Inside Out Issue 6

Inside | Out

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a n e w stat e o f m i n d at t h e Oa k l a n d m useu m o f ca li fo rn ia

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welcome

In the coming months, the Oakland Museum of California will present a number of exhibitions that provide opportunities for historical reflection on the intersection of culture and social activism, as well as chances to consider the continued relevance today of issues of identity, justice, and citizen participation.

Opening in January is Question Bridge: Black Males, a multiplatform conversation about Black male identity. This topic, of course, has an important national as well as local context, and we are pleased to partner with distinguished artists Chris Johnson and Hank Willis Thomas; a national team of educators and advisors; and the Brooklyn Museum of Art, which will present the exhibition during the same period as OMCA. A few weeks later, we will open The 1968 Exhibit, a first-of-its-kind partnership between four history museums that collaborated on an exhibition with deep resonance in the four cities: Minneapolis/ St. Paul, Chicago, Atlanta, and Oakland. For anyone who lived through 1968 and remembers that year’s life-changing events, the exhibition will not only stir memories but inspire comparisons to our world today. Accompanying The 1968 Exhibit is a presentation of highlights from our recent acquisition of the All Of Us Or None archive of some 23,000 political posters. Like Question Bridge, this show explores art-making in the service of activism and underscores the trajectory of political action over the decades.

Accompanying these exhibitions will be public programs focused on issues raised in the shows—as well as events in our own backyard. And in case you want to take your mind off politics, you can choose to enjoy the striking beauty of the jewelry of Margaret De Patta. This exhibition, too, represents an important partnership with the Museum of Art and Design in New York, with which we’ve undertaken this first major examination of De Patta’s work.

We are most grateful for the support of you, our Members. Your involvement is critical to making possible the dynamic level of activity reflected in these pages. We hope you begin 2012 by visiting our galleries and becoming inspired by the historic events happening today—and yesterday.

All best for the new year!

Lori Fogarty Director and CEO

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T op to bottom : abi g ail huller ; J ason L ew . O n the co v er : silhouette from H ell no , nobody g oes by F rank C ieciorka , 1 9 6 7 ; B lack P anthers , 1 9 6 8 , T H e O akland tribune collection , O M C A , g ift of an g newspapers , P hoto by lonnie W ilson ,

Dear Members and Fellow Citizens!

T op to bottom : courtesy chica g o history museum ; T he mar g aret D e P atta M emorial C ollection , O M C A , Gift of E u g ene B ialewski , photo by m . lee fatherree

contents

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features 10

1968: The Year That Rocked Our World

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All Of Us Or None

A new look at the explosive events—many of which occurred in California—of the year that forever transformed society.

This compelling collection of social justice posters has a profound resonance with today’s protest movements.

In the midst of his campaign for the presidency, Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles in June 1968.

Margaret De Patta, Production Pin #4, 1946–57.

Sterling silver.

departments 4 Gallery News California: To Be Continued... looks at our recent past, the Gallery of California Natural Sciences partners with the YMCA of the East Bay, and a beloved Diebenkorn travels to Europe.

16 Explorations

6 Thought Leaders Filmmaker and Webby Awards founder Tiffany Shlain shares her views on our relentlessly plugged-in world.

Question Bridge: Black Males is a provocative conversation among African American men about their race and identity.

17 Member Events

8 Dynamic Design The jewelry of trailblazing designer Margaret De Patta reflects her passion for Constructivist art and architecture.

OMCA Members enjoy exclusive discounts, guided tours, and sneak previews.

18 Calendar A guide to OMCA’s exhibitions, events, and programs.

The Story of California. The Story of You.

Oakland Museum of California

Inside Out is published three times a year by the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak Street, Oakland, CA 94607. museumca.org. ©2012.

Contributors: Lori Fogarty, Maggie R. Pico, Dave Gottwald, Sunny Green, Gail Bernstein Produced by: Diablo Custom Publishing dcpubs.com

Editor: Kelly A. Koski

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g allery News

Fresh Perspectives

The Gallery of California Natural Sciences

OMCA’s galleries expand their offerings, connect with the community, and forge international partnerships

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A young member of the YMCA of the East Bay enjoys Oakland’s bounty.

A Family Affair When the new Gallery of California Natural Sciences reopens in 2012, parts of it will have a homemade feel, thanks to a recent partnership with the YMCA of the East Bay. With the YMCA’s assistance, thirteen local families, working with artist Helena Keefe, took field trips around Oakland to places like Lake Merritt and Joaquin Miller Park, and created artworks based on their experiences.

