of activism and under-scores the trajectory of political action over the decades.

Accompanying these exhibitions will be public programs focused on issues raised in the shows—as well as events in our own back-yard. And in case you want to take your mind off politics, you can choose to enjoy the striking beauty of the jewelry of Margaret De Patta. This exhibition, too, represents an important partnership with the Museum of Art and Design in New York, with which we’ve undertaken this first major examination of De Patta’s work. We are most grateful for the support of you, our Members. Your involvement is critical to making possible the dynamic level of activity reflected in these pages. We hope you begin 2012 by visiting our galleries and becoming inspired by the historic events happening today—and yesterday.

All best for the new year!

Lori FogartyDirector and CEO

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CONTENTS |

Inside Out is published three times a year by

the Oakland Museum of California,

1000 Oak Street, Oakland, CA 94607.

museumca.org. ©2012.

Editor: Kelly A. Koski

Contributors: Lori Fogarty, Maggie R. Pico,

Dave Gottwald, Sunny Green, Gail Bernstein

Produced by: Diablo Custom Publishing

dcpubs.com

The Story of California. The Story of You.

Oakland Museum of California

features101968: The Year That Rocked Our World

A new look at the explosive events—many of which occurred in California—of the year that forever transformed society.

14All Of Us Or None This compelling collection of social justice posters has a

profound resonance with today’s protest movements.

departments4 Gallery NewsCalifornia: To Be Continued... looks at our recent past, the gallery of California Natural Sciences partners with the YMCA of the East Bay, and a beloved Diebenkorn travels to Europe.

6 Thought LeadersFilmmaker and Webby Awards founder Tiffany Shlain shares her views on our relentlessly plugged-in world.

8 Dynamic DesignThe jewelry of trailblazing designer Margaret De Patta reflects her passion for Constructivist art and architecture.

16 ExplorationsQuestion Bridge: Black Males is a provocative conversation among African American men about their race and identity.

17 Member EventsOMCA Members enjoy exclusive discounts, guided tours, and sneak previews.

18 CalendarA guide to OMCA’s exhibitions, events, and programs.

In the midst of his campaign for the presidency, Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles in June 1968.

Margaret De Patta, Produc-tion Pin #4, 1946–57. Sterling silver.

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| gALLERY NEWS

Fresh PerspectivesOMCA’s galleries expand their offerings, connect with the community, and forge international partnerships

The Gallery of California HistoryA FREsH LOOk AT OUR RECENT PAsTA dynamic new section of the History gallery, called California: To Be Continued…, invites visitors to consider the breakthroughs, trends, and stereotypes that have defined California over the past thirty-five years.

With interactive elements and walk-through environments, California: To Be Continued… takes on a multitude of timely and transformative subjects. In one walk-in installation—modeled after a Silicon valley garage—visitors can explore recent advances in high tech. Another section, called Negotiating the Border, examines immigration from a variety of perspectives. A provocative installation called Influencing the World? reflects upon how California has been the birthplace of countless ideas that have had global reverberations. From computer animation to Burning Man to the Edible Schoolyard, the themes explored in Influencing the World? suggest that California is an unparalleled hotbed of innovative thinking.

And what better way to contemplate California’s recent past than in—no, we’re not kidding—a hot tub? visitors are encour-aged to enter our new (waterless) hot tub lounge, complete with an umbrella, towels, and flip-flops, and soak up the golden State’s unique cultural contributions.

A FAMILY AFFAIR When the new gallery of California Natural Sciences reopens in 2012, parts of it will have a homemade feel, thanks to a recent partnership with the YMCA of the East Bay. With the YMCA’s assistance, thirteen local families, working with artist Helena Keefe, took field trips around Oakland to places like Lake Merritt and Joaquin Miller Park, and created artworks based on their experiences. Their works will be included in a new exhibit on Oakland—one of seven California hot spots of biodiversity to be featured in the gallery. The partnership with the YMCA also includes OMCA staff visiting the downtown Oakland YMCA to get input on future exhibits, and bringing exhib-its or hands-on experiments to kids at YMCA camps. T

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A young member of the YMCA of the East Bay enjoys Oakland’s bounty.

