Esoteric Survey

While I was at Southwestern College a few weeks ago checking out the original buildings before they get demolished ,  I paid a visit to "Dark" by Bruce Nauman. The sculpture is "a 4’ by 4’ by 4” thick solid steel slab with the word “DARK” written on the bottom. It was purchased as part of the Annual Purchase Award Exhibit: Outdoor Sculpture April 19 - May 10, 1968. $1900 of student funds were used to pay Nauman for the work.  Source: SPEAKOUT , Southwestern College Art Gallery, The First Decade It was a controversy before it was even out of concept form.   Source: Chula Vista Star News, 1968 Little old ladies in tennis shoes did not start this fire. Source: Chula Vista Star News, 1968 Bob Matheny makes a great point.  Source: Chula Vista Star News, 1968 John Baldessari was an instructor at Southwestern College at the time and wrote an essay in defense of "Dark". Here are some of his key points, which are so good and so Baldessari. Read the full essay here ....

Pacific Standard Time at the  Getty . I went onthe last day of the exhibit, February 5th.  I guess there was a big football game going on that day too.  The Central Garden, by Robert Irwin This is the PST nerve center.   It's set up like a war room to plan your attack on all the PST exhibits. # 8 , 1966, John McLaughlin.  The Marilynn and Carl Thoma Collection. Image courtesy of Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, New York Photo: Getty Archives Pacific Standard Time: Crosscurrents in L.A. Painting and Sculpture, 1950–1970 The first gallery in Crosscurrents is a mix off hard-edge paintings, like the John McLaughlin above and  big clay pieces by Peter Voulkos,  John Mason and the  Henry Takemoto pot below. Here he is with his pot at the studio of  John Mason and Peter Voulkos,  Los Angeles, ca. 1959. Image courtesy of Henry Takemoto Photo: Getty Archives Avocado Mountain , 1959, Ken Pri...