Let confusion reign
Dan Cameron, chief curator of the Orange County Museum of Art, said unpacking more than 100 selected artworks to showcase at the museum’s Avant-Garde Collection was like experiencing the joy of a favorite holiday.
“It’s exactly like Christmas,” he said as he stood in the gallery amid paintings, sculptures, assemblage, installation art and videos. “In most cases, you only see a JPEG thumbnail image, and you have to be confident that the piece is incredibly exciting.”
He said these pieces pass the “exciting” test.
The Avant-Garde Collection, opening Sunday and running through Jan. 4, focuses on the evolving definition of avant-garde as represented in the collection, which includes:
Andy Warhol’s 10 serigraphs of Mao from 1972.
Chris Burden’s “A Tale of Two Cities” from 1981. It incorporates 5,000 plastic toys assembled on thousands of pounds of sand.
Jennifer Steinkamp’s “Moth 5,” a computer-generated animation, from 2012.
Assistant curator Fatima Manalili said the idea for the exhibition arose after Cameron’s previous collection exhibitions provided her a window into the museum’s storage and time to research its collecting history. She also helps Cameron present artworks to the museum’s leadership for potential acquisitions.
“The combination of those activities put the idea into motion as to how this museum aspires to support artists whose works will resonate in future generations,” Manalili said. “That what was considered cutting-edge in its heyday can still be relevant today in some aspect in terms of the history of this museum, our community or art history.”
After finishing the museum’s installation in three weeks, the two decided on their favorites.
“‘Oxford’ by Gene Davis blows me away,” Manalili said of the 1959 acrylic on canvas. “There is a sense of optical rhythm that draws the eye in and hypnotizes for a brief moment.”
Cameron said his favorite is a tie between the largest work in the exhibition, “A Tale of Two Cities,” and Emil Bisttram’s condensed abstract work on paper.
One gallery is devoted to Doug Wheeler’s untitled 1968 artwork. The piece, sprayed lacquer on acrylic with a magnetic transformer and neon tubing, is in a room painted entirely in white. The ceiling was constructed to be lowered, and the corners of the walls were scalloped.
“It needs to be shown properly,” Cameron said.
Artist George Herms, who is known for making assemblages out of discarded items, said he tries to give the broken-down a second life in the world of art.
“Inspiration is not an issue,” Herms said. “I react to the world around me.”
Herms, a 79-year-old Beat Generation artist who has a home in Irvine, is presenting a lecture at the University of Texas at Austin on Sunday. Though he won’t be at OCMA on the installation’s opening day, he spoke about his two pieces in the collection. On display is his 1965 “Untitled,” an assortment of found objects that are intended to look like something that would go above a fireplace.
“It’s a reflection on turning all guns into works of art so they don’t hurt anyone,” he said. “The gun is over the mantle, but I was trying to make something non-lethal.”
His second showcased piece is the 1963 “Portrait of Marcia Jacobs,” a work he created in tribute to Wallace Berman, an American visual and assemblage artist known as the father of assemblage art. Berman, who died in 1976, also had an art magazine, “Semina,” which contained poetry, photographs, writings and images assembled by him. The influential magazine was the first to publish William Burroughs’ text.
Herms said Marcia Jacobs was one of Berman’s pseudonyms. On occasion, Berman would wear different hats; Herms’ portrait includes a cap.
“The portrait I do of people is not photographic,” he explained. “They’re portraits of the spirit.”
A challenge for Cameron was placing Charles Ray’s 1990 “Self-Portrait,” which is an ordinary department store mannequin that is wearing Ray’s clothing and has been fitted with a head whose face was cast from the artist’s own.
“No matter where I put it, it was disruptive,” Cameron said. “It should be engaged and seeming as a spectator.”
He finally positioned the figure near the center of one of the galleries to make it appear as if it is a museum visitor looking at a piece of art.
“I find myself greeting the sculpture because it seems like the appropriate thing to do,” he said with a laugh.
Cameron said he wished he could ask the artists about their inspiration, and there may be a way. During the opening night celebration, a gallery talk will feature artists Billy Al Bengston, Sherin Guirguis, Steinkamp and Bruce Yonemoto.
As for what he thinks museum-goers will take away from the collection, Cameron has a few ideas.
“I wouldn’t mind if they went home a little confused,” said Cameron. “If they love a few pieces or are annoyed or baffled, that’s probably the right combination.”
If You Go
What: The Avant-Garde Collection
Where: Orange County Museum of Art, 850 San Clemente Drive, Newport Beach
When: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday through Jan. 4; curator exhibition introduction at noon Sept. 7, with gallery talks with select artists from 1 to 3 p.m.
Cost: $12 adults; $10 students and seniors; free for children under 12 and OCMA members
Information: (949) 759-1122 or ocma.net