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gALLERY NEWS |

A bELOvED DIEbENkORN PAINTING TRAvELs TO ITALYThese days, curators of the gallery of California Art are particularly proud of what isn’t there. Richard Diebenkorn’s Ocean Park No. 107 is currently on loan to the genova Palazzo Ducale Fondazione per la Cultura in genoa, Italy, where it will be on view through April 15, 2012. Diebenkorn is one of the most important California artists of the twentieth century, but he is not as well known abroad. That’s why OMCA’s curators are thrilled with the chance to lend this painting to an international museum. “We believe sharing the work of great California artists with other institutions to be one of OMCA’s most important responsibilities,” says OMCA Director and CEO Lori Fogarty.

NEW WAYs TO PURCHAsE PRINTs OF OMCA ARTWORksThe OMCA Store has recently joined the 1000Museums custom archival print and fine art poster program, making it easier than ever for art lovers to order prints of works in OMCA’s collection. Beginning this spring, you can access the collection online via a touch-screen kiosk in the OMCA Store, which allows you to order a custom archival print, add a mat and frame, and have it delivered to your home. Museum visitors can also order prints from a selection of inventory carried in the Store. Watch for an announcement on the launch of 1000Museums at OMCA in an upcoming eNewsletter.

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Richard Diebenkorn, Ocean Park No. 107, 1978. Oil on canvas.

IN MEMORIAMIt is with great sadness that the Oakland Museum of California marks the recent passing of Ira Michael Heyman, former chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley; former secretary of the Smithso-nian Institution; and great friend to OMCA. Mike’s late wife, Therese Thau Heyman, was the senior curator of photography and prints at the Museum for more than three decades and was largely responsible for building OMCA’s extraordinary photography collection, including the Dorothea Lange Archive. Many works from the Lange collec-tion can be seen in the section of the gallery of California Art named in Therese’s honor and made possible by generous gifts from friends and family. We mourned Therese’s loss in 2004. Despite her passing, Mike remained very involved at the Museum, serving as honorary chair of our successful Museum of California Campaign that raised $65 million in support of building enhance-ments and gallery transformations. Both Mike and Therese were true pillars of the American museum and academic com-munities, and we honor their memories and their legacies.

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6 O A K L A N D M U S E U M O F C A L I F O R N I A

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A Conversation with tiffany Shlain |thE BAy AREA FILMMAKER AND CREAtOR

OF thE WEBBy AWARDS DISCUSSES hER NEW MOvIE, CONNECtED, WhICh ExAMINES thE BESt AND WORSt OF OUR pLUggED-IN WORLD.

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thOUght LE ADERS |

Q | Your film clearly shows how technology is a great thing that can change the world by con-necting us but that it’s also important to disconnect. How do you reconcile those things?A | I’m wrestling with it. The goal of the film is to trigger a global conversation about what it means to be connected in the twenty-first century: the good, the bad, and the hope. The film has all of those things. The goal of the project is to have people reflect and explore what it means to them.

Q | Your family takes a “technol-ogy Shabbat,” when you unplug from everything from Friday night to Saturday night. How has that changed you?A | It’s so wonderful. It’s been profound and life changing. You have to have boundaries, and your friends and family understand you are completely present with the people you love. I read. I write in my journal. I garden. I spend time with my family.

Q | Why do you think people get so addicted to their phones and email?A | Oxytocin is a hormone that re-leases a sense of bonding and love. Mothers feel a lot of oxytocin when they are breast-feeding. There have been studies indicating that you get a hit of oxytocin when you get a Tweet or an email or a text. That is the positive side. Studies have also shown that when we are seeking information, when it’s late at night and you’re on your com-puter and you know you should go to bed but you can’t pull away, it’s because you are getting hits of dopamine. Normally, that’s as-sociated with sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll. It’s very biological why we can’t get off-line and why we are addicted. I used to be a smoker. I’m not anymore, but I feel the same kind of addicted qualities.

Q | How do you think technology is helping us use our brains bet-ter collectively?A | We created these comput-ers, and now we are connecting all these computers to have new thoughts that we couldn’t even imagine. We are entering a whole new part of human evolution in the way we think, the way we have access to ideas like never before. If we can be mindful and conscious of the way we use it, we can poten-tially go to a whole new place in the way our society exists.

Q | If you could change one thing about the way people use the Internet and social media, what would it be?A | To know when to turn it off.

