going: pacific standard

On Friday we went to our first show that happens to be part of the big ol' Pacific Standard Time shows here in Los Angeles this fall.  Proof: The Rise of Printmaking in Southern California at the Norton Simon Museum. Here's the blurb from the site:

The first goal enumerated upon the founding of the Tamarind Lithography Workshop in Los Angeles in 1960 was to 'create a pool of master artisan-printers in the United States' in an effort to revive the method of fine art lithography. With those words, and the dedication to create a workshop that would educate printers, artists, curators, and collectors alike, Tamarind sparked a renaissance in the graphic arts—one that spread well beyond Los Angeles and the medium of lithography—establishing and legitimizing all methods of printmaking as viable and valuable forms of art making, even for the most avant-garde of post-war artists. Proof will explore the significance of printmaking and its new possibilities as first re-envisioned in post-war Southern California. Drawing on the extensive collection of the Norton Simon Museum with a few select loans, the exhibition will include works by the local founders of this movement such as John Altoon, Garo Antreasian, Sam Francis, Ed Moses, Ken Price, Ed Ruscha and June Wayne, as well as those who made their way to print specifically in Los Angeles, such as Joseph Albers, Bruce Conner, Lee Mullican, Louise Nevelson, Claes Oldenburg, and Robert Rauschenberg.

It was good, we got there early and signed up for a curator led tour of the exhibition by Leah Lehmbeck. She gave a nice historical over view of what was happening in printmaking in Los Angeles from the 1960's onwards. 

Since I'm not a conventional print maker I found parts of the show to be less interesting than others. There were a lot of litho prints. Um...a lot, a lot. The show really wants to share what makes all of those litho prints different and unique and important but I gotta be honest and say they did kinda blur together for me. But that's because I'm not much for classical printmaking, I've just never been that drawn to it. I am however drawn to combined works, newer printmaking methods (like the screen printed works, obviously :) so the last room of the exhibit was the most interesting to me. I would prolly recommend that people go to the end to look at that room and then work backwards to see how much more classically print makers were thinking and the older methods they we're using.

Leah Lehmbeck also put together a interesting bubble chart explaining how the community of printmaking is intertwined in Los Angeles, it's in the very first area as you enter the exhibit so check that out for sure.


Funny thing, as we we're sitting in the last room taking in the work and chatting about it a woman in part of the tour came up to us and asked where she knew us from. Um, never sure quite how to handle that one, right? You know me, I don't know you....maybe you seem vaguely familiar but between everything the fella and I are involved in Los Angeles it could be almost anything. So we play the game

us: 'is it this' or 'that'?

her: 'No, not that. I don't know what that is. Nope, not that either'

So we smile polity and nod when she says' it must be something neither the fella or i have ever attended' 

us: 'yep, that must be it.'


and then we went and had dinner at Cham and talked about how awesome Rauschenberg's combined screen print work is and how I just want to make the exact same thing only made now and in my language and just as interesting and powerful. Hey, I'll get there!


Go check out Proof.