It's been over a month since my last update, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been chasing down
PST events. ;-)
We're halfway through the event's run, with many shows closing, but new exhibits opening. I went to give a farewell view to some of my favorite shows, such as the
Hammer's Now Dig This! exhibition on LA's African-American art scene. As I was giving a final viewing to some of these artworks, melancholy came over me. So many of these works are hidden away in museum vaults or in private collections, I don't know if or when I'll be able to see them again.
For example, Ed Kienholz's
Five Car Stud was created about 40 years ago, but has hardly ever been on view. What are the chances that I'll get to see it again? Likewise, all the lesser known minority artists rarely get shown. I know that one of the purposes behind the
PST event is to alter the situation, to reveal the hidden treasures of the early LA art scene, but changing the established bias in the understanding of modern American art is a long-term project.
Although a strong counter-narrative is being proposed, such a fixed "history" is hard to shake, especially as many East Coast experts have so much invested in the current narrative.
In any case, it's been fun and enlightening. I finally got to see the show at the
Getty, which was awesome! I even got to attend a short talk on George Herms' assemblage piece,
The Librarian. At another visit to the
Norton Simon Museum, I attended a "spotlight" talk on John Baldessari's
Fallen Easel. Likewise, the
Hammer featured Maren Hassinger's
River. I definitely appreciate these focus talks, brief though they may be, which enable me to benefit from the expertise of the curatorial staff in developing a deeper appreciation of the works under review.