Their works will be included in a new exhibit on Oakland— one of seven California hot spots of biodiversity to be featured in the Gallery. The partnership with the YMCA also includes OMCA staff visiting the downtown Oakland YMCA to get input on future exhibits, and bringing exhibits or hands-on experiments to kids at YMCA camps.

OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA

The Gallery of California History a fresh look at our recent past A dynamic new section of the History Gallery, called California: To Be Continued…, invites visitors to consider the breakthroughs, trends, and stereotypes that have defined California over the past thirty-five years.

With interactive elements and walk-through environments, California: To Be Continued… takes on a multitude of timely and transformative subjects. In one walk-in installation—modeled after a Silicon Valley garage—visitors can explore recent advances in high tech. Another section, called Negotiating the Border, examines immigration from a variety of perspectives.

A provocative installation called Influencing the World? reflects upon how California has been the birthplace of countless ideas that have had global reverberations. From computer animation to Burning Man to the Edible Schoolyard, the themes explored in Influencing the World? suggest that California is an unparalleled hotbed of innovative thinking.

And what better way to contemplate California’s recent past than in—no, we’re not kidding—a hot tub? Visitors are encouraged to enter our new (waterless) hot tub lounge, complete with an umbrella, towels, and flip-flops, and soak up the Golden State’s unique cultural contributions.

left to ri g ht : H elena K eeffe ; torreya cummin g s

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Richard Diebenkorn, Ocean Park No. 107, 1978. Oil on canvas.

The Gallery of California Art

left to R i g ht : O M C A , g ift of the O akland M useum women ’ s board ; thomas heinser

g allery news

A beloved Diebenkorn painting travels to Italy These days, curators of the Gallery of California Art are particularly proud of what isn’t there. Richard Diebenkorn’s Ocean Park No. 107 is currently on loan to the Genova Palazzo Ducale Fondazione per la Cultura in Genoa, Italy, where it will be on view through April 15, 2012. Diebenkorn is one of the most important California artists of the twentieth century, but he is not as well known abroad. That’s why OMCA’s curators are thrilled with the chance to lend this painting to an international museum. “We believe sharing the work of great California artists with other institutions to be one of OMCA’s most important responsibilities,” says OMCA Director and CEO Lori Fogarty.

New ways to purchase Prints of OMCA Artworks The OMCA Store has recently joined the 1000Museums custom archival print and fine art poster program, making it easier than ever for art lovers to order prints of works in OMCA’s collection. Beginning this spring, you can access the collection online via a touch-screen kiosk in the OMCA Store, which allows you to order a custom archival print, add a mat and frame, and have it delivered to your home. Museum visitors can also order prints from a selection of inventory carried in the Store. Watch for an announcement on the launch of 1000Museums at OMCA in an upcoming eNewsletter.

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In Memoriam It is with great sadness that the Oakland Museum of California marks the recent passing of Ira Michael Heyman, former chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley; former secretary of the Smithsonian Institution; and great friend to OMCA. Mike’s late wife, Therese Thau Heyman, was the senior curator of photography and prints at the Museum for more than three decades and was largely responsible for building OMCA’s extraordinary photography collection, including the Dorothea Lange Archive. Many works from the Lange collection can be seen in the section of the Gallery of California Art named in Therese’s honor and made possible by generous gifts from friends and family. We mourned Therese’s loss in 2004. Despite her passing, Mike remained very involved at the Museum, serving as honorary chair of our successful Museum of California Campaign that raised $65 million in support of building enhancements and gallery transformations. Both Mike and Therese were true pillars of the American museum and academic communities, and we honor their memories and their legacies.

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The Bay Area filmmaker and creator of the Webby Awards discusses her new movie, Connected, which examines the best and worst of our plugged-in world.

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t im p or t er

A Conversation with Tiffany Shlain|

THought leaders

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esc If you’ve ever found yourself reflexively checking your smartphone every five minutes or surfing the web deep into the night, you know exactly what Tiffany Shlain was exploring with her recent film, Connected: An Autoblogography

about Love, Death & Technology. An award-winning filmmaker and one of Newsweek’s Women Shaping the Twenty-First Century, Shlain crafted a movie that is part history lesson and part memoir. Shlain, who will speak at OMCA’s Leader Lunch on February 6, watched her father lose his battle with cancer while she was pregnant, a personal roller coaster that serves as a backdrop for a look at how our online interdependence is both a blessing and a curse.