If you’ve ever found yourself reflexively checking your smartphone every five

minutes or surfing the web deep into the night, you know exactly what Tiffany

Shlain was exploring with her recent film, Connected: An Autoblogography

about Love, Death & Technology. An award-winning filmmaker and one of

Newsweek’s Women Shaping the Twenty-First Century, Shlain crafted a movie

that is part history lesson and part memoir. Shlain, who will speak at OMCA’s

Leader Lunch on February 6, watched her father lose his battle with cancer

while she was pregnant, a personal roller coaster that serves as a backdrop for

a look at how our online interdependence is both a blessing and a curse.

Leader Lunch with Tiffany ShlainTickets to attend this special event on Monday, February 6, from 11:30 am to 2 pm, are available to Members of OMCA’s Donor Forum. For more information or to upgrade your membership to the Donor Forum Level to join this event, contact Emily Macenko at 510-318-8502.

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If we take it for granted today that handcrafted jewelry is a wearable art form, it’s due in no small measure to the trailblazing vision of artist Margaret De patta.

A leading figure in the American studio jewelry move-ment of the mid-twentieth century, De patta created strikingly modern pieces that reflected her enthusiasm for Constructivist art and architecture. For De patta, who lived in the Bay Area from 1923 until her death in 1964, jewelry had to be more than mere adornment. It had to meet her exacting aesthetic standards and function as dynamic sculptural pieces, with clean lines, layered materials, and light-refracting properties. OMCA is proud to have the largest collection of De patta’s work in the world, much of it donated by the artist’s husband, Eugene Bielawski.

Now, visitors to OMCA’s gallery of California Art can see her work up close in Space-Light-Structure: the Jewelry of Margaret De patta, on view from February 4 through May 13, 2012. presented in conjunction with the Museum of Arts and Design in New york, the exhibition features more than sixty pieces of jewelry as well as ceramics, photograms, and other works by the artist. In addition, the exhibition will display work by modernists who influenced De patta, notably László Moholy-Nagy, the Bauhaus artist with whom she studied in the 1940s.

Much of the jewelry on display will be examples of

MetalUrges

The exquisite jewelry of midcentury modernist

Margaret De Patta is the focus of a new retrospective at OMCA

what De patta called “opticuts”—semiprecious stones that she cut to maximize their ability to refract or distort light. “previously, the goal of gem cutting had been to enhance sparkle and brilliance,” explains Julie Muñiz, associate curator of design and decorative arts, who co-curated the exhibition. “De patta broke with that con-vention. She wanted to manipulate the optical qualities of stones so they would change in different light and as the wearer moved.”

De patta has since become an icon for generations of forward-thinking jewelry artists. “De patta felt that design should have an intellectual purpose and not just look pretty,” says Muñiz. “She paved the way for the jewelry of today.”

Space-Light-Structure: The Jewelry of Margaret De Patta is made possible in part by support from the Terra Foundation for American Art, the Rotasa Foun-dation; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Center for Craft, Creativity & Design at the University of North Carolina, Asheville; and individual donors David Charak II, Dr. Alberto Eiber and Mrs. Kim Eiber, Phyllis Levine, and Florence Resnikoff. The OMCA presentation is made possible by additional support from the Oakland Museum Women’s Board and the OMCA Art Guild.

Margaret De patta, whose prolific career spanned four decades, had a profound influence on contemporary jewelry design.

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In the OMCA Store

Jewelry CollectionsContemporary designer holly Rittenhouse creates distinctive pieces with an architectural sensibility. Look for her jewelry, inspired by midcentury modernism, in the OMCA Store.

the store will also host trunk shows of works by local jewelry artists on February 11 (Member Appre-ciation Day) and May 6. Look for pieces by philippa Roberts, Mark poulin, Molly Mcgrath, and others.

Exhibition Catalogthe OMCA Store offers Space-Light-Structure: the Jewelry of Margaret De patta, by Ursula Neuman and Julie Muñiz.

“Previously, the goal of gem cutting had been to enhance sparkle and brilliance,” explains Curator Julie Muñiz. “De Patta broke with that conven-tion. She wanted to manipulate the optical qualities of stones so they would change in different light and as the wearer moved.” Pendant, 1959.

White gold, ebony, quartz crystal.

