Blast from the Past: 60s and 70s Geometric Abstraction, now on exhibit in the Annenberg Wing at the Palm Springs Art Museum through December 23, is a vivid, powerful collection of geometric abstract paintings, sculpture and prints from the 1960s and 70s, a period known for its purity of style.
Some 100 artworks represent a variety of ideas in optical art (Op Art), kinetic art, minimalism, hard-edge and color field. Many of the works have rarely been or are on view for the first time in this impressive exhibit.
Purely abstract forms – square, rectangle, triangle, circle and geometric volumes such as the cube and cone — suggest architecture and geometry, while the artists’ use of primary colors, lines and compositional devices present a sensual experience, illustrating alternative ideas about art and principles of reality.
Op Art, a trend that uses optical illusions to simulate motion and other perceptual shifts, is seen in the experiments of Victor Vasarely, Carlos Cruz-Diez and Yascov Agam. Bright primary colors finely interspersed with complementary hues, creates visual interactions between the colors that seem to give off light and vibrations.
In Jesus Rafael Soto’s classic work, the sensation of constant flux transforms color, space, line into a new perceptual experience.
Other artists from the southern California Abstract Classical movement such as John McLaughlin, Karl Benjamin, Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg, often infuse gentle blues, whites, yellows, and olive greens to their hard edge works that are “keenly reflective of the unique qualities of light and space” — characteristics of the southern California coastline.
Starting January 21, 2012 through May 27 in the Annenberg Wing will be Backyard Oasis: The Swimming Pool in Southern California Photography, 1945-1982.
As part of the Getty Foundation’s Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A., 1945-1980 regional initiative, this exhibit examines the swimming pool in photographs as visual analogs of the ideals and expectations associated with southern California.
The images of manmade pools in arid landscapes traces the iconography of California’s swimming pool, an integral part of the region’s identity, and suggests “the hopes and disillusionments of the country’s post World War II ethos.”
Backyard Oasis will include some 135 framed works of archival photography, prints and selected film clips shown on flat-screen monitors.
Among featured artists’ work will be Diane Arbus, Bill Anderson, Michael Childers, Robert Cumming, Julius Shulman, and Maynard Parker.
During the January exhibition will be lectures and educational programs for K-12 grade students, college and university audiences and the general public. The exhibition’s catalog contains photos and an overview of the development of the swimming pool, its aesthetic and culture.
Palm Springs Art Museum was designed in the Modernist style by renowned local architect E. Stewart Williams in 1974. The Steve Chase Art Wing and Education Center, also designed by Williams, opened in 1996. Today, the 124,435 square foot museum complex houses various galleries, sculpture atriums, a museum store, cafe, and the 437-seat Annenberg Theater for the performing arts.
It is located at 101 Museum Way, downtown Palm Springs. Call (760) 322-4800.
The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, noon to 8 p.m., closed Monday and holidays. Free admission every Thursday, 4 – 8 p.m. during downtown Villagefest and the second Sunday of every month. Admission is $12.50 adults, $10.50 seniors, $5 students, free for youths under 12, active military and their families.
After visiting these Mid-Century Modern inspired exhibits at the Palm Springs Art Museum, take a tour of Palm Springs’ wonderful collection of modernism homes and public buildings. Pick up a map at the Palm Springs Visitor Center for a self tour.
Once you’ve whet your appetite to own of these inspired desert modern home — and the artwork to go in them — Ralph Haverkate at [email protected] or visit www.TeamHaverkate.com for a personal tour of homes and estates for sale.
— Pamela Bieri
well written. keep it up.