Q | Your film clearly shows how technology is a great thing that can change the world by connecting us but that it’s also important to disconnect. How do you reconcile those things?

A | I’m wrestling with it. The goal of the film is to trigger a global conversation about what it means to be connected in the twenty-first century: the good, the bad, and the hope. The film has all of those things. The goal of the project is to have people reflect and explore what it means to them.

Q | Your family takes a “technology Shabbat,” when you unplug from everything from Friday night to Saturday night. How has that changed you?

A | It’s so wonderful. It’s been profound and life changing. You have to have boundaries, and your friends and family understand you are completely present with the people you love. I read. I write in my journal. I garden. I spend time with my family.

Q | Why do you think people get so addicted to their phones and email?

A | Oxytocin is a hormone that releases a sense of bonding and love.

Mothers feel a lot of oxytocin when they are breast-feeding. There have been studies indicating that you get a hit of oxytocin when you get a Tweet or an email or a text.

That is the positive side. Studies have also shown that when we are seeking information, when it’s late at night and you’re on your computer and you know you should go to bed but you can’t pull away, it’s because you are getting hits of dopamine. Normally, that’s associated with sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll. It’s very biological why we can’t get off-line and why we are addicted. I used to be a smoker. I’m not anymore, but I feel the same kind of addicted qualities.

Q | How do you think technology is helping us use our brains better collectively?

A | We created these computers, and now we are connecting all these computers to have new thoughts that we couldn’t even imagine. We are entering a whole new part of human evolution in the way we think, the way we have access to ideas like never before. If we can be mindful and conscious of the way we use it, we can potentially go to a whole new place in the way our society exists.

Q | If you could change one thing about the way people use the Internet and social media, what would it be?

A | To know when to turn it off.

Leader Lunch with Tiffany Shlain Tickets to attend this special event on Monday, February 6, from 11:30 am to 2 pm, are available to Members of OMCA’s Donor Forum. For more information or to upgrade your membership to the Donor Forum Level to join this event, contact Emily Macenko at 510-318-8502.

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DYNAMIC Design

etal M Urges

Margaret De Patta, whose prolific career spanned four decades, had a profound influence on contemporary jewelry design.

The exquisite jewelry of midcentury modernist Margaret De Patta is the focus of a new retrospective at OMCA

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what De Patta called “opticuts”—semiprecious stones that she cut to maximize their ability to refract or distort light. “Previously, the goal of gem cutting had been to enhance sparkle and brilliance,” explains Julie Muñiz, associate curator of design and decorative arts, who co-curated the exhibition. “De Patta broke with that convention. She wanted to manipulate the optical qualities of stones so they would change in different light and as the wearer moved.”

De Patta has since become an icon for generations of forward-thinking jewelry artists. “De Patta felt that design should have an intellectual purpose and not just look pretty,” says Muñiz. “She paved the way for the jewelry of today.”

Space-Light-Structure: The Jewelry of Margaret De Patta is made possible in part by support from the Terra Foundation for American Art, the Rotasa Foundation; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Center for Craft, Creativity & Design at the University of North Carolina, Asheville; and individual donors David Charak II, Dr. Alberto Eiber and Mrs. Kim Eiber, Phyllis Levine, and Florence Resnikoff. The OMCA presentation is made possible by additional support from the Oakland Museum Women’s Board and the OMCA Art Guild.

Geor g e S t rauss

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f we take it for granted today that handcrafted jewelry is a wearable art form, it’s due in no small measure to the trailblazing vision of artist Margaret De Patta.

A leading figure in the American studio jewelry movement of the mid-twentieth century, De Patta created strikingly modern pieces that reflected her enthusiasm for Constructivist art and architecture. For De Patta, who lived in the Bay Area from 1923 until her death in 1964, jewelry had to be more than mere adornment.

It had to meet her exacting aesthetic standards and function as dynamic sculptural pieces, with clean lines, layered materials, and light-refracting properties. OMCA is proud to have the largest collection of De Patta’s work in the world, much of it donated by the artist’s husband, Eugene Bielawski.

Now, visitors to OMCA’s Gallery of California Art can see her work up close in Space-Light-Structure: The Jewelry of Margaret De Patta, on view from February 4 through May 13, 2012. Presented in conjunction with the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, the exhibition features more than sixty pieces of jewelry as well as ceramics, photograms, and other works by the artist.