Production Pin #4, 1946–57. Sterling silver.

Page 10: Inside Out Issue 6

Join us for a special exhibition that revisits the year that shattered dreams, promised revolutions, and transformed society

The year ThaT rocked our world1968T hey say that if you can remember the ’60s,

you weren’t really there. But anyone who lived

through 1968 will never forget those explosive

twelve months. In one short year, the escalating Viet-

nam War met with massive antiwar protests; Martin

Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassi-

nated; students rioted nationwide; and the Black Pan-

thers, feminists, hippies, and yippies overturned the

status quo. There were happenings and sit-ins, lunar

missions and loony TV shows, Soul on Ice and Stand

by Your Man.

Now, a new exhibition invites everyone—those who

were there, those who can’t remember, and those

born afterward—to explore how ’68 was a social, po-

litical, and cultural watershed. The 1968 Exhibit is a

not-to-be-missed journey back in time, replete with in-

teractive multimedia elements, including psychedelic

music, TV broadcasts, and 3-D environments. The ex-

hibition also serves as a potent reminder of how the

Bay Area was central to the upheavals that defined

1968. To tell these stories, OMCA has lent many items

from its own collections to The 1968 Exhibit.

Jimi Hendrix, shown on the cover of his album Axis: Bold as Love, was one of the most influential rock stars of the era.

One year before he was slain, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke against the war in Vietnam at the University of Minnesota.

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The 1968 exhibitMarch 31–august 19, 2012

Organized by the Minnesota

Historical Society in partnership

with the Atlanta History Center, the

Chicago History Museum, and the

Oakland Museum of California. The

1968 Exhibit is supported in part

by the National Endowment for the

Humanities, the Institute of Mu-

seum and Library Sciences, and the

Oakland Museum Women’s Board.

Above: Nixon supporters at the 1968 Republican National Convention in Miami. Left: Patched jeans made by a flower child of the ’60s.

On college campuses across the country, students dem-onstrated against a variety of social and political issues, including the United States’ involvement in Vietnam.

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THE LEFT COAST IN 1968When The 1968 Exhibit comes to California, it will be coming home, in a sense, because no state was more central to the themes and events of that turbulent year than the Golden State

“T he events of 1968 had a huge effect on California’s history,”

says Senior Curator of History Louise Pubols, who organized

OMCA’s presentation of The 1968 Exhibit. “The San Francisco

Bay Area became a hotbed of the counterculture movement, with people

congregating here from all over the country. Robert Kennedy was assas-

sinated in Los Angeles; and the Black Panthers became a force to be reck-

oned with. This exhibition reinforces OMCA’s commitment to telling the

many stories of the people and events that contribute to California’s col-

lective heritage.”

Many of the most indelible images from the game-changing year of

1968—off-the-grid hippies, rioting students, militant activists—came out

of northern California, where fomenting change was the order of the day.

The Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, which had become a

focal point of hippie culture during the Summer of Love a year earlier, re-

mained the de facto capital of the movement in 1968.

Across the Bay at UC Berkeley, the aftershocks of the Free Speech

Movement sparked countless protests and demonstrations relating to

events around the world, including a 2,000-person rally in June. Police es-

calated crowd-control tactics to unprecedented levels, arresting hundreds

of students.

In Oakland, the Black Panthers continued to mobilize their demands

for civil rights and the abolition of police brutality. The violence associated

with members of the group often overshadowed their social contributions

to the underserved African American community, such as the Free Break-

fast for Children program.

But perhaps the most shocking flash point of 1968 in California oc-

curred on June 5, when presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy was assas-

sinated in Los Angeles, just after winning the state’s Democratic presiden-

tial primary.

The 1968 Exhibit captures

these and other life-changing

narratives that help tell the

story of California.

In 1968, Apollo 8 gave mankind its first look at the Earth as a whole planet. One year later, men walked on the moon.

Robert Kennedy, the younger brother of slain president John F. Kennedy, was mounting his own bid for the White House when he was assassinated in Los Angeles in June 1968.

