Skip to content

Oakland Museum of California and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Present “but what you want is far away”

(OAKLAND, CA) October 15, 2014, Updated October 28, 2014—In conjunction with the jointly organized exhibition Fertile Ground: Art and Community in California, the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) present but what you want is far away, an evening of performance that explores the queer experience in contemporary art practice, and a local perspective on California as a place where making art and building community come together.

Held at OMCA on Friday, November 7, 2014, the evening features new poetry, dance, and sound, includes the world premiere of god sees everything, a dance-driven piece directed and choreographed by Phoebe Osborne that explores the complexity of California as a symbol of abundance and freedom. The event’s key collaborators include choreographer Phoebe Osborne, painter and sculptor Lisa Jonas Taylor, musician Colin Self, among others.

The evening includes a set by November DJ in residence, the Hard French collective, and a poetry reading by Tanya Sarmina. The centerpiece of the evening is the performance of god sees everything. In this commissioned stage work, three performers and a chorus of dancers use movement, light, costumes, and a live score by Colin Self to cast a critical eye on the relationship between psychedelic experience, the pursuit of transformation, and the way we imagine California.

The event takes place during Friday Nights @ OMCA, the Museum’s weekly late-night party featuring Off the Grid food trucks, performances, and live music. Tickets for but what you want is far away are $10 general and $5 for OMCA and SFMOMA members, and include gallery admission. For more information visit museumca.org/faraway.

CALENDAR EDITORS PLEASE LIST:

WHAT: but what you want is far away

WHEN: Friday, November 7, 2014, 7:30 pm

WHERE: James Moore Theater, Oakland Museum of California at 1000 Oak Street in Oakland, CA

TICKETS: $10 general; $5 OMCA and SFMOMA members. Tickets include free gallery admission.

DETAILS: Attend the world premiere of god sees everything, part of an evening of groundbreaking new poetry, dance, sound, and performance work called but what you want is far away. Held at the Oakland Museum of California on Friday, November 7, at 7:30 pm, during Friday Nights @ OMCA as part of OMCA and SFMOMA’s joint exhibition Fertile Ground: Art and Community in California.

URL: museumca.org/faraway

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Fertile Ground: Art and Community in California
September 20, 2014–April 12, 2015
Fertile Ground: Art and Community in California illuminates local histories and social forces that changed the face of art in—and beyond—the Golden State. Weaving together art and ephemera from the collections of the Oakland Museum of California and SFMOMA, the exhibition tells the stories of four creative communities at decisive moments in the history of California art: the circle of artists who worked with, influenced, and were influenced by Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in San Francisco in the 1930s; the legendary painters and photographers associated with the California School of Fine Arts in the 1940s and 1950s, including Mark Rothko, Clyfford Still, Richard Diebenkorn, David Park, Minor White, and Imogen Cunningham; the free-spirited faculty and students at UC Davis in the 1960s and 1970s, such as Robert Arneson, Wayne Thiebaud, William T. Wiley, and Bruce Nauman; and the streetwise, uncompromisingly idealistic artists at the center of a vibrant new Mission scene that took root in the 1990s through the present, including Barry McGee, Chris Johanson, Margaret Kilgallen, Amy Franceschini,  Ruby Neri, Alicia McCarthy, and Rigo 23, along with many others. Focusing equally on the artworks and the contexts that fostered their creation, Fertile Ground presents an intimate and textured history of personal relationships, artistic breakthroughs, and transformative social change.

Fertile Ground: Art and Community in California is jointly organized by the Oakland Museum of California and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

ABOUT THE OMCA/SFMOMA COLLABORATION
but what you want is faraway and Fertile Ground: Art and Community in California are part of SFMOMA’s On the Go program of collaborative museum exhibitions and off-site presentations taking place while its building is temporarily closed for expansion construction through 2016. While OMCA and SFMOMA have partnered on projects in the past, Fertile Ground represents the deepest collaboration in the shared history of the two institutions.
 

ABOUT THE OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA

The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) brings together collections of art, history, and natural science under one roof to tell the extraordinary stories of California and its people. OMCA’s groundbreaking exhibits tell the many stories that comprise California with many voices, often drawing on first-person accounts by people who have shaped California’s cultural heritage. Visitors are invited to actively participate in the Museum as they learn about the natural, artistic, and social forces that affect the state and investigate their own role in both its history and its future. With more than 1.9 million objects, OMCA is a leading cultural institution of the Bay Area and a resource for the research and understanding of California’s dynamic cultural and environmental heritage. For more on OMCA’s upcoming exhibitions and programs, visit museumca.org.­­­­­

ABOUT THE SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART

Founded in 1935 as the first West Coast museum devoted to modern and contemporary art, SFMOMA is currently undergoing a major expansion opening in 2016 that will significantly enhance its gallery, education, and public spaces, enabling the Museum to better showcase its expanded permanent collection. During the interim, SFMOMA is On the Go throughout the Bay Area and beyond with a dynamic slate exhibitions, major outdoor projects, site-specific installations, and new education initiatives. For more information about SFMOMA, its off-site programming, and its expansion project, visit sfmoma.org.

OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA VISITOR INFORMATION

The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) is at 1000 Oak Street, at 10th Street, in Oakland. Museum admission is $15 general; $10 seniors and students with valid ID, $6 youth ages 9 to 17, and free for Members and children 8 and under. During Friday Nights @ OMCA, from 5 to 9 pm, admission is half-price for adults, free for ages 18 and under. OMCA offers onsite underground parking and is conveniently located one block from the Lake Merritt BART station, on the corner of 10th Street and Oak Street. The accessibility ramp is located at the 1000 Oak Street main entrance to the Museum. museumca.org

* * *