In addition, the exhibition will display work by modernists who influenced De Patta, notably László Moholy-Nagy, the Bauhaus artist with whom she studied in the 1940s.

Much of the jewelry on display will be examples of

T h e mar g are t D e Pa t t a M emorial C ollec t ion , O M C A , Gif t of E u g ene B ialewski , p h o t os b y m . lee fa t h erree

“Previously, the goal of gem cutting had been to enhance sparkle and brilliance,” explains Curator Julie Muñiz. “De Patta broke with that convention. She wanted to manipulate the optical qualities of stones so they would change in different light and as the wearer moved.”

Pendant, 1959.

White gold, ebony, quartz crystal.

In the OMCA Store Jewelry Collections Contemporary designer Holly Rittenhouse creates distinctive pieces with an architectural sensibility.

Look for her jewelry, inspired by midcentury modernism, in the OMCA Store.

The store will also host trunk shows of works by local jewelry artists on February 11 (Member Appreciation Day) and May 6. Look for pieces by Philippa Roberts, Mark Poulin, Molly McGrath, and others.

Exhibition Catalog The OMCA Store offers Space-Light-Structure: The Jewelry of Margaret De Patta, by Ursula Neuman and Julie Muñiz.

Production Pin #4, 1946–57.

Sterling silver.

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Jimi Hendrix, shown on the cover of his album Axis: Bold as Love, was one of the most influential rock stars of the era.

1968

The year that rocked our world

Join us for a special exhibition that revisits the year that shattered dreams, promised revolutions, and transformed society

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hey say that if you can remember the ’60s, you weren’t really there. But anyone who lived through 1968 will never forget those explosive

twelve months. In one short year, the escalating Vietnam War met with massive antiwar protests; Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated; students rioted nationwide; and the Black Panthers, feminists, hippies, and yippies overturned the status quo. There were happenings and sit-ins, lunar

One year before he was slain, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke against the war in Vietnam at the University of Minnesota.

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by Your Man. Now, a new exhibition invites everyone—those who were there, those who can’t remember, and those born afterward—to explore how ’68 was a social, political, and cultural watershed. The 1968 Exhibit is a not-to-be-missed journey back in time, replete with interactive multimedia elements, including psychedelic music, TV broadcasts, and 3-D environments. The exhibition also serves as a potent reminder of how the Bay Area was central to the upheavals that defined 1968. To tell these stories, OMCA has lent many items from its own collections to The 1968 Exhibit.

courtesy minnesota historical society

missions and loony TV shows, Soul on Ice and Stand

top to bottom : declan haun ; courtesy minnesota historical society ; D eclan H aun , C ourtesy C hica g o H istory M use U m

Above: Nixon supporters at the 1968 Republican National Convention in Miami.

Left: Patched jeans made by a flower child of the ’60s.

The 1968 Exhibit March 31–August 19, 2012 Organized by the Minnesota Historical Society in partnership with the Atlanta History Center, the Chicago History Museum, and the Oakland Museum of California. The

1968 Exhibit is supported in part by the National Endowment for the On college campuses across the country, students demonstrated against a variety of social and political issues, including the United States’ involvement in Vietnam.

Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences, and the Oakland Museum Women’s Board.

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In 1968, Apollo 8 gave mankind its first look at the Earth as a whole planet. One year later, men walked on the moon.

The Left Coast in 1968 When The 1968 Exhibit comes to California, it will be coming home, in a sense, because no state was more central to the themes and events of that turbulent year than the Golden State

“T

he events of 1968 had a huge effect on California’s history,” says Senior Curator of History Louise Pubols, who organized OMCA’s presentation of The 1968 Exhibit. “The San Francisco

Bay Area became a hotbed of the counterculture movement, with people congregating here from all over the country. Robert Kennedy was assasoned with. This exhibition reinforces OMCA’s commitment to telling the many stories of the people and events that contribute to California’s collective heritage.”

Many of the most indelible images from the game-changing year of 1968—off-the-grid hippies, rioting students, militant activists—came out of northern California, where fomenting change was the order of the day.

The Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, which had become a focal point of hippie culture during the Summer of Love a year earlier, remained the de facto capital of the movement in 1968.

Across the Bay at UC Berkeley, the aftershocks of the Free Speech Movement sparked countless protests and demonstrations relating to events around the world, including a 2,000-person rally in June. Police escalated crowd-control tactics to unprecedented levels, arresting hundreds of students.