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CALIFORNIA MOMENTS IN 1968

February 12 Eldridge Cleaver, a prominent member of the Oak-land-based Black Panthers, publishes Soul on Ice, which becomes one of the most influential books of the Black Liberation Movement.

march 10 Labor organizer César Chávez ends a twenty-five-day fast in protest of violence against striking migrant farmworkers.

april 4 Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, Tennes-see, sparking national riots, including many in the Bay Area.

july 16 In San Francisco, Bill graham opens the Fillmore West in the former Carousel Ballroom; the venue quickly becomes the West Coast mecca for the biggest rock bands of the day.

october 1 Bay Area visionary Stewart Brand publishes the Whole Earth Catalog, a counterculture bible that inspired a generation of in-novators, including Steve Jobs, who likened it to “google in paperback form, thirty-five years before google came along.”

november 6 Protesters begin a strike at San Francisco State Uni-versity that will go on for five months. The strike leads to the estab-lishment of the College of Ethnic Studies and inspires ethnic studies programs at universities throughout the country.

december 9 Inventor Douglas Engelbart and fellow researchers unveil their “writing machine”—the world’s first word processor—at Stanford University.

In the oMca StoreWant a taste of ’68? Try Burn Baby Burn: A Revolutionary Hot Sauce, a spicy condiment that conjures up the fiery passion of the Black Panthers. Or relive the thrills of the Apollo space program with Astro-naut Ice Cream, a freeze-dried treat that needs no refrigeration.

Exhibition CatalogThe 1968 Project: A Nation Coming of Age, by Brad Zellar

1968 in oMca’s collectionsHighlights include:

• A first edition of Eldridge Cleav-er’s Soul on Ice can be found in the gallery of California History.

• Sam Durant’s Proposal for a Monument to Huey Newton at the Alameda County Courthouse, Oakland, CA is on view in the gal-lery of California Art.

• Forces of Change, in the gallery of California History, illuminates California between 1960 and 1975.

Black Panthers march to protest the trial of Huey P. Newton for slaying an Oakland police officer, Alameda County Courthouse, July 17, 1968.

Look for the 1968 icon in the gal-

leries of California Art and History

to learn more about 1968 through

OMCA’s permanent collections.

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One day in 1977, Michael Rossman was trying to

explain the tumult of the 1960s to several young

people, so he pulled out a handful of the politi-

cal posters he had ac-

cumulated. Then it hit

him: Rossman, one of the

leaders of the Free Speech Movement at UC Berkeley in

the ’60s, had the seeds of an important collection, one

that had been ignored by historians.

“He realized they were great tools for teaching,”

says Rossman’s longtime friend Lincoln Cushing. “He

started dumpster diving and visiting artists. He didn’t

have a lot of money. He was a broke hippie. But he was

passionate about this. He started painstakingly build-

ing this collection.”

The All Of Us Or None (AOUON) collection has grown

to be one of the largest collections of its kind in the

nation, comprising some 23,500 posters that span fifty

years. After Rossman’s

death in 2008, the col-

lection was donated to the Oakland Museum of California,

and now a portion of that collection will be on display from

March 31 to August 19, 2012. The exhibition will be on view

concurrently with The 1968 Exhibit.

“Even though many people think this collection is

nostalgic, it represents a movement that continues to

this day,” says Cushing, the guest curator of the exhibi-

tion. “People who were making posters in 1969 are still

All Of Us Or NONe: sOciAl JUstice POsters Of the sAN frANciscO BAy AreA

A new exhibit explores the enduring power of progressive posters

Top to bottom: Robert Bechtle, Back to skool week—again, 1969. Frank Cieciorka, Stop the Draft Week Rally: Provo Park, 1967. Jelly-roll Press, Wong-Allen design, West Coast Sky Scapes, circa 1969.

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Page 15: Inside Out Issue 6

making posters now. When you look at this collection,

you realize it’s an unbroken span. It’s not just a bunch of

old posters.” Indeed, one need look no further than the

Occupy Oakland movement—and its counterparts in cit-

ies throughout the world—to appreciate the relevance of

this collection.

Sixty-eight posters will be on display in the Museum,

and more can be viewed via an electronic database,

searchable by year and topic. The exhibition will also

feature a screen-printing table that allows visitors to see

how posters are made.

