In conjunction with the exhibition The Possible at the Berkeley Art Museum, Chicago-based writer and curator John Corbett will discuss the tension between collectivism and hierarchy in the work of Sun Ra, with special attention to the period he spent teaching at Berkeley in the late 1960s.
The Possible is an experimental exhibition that reconceives the museum as a site for creative convergence. You will have the chance to be a part of this evolving exhibition by engaging directly with an exciting array of visiting artists.
As an open platform for shared creativity and the exploration of diverse artistic techniques, The Possible combines studio, classroom, library, gallery, and stage. A multisensory library provides context and inspiration, while the galleries are reconfigured as a series of workspaces: a ceramics studio, dye lab, print shop, and recording studio. Collaborating with one another and the public, a diverse range of guest artists will use these studios to create new work in a public forum. The finished works will filter into a gallery installation, building the exhibition over time. We hope to inspire a spirit of experimentation, improvisation, and play by providing opportunities for artists to go deeper into familiar mediums, experience new practices, and work collaboratively. The studios will function as classrooms during a series of Sunday public workshops and audiences will also be invited to participate in discussions, performances, and field trips during the course of the exhibition. And bring the whole family to Kids Club, a special gallery devoted to engaging children in the creative process that is at the heart of this project.
The Possible is organized by guest curator David Wilson, with Director Lawrence Rinder. The project is supported in part by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; Carla and David Crane; the National Endowment for the Arts; a Craft Research Fund grant from The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design, Inc; and Joachim and Nancy Hellman Bechtle.
More information here: http://bampfa.berkeley.edu/exhibition/possible
Image: Sun Ra on location in Oakland, CA, for the filming of Space is the Place.