In Oakland, the Black Panthers continued to mobilize their demands for civil rights and the abolition of police brutality. The violence associated with members of the group often overshadowed their social contributions to the underserved African American community, such as the Free Breakfast for Children program.

But perhaps the most shocking flash point of 1968 in California occurred on June 5, when presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles, just after winning the state’s Democratic presidential primary.

The 1968 Exhibit captures these and other life-changing narratives that help tell the Robert Kennedy, the younger brother of slain president John F. Kennedy, was mounting his own bid for the White House when he was assassinated in Los Angeles in June 1968.

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story of California.

top to bottom : C ourtes y N A S A ; courtes y chica g o histor y museum ; courtes y M innesota historical societ y

sinated in Los Angeles; and the Black Panthers became a force to be reck-

1968 in OMCA’s Collections Highlights include:

Black Panthers march to protest the trial of Huey P. Newton for slaying an Oakland police officer, Alameda County Courthouse, July 17, 1968.

CaliforNia moments in 1968 the oakland tribune collection , O M C A , g ift of an g newspapers , photo by K eith dennison

February 12 Eldridge Cleaver, a prominent member of the Oakland-based Black Panthers, publishes Soul on Ice, which becomes one of the most influential books of the Black Liberation Movement.

• A first edition of Eldridge Cleaver’s Soul on Ice can be found in the Gallery of California History.

• Sam Durant’s Proposal for a Monument to Huey Newton at the Alameda County Courthouse, Oakland, CA is on view in the Gallery of California Art. • Forces of Change, in the Gallery of California History, illuminates California between 1960 and 1975.

march 10 Labor organizer César Chávez ends a twenty-five-day fast in protest of violence against striking migrant farmworkers.

april 4 Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, sparking national riots, including many in the Bay Area.

Look for the 1968 icon in the Galleries of California Art and History to learn more about 1968 through OMCA’s permanent collections.

july 16 In San Francisco, Bill Graham opens the Fillmore West in the former Carousel Ballroom; the venue quickly becomes the West Coast mecca for the biggest rock bands of the day.

october 1 Bay Area visionary Stewart Brand publishes the Whole Earth Catalog, a counterculture bible that inspired a generation of innovators, including Steve Jobs, who likened it to “Google in paperback form, thirty-five years before Google came along.”

november 6 Protesters begin a strike at San Francisco State University that will go on for five months. The strike leads to the establishment of the College of Ethnic Studies and inspires ethnic studies programs at universities throughout the country.

december 9 Inventor Douglas Engelbart and fellow researchers unveil their “writing machine”—the world’s first word processor—at Stanford University.

In the OMCA Store Want a taste of ’68? Try Burn Baby Burn: A Revolutionary Hot Sauce, a spicy condiment that conjures up the fiery passion of the Black Panthers. Or relive the thrills of the Apollo space program with Astronaut Ice Cream, a freeze-dried treat that needs no refrigeration.

Exhibition Catalog The 1968 Project: A Nation Coming of Age,

by Brad Zellar

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All Of Us Or None: Social Justice Posters of the San Francisco Bay Area A new exhibit explores the enduring power of progressive posters

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ne day in 1977, Michael Rossman was trying to explain the tumult of the 1960s to several young people, so he pulled out a handful of the political posters he had accumulated. Then it hit him: Rossman, one of the leaders of the Free Speech Movement at UC Berkeley in the ’60s, had the seeds of an important collection, one that had been ignored by historians.

“He realized they were great tools for teaching,” says Rossman’s longtime friend Lincoln Cushing. “He started dumpster diving and visiting artists. He didn’t have a lot of money. He was a broke hippie. But he was passionate about this. He started painstakingly building this collection.”

The All Of Us Or None (AOUON) collection has grown to be one of the largest collections of its kind in the nation, comprising some 23,500 posters that span fifty years. After Rossman’s death in 2008, the col-

lection was donated to the Oakland Museum of California, and now a portion of that collection will be on display from March 31 to August 19, 2012. The exhibition will be on view concurrently with The 1968 Exhibit.

“Even though many people think this collection is nostalgic, it represents a movement that continues to this day,” says Cushing, the guest curator of the exhibition. “People who were making posters in 1969 are still

Top to bottom: Robert Bechtle, Back to skool week—again, 1969.

Frank Cieciorka, Stop the Draft Week Rally: Provo Park, 1967. Jellyroll Press, Wong-Allen design, West Coast Sky Scapes, circa 1969.