Cushing is certain that visitors will come away with

an appreciation of the ideas and feelings that spawned

these posters, many of which were produced in the Bay

Area. “There is tremendous spirit in these movements,”

he says. “These are not

dry academic exercis-

es. They are passionate

organizations, combining stunning text and art. They are

powerful tools for democratic discourse.”

iN the OmcA stOre

In connection with the All Of Us Or None exhibition, the OMCA Store presents a series of printmaking workshops.

exhiBitiON

cAtAlOg

All Of Us Or None, by Lincoln Cushing

Above: Sätty (Wilfried Podriech) and Orbit graphic Arts, McCarthy, 1968. Right: Wes Senzaki, Tule Lake: June 3, 1978.

posters on these pages are from the all of us or None archive. The aouoN archive was collected between 1977

and 2008. The cataloging of the collection was made possible by a generous grant from the

Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation.

cUrAtOriAl cONversAtiONs

ANd POster-mAkiNg demOs

Saturdays, Mar. 31, Apr. 14 and 28, May 12 and 26, June 9 and 23, July 7 and 21, Aug. 4 and 18, 12–4 pm. Join guest curator Lincoln Cushing and Bay Area print artists for screen-print demonstrations and conversations about OMCA exhibitions. The event will include give-aways of original posters made by the artists! For more information, visit museumca.org. Free for Members.

W I N T E R / S P R I N g 2 0 1 2 1 5

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Page 16: Inside Out Issue 6

1 6 O A K L A N D M U S E U M O F C A L I F O R N I A

| E xpLOR AtIONS

building a bridgeQuestion bridge: black Males, a transmedia project that captures dialogues among african american men, comes to OMCa

CO

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The ironic thing about African American identity, says artist hank Willis thomas, is that it wasn’t created by African Americans.

“Europeans, with their commercial interest in dehumanizing us, created blackness,” says thomas. “In the 150 years since the end of slavery, African Ameri-cans have tried to redefine blackness in their own terms.”

to that end, thomas, Chris Johnson, Bayeté Ross Smith, and Kamal Sinclair col-laborated on Question Bridge: Black Males, a unique combination of art and sociol-ogy. Question Bridge will be on view in the Gallery of California Art from January 20 to July 8, 2012 (and displayed concurrently at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the City Gallery of Chastain in Atlanta). It features videos of Black males asking and answering questions, with the goal of building a record that will resonate with future generations of Black men.

to create Question Bridge, the artists spent four summers traveling the country, interviewing more than 150 men and youth representing a wide range of lifestyles and incomes. participants asked questions that would be put to other Black males. Each participant looked into the camera and answered questions about life as a Black man. the questions and answers will be played on a semicircle of video screens, allowing visitors to stand in the middle of a conversation. “We think visitors will get insights into the way Black men think and feel,” Johnson says.

the artists intend not only to capture dialogues but to start new ones. Question Bridge includes materials to be used as curricula at high schools and colleges. John-son and thomas say this model can be used to explore diversity within any group. “We hope people will stop looking at the surface when trying to understand someone,” thomas says. “Look deeper, listen harder, and try to learn.” A spin-off project, Black Males Blueprint Roundtable, includes events featuring intergenerational dialogues.

Question Bridge: black Males is a fiscally spon-sored project of the bay area Video Coalition and supported in part by a grant from the Open Society institute: Campaign for black Male achievement, the Tribeca Film institute, Sun-dance institute new Frontier Story lab, the leF Foundation, the Center for Cultural innovation, and the California College of the arts. Question bridge: black Males will be on view concurrent-ly at OMCa, the brooklyn Museum of art, and the City gallery of Chastain in atlanta.

California futures forumblack Males blueprint roundtable February 11, 1–3 pm included with Museum admission. Free to Members. —For more information, visit museumca.org or questionbridge.com. This program is presented in partnership with the Office of african american Male achievement, the Oakland Museum of California, and Question bridge: black Males.

Page 17: Inside Out Issue 6

W I N t E R / S p R I N G 2 0 1 2 1 7

MEMBER EvENtS |

Sh

AU

N R

OB

ER

tS

AN

D t

ON

I G

AU

th

IER

50% off group tickets

bOOk a TOur FOr 15 peOple Or MOre during

april and SaVe 50%!

for availability, contact 510-318-8429 or [email protected]. reference code memPromo.

Valid april 1–30, 2012.

blue oak café member discount

COMpliMenTary SMall COFFee

Or beVerage.

Present this coupon at time of service to receive discount.

Valid through January 31, 2012. member iD:

Just for You!Get a sneak peek at exhibitions, take your family on a

scavenger hunt, and find bargains in the omCa store

omca store member sale

save 20%

on your nexT purchase

Present this coupon at time of service to receive discount. in-store only.

Valid march 1–31, 2012. member iD:

member for a day pass

bring a Friend TO OMCa and reCeiVe a MeMber

FOr a day paSS.

Your friend will enjoy all the benefits of membership for the day. Valid february 1–28, 2012.

member iD:

MeMber appreCiaTiOn daySaturday, February 11, 11 am–5 pm iT’S all abOuT yOu! JOin uS FOr a SpeCial eVenT CelebraTing OMCa MeMberS.

- Member Sale take 20 percent off all merchandise in the OMCA Store.

- Jewelry designer Trunk Show Meet some of our favorite jewelry designers, preview their newest designs, and take advantage of your 20 percent Members-only sale discount. participating designers include philippa Roberts, Mark poulin, and Molly McGrath.

- Member-only Tours • Julie Muñiz, associate curator of design and decorative arts, leads Members on a tour of Space-Light-Structure: the Jewelry of Margaret De patta.

• take part in an insightful and poignant docent-led tour of 1991: Oakland-Berkeley Fire Aftermath, photographs by Richard Misrach.

- Family Fun pick up a Family Gallery Guide, and set out on a scavenger hunt adventure

throughout the Galleries. Gallery 101: helpful tips for parents and grandparents on how to share a gallery experience with kids without scaring them away.

MeMber preView: The 1968 exhibiTFriday, March 30, 3–7 pm

Be among the first to view this unforgettable exhibition during Members-only viewing hours. Enjoy live music and specials in the

Blue Oak café. Regular Member guest privileges apply.

Page 18: Inside Out Issue 6

1 8 O A K L A N D M U S E U M O F C A L I F O R N I A

| CALENDAR

JanuarY

Family gallery walk Jan. 8, 1 pm

graffiti installation Jan. 21, 11 am–5 pm By local art-ists Ras terms and Safety First.

Family day: eco-Friendly Make-your-Own John Muir beard and Mustache Jan. 22, 12–3 pm Jan. 22 is the last day to see the John Muir exhibition!

white elephant preview Sale Jan. 29, 10 am–4 pm Oak-land Museum Women’s Board warehouse, 333 Lancaster St., Oakland. lunar new year Celebration and Other asian Traditions: year of the dragon Jan. 29, 12–4:30 pm Bring your friends and family to this OMCA tradition! Elements of Chinese, Korean, vietnamese, Japanese, and other Asian cultures will be featured in the festivities, includ-ing dragon and lion dances, Red panda Acrobats, and storyteller Nancy Wang of Eth-Noh-tec. presented in collaboration with DEAF Media and OMCA’s Asian pacific Advisory Council.

feBruarY

leader lunch: Tiffany Shlain Feb. 6, 11:30 am–2 pm Donor Forum Member event.

Member appreciation day Feb. 11, 11 am–5 pm

California Futures Feb. 11, 1–3 pm Intergenera-tional panel discussion on Question Bridge: Black Males.

Family gallery walk Feb. 12, 1 pm

Family day: history alive! Sun yat-sen Feb. 12, 1:30 pm

Family day: painting with Music Feb. 19, 12–3 pm

Family day: Storytelling Feb. 26, 12–3 pm

marCH

white elephant Sale Mar. 3 and 4, 10 am–4 pm Oakland Museum Women’s Board warehouse, 333 Lancaster St., Oakland.

Family day: Thingamakids! Mar. 11, 18, and 25, 12–3 pm

exhibiTiOnS, eVenTS, AND prOgraMS

Donor Forum

exhibitions

Family events

Member events

special events

Trips & Tours

50% off group tickets

bOOk a TOur FOr 15 peOple Or MOre during

april and SaVe 50%!

for availability, contact 510-318-8429 or [email protected]. reference code memPromo.

Valid april 1–30, 2012.

blue oak café member discount

COMpliMenTary SMall COFFee

Or beVerage.

Present this coupon at time of service to receive discount.

Valid through January 31, 2012. member iD:

omca store member sale

save 20%

on your nexT purchase

Present this coupon at time of service to receive discount. in-store only.

Valid march 1–31, 2012. member iD:

member for a day pass

bring a Friend TO OMCa and reCeiVe a MeMber

FOr a day paSS.

Your friend will enjoy all the benefits of membership for the day. Valid february 1–28, 2012.

member iD:

Page 19: Inside Out Issue 6

W I N t E R / S p R I N G 2 0 1 2 1 9

MuseuM Hoursmonday Closed

tuesday Closed

Wednesday 11 am–5 pm

thursday 11 am–5 pm

friday 11 am–5 pm

saturday 11 am–5 pm

sunday 11 am–5 pm

Space-light-Structure: The Jewelry of Margaret de patta Feb. 4–May 13

The 1968 exhibit Mar. 31–aug. 19

all Of us Or none: Social Justice posters of the San Francisco bay area Mar. 31–aug. 19

Modern Cartoonist: The art of daniel Clowes apr. 14–aug. 12

onGoinG eVents

history hollywood Screening: Fire ruin renewal Sundays, 2 pm, through Feb. 12

Curatorial Conversations and poster-Making demos Saturdays, Mar. 31, apr. 14 and 28, May 12 and 26, June 9 and 23, July 7 and 21, aug. 4 and 18, 12–4 pm

OMCa highlight Tours Fridays and Saturdays, 1 pm

docent Tours of the gallery of California art Saturdays and Sundays, 2 pm

docent Tours of the gallery of California history Sundays, 3 pm

architecture Tours by the Council on architecture First Sundays at 1 pm

note that events and programs are subject to change. For updated listings, visit museumca.org.

Family gallery walk Mar. 11, 1 pm

lecture and Curatorial Tour: Space-light-Structure: The Jewelry of Margaret de patta Mar. 25, 2 pm

The 1968 exhibit: donor Forum Member preview Mar. 29, 6–8 pm

OMCa Members See it First! The 1968 exhibit and all Of us Or none: Social Justice post-ers of the San Francisco bay area Mar. 30, Members 3–7 pm

aPril

Family day: Jewelry Crafts apr. 15 and 29, 12–3 pm

Family day: do-it-yourself apr. 22, 12–3 pm

California Futures apr. 22, 2–4 pm Discussion on the future of California jewelry.

onGoinG eXHiBitions

a walk in the wild: Continuing John Muir’s Journey Through Jan. 22

1991: Oakland-berkeley Fire aftermath, photographs by richard Misrach Through Feb. 12

neW eXHiBitions

Question bridge: black Males Jan. 20–July 8

hOST yOur nexT eVenT aT OMCa

corporations and nonprofits receive a 20 percent

discount; Members receive a 10 percent discount.

call angela Wilbourn at 510-318-8505 or email

[email protected] for more information.

The grOup SaleS adVanTageGroups enjoy special pricing on tickets and exclusive

docent tours of the Galleries and Gardens. Take advan-

tage of our delicious catering options. prices start at

$6 per person. contact Group sales at 510-318-8429

or [email protected].

TraVelS wiTh The arT guild Join the oMca art Guild for a roundup of Texas art

in Dallas and Fort Worth (Mar. 30–apr. 4), with an

extension to Marfa (Mar. 27–30). cruise the water-

ways of holland and Belgium (apr. 27–May 4), with

an extension to The hague (apr. 25–27). Visit Detroit,

cranbrook, and Toledo (May 7–12). explore Ireland

(July 9–18), with an extension to Western Ireland (July

19–22). enjoy santa Fe (first week in aug.). and don’t

miss Italy: The “new” rome, umbria, and Beyond (oct.

10–19), with an extension to Tuscany (oct. 19–22). For

more information, visit museumca.org/travel.

Free First Sundays are made possible in part by wells Fargo.

OMCa Family is made possible by generous support from Chevron.

Page 20: Inside Out Issue 6

the story of California. the story of You.

oakland Museum of california

museumca.org

Oakland Museum of California

1000 Oak Street

Oakland, CA 94607-4892

NONPROFIT ORGU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDSALT LAKE CITY, UTPERMIT NO.6563

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7moDern Cartoonist: tHe art of Daniel CloWes | openInG aprIl 14, 2012

onlY omCa memBers see it free!


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