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making posters now. When you look at this collection, you realize it’s an unbroken span. It’s not just a bunch of old posters.” Indeed, one need look no further than the Occupy Oakland movement—and its counterparts in cities throughout the world—to appreciate the relevance of this collection.

Sixty-eight posters will be on display in the Museum,

posters from the all of us or none archi v e , collected between 1 9 7 7 and 2 0 0 8 , omca , fractional and promised g ift of the rossman famil y

and more can be viewed via an electronic database, searchable by year and topic. The exhibition will also feature a screen-printing table that allows visitors to see how posters are made.

Cushing is certain that visitors will come away with an appreciation of the ideas and feelings that spawned these posters, many of which were produced in the Bay Area. “There is tremendous spirit in these movements,” he says. “These are not dry academic exercises. They are passionate organizations, combining stunning text and art. They are powerful tools for democratic discourse.”

Above: Sätty (Wilfried Podriech) and Orbit Graphic Arts, McCarthy, 1968. Right: Wes Senzaki, Tule Lake: June 3, 1978.

Posters on these pages are from the All Of Us Or None archive. The AOUON archive was collected between 1977 and 2008. The cataloging of the collection was made possible by a generous grant from the Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation.

in the omca store

curatorial conversations

In connection with the All Of Us Or None exhibition, the OMCA Store presents a series of printmaking workshops.

and poster-making demos

Exhibition Catalog

All Of Us Or None, by Lincoln Cushing

Saturdays, Mar. 31, Apr. 14 and 28, May 12 and 26, June 9 and 23, July 7 and 21, Aug. 4 and 18, 12–4 pm. Join guest curator Lincoln Cushing and Bay Area print artists for screen-print demonstrations and conversations about OMCA exhibitions. The event will include giveaways of original posters made by the artists!

For more information, visit museumca.org.

Free for Members.

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e xplorations

building a bridge Question Bridge: Black Males, a transmedia project that captures dialogues among African American men, comes to OMCA

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he ironic thing about African American identity, says artist Hank Willis Thomas, is that it wasn’t created by African Americans.

“Europeans, with their commercial interest in dehumanizing us, created blackness,” says Thomas. “In the 150 years since the end of slavery, African Americans have tried to redefine blackness in their own terms.”

To that end, Thomas, Chris Johnson, Bayeté Ross Smith, and Kamal Sinclair collaborated on Question Bridge: Black Males, a unique combination of art and sociology. Question Bridge will be on view in the Gallery of California Art from January 20 to July 8, 2012 (and displayed concurrently at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the City Gallery of Chastain in Atlanta). It features videos of Black males asking and answering questions, with the goal of building a record that will resonate with future generations of Black men.

To create Question Bridge, the artists spent four summers traveling the country, interviewing more than 150 men and youth representing a wide range of lifestyles and incomes. Participants asked questions that would be put to other Black males. Each participant looked into the camera and answered questions about life as a Black man.

The questions and answers will be played on a semicircle of video screens, allowing visitors to stand in the middle of a conversation. “We think visitors will get insights into the way Black men think and feel,” Johnson says.

The artists intend not only to capture dialogues but to start new ones. Question Bridge includes materials to be used as curricula at high schools and colleges. Johnson and Thomas say this model can be used to explore diversity within any group. “We hope people will stop looking at the surface when trying to understand someone,” Thomas says. “Look deeper, listen harder, and try to learn.” A spin-off project, Black Males Blueprint Roundtable, includes events featuring intergenerational dialogues.

California Futures Forum Black Males Blueprint Roundtable February 11, 1–3 pm Included with Museum admission. Free to Members.

— For more information, visit museumca.org or questionbridge.com. This program is presented in partnership with the Office of African American Male Achievement, the Oakland Museum of California, and Question Bridge: Black Males.

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Question Bridge: Black Males is a fiscally sponsored project of the Bay Area Video Coalition and supported in part by a grant from the Open Society Institute: Campaign for Black Male Achievement, the Tribeca Film Institute, Sundance Institute New Frontier Story Lab, the LEF Foundation, the Center for Cultural Innovation, and the California College of the Arts. Question Bridge: Black Males will be on view concurrently at OMCA, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and the City Gallery of Chastain in Atlanta.

cour t es y of t h e ar t is t s and J ack S h ainman G aller y

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member e vents

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blue oak café member discount complimentary small coffee or beverage.

Present this coupon at time of service to receive discount.

Valid through January 31, 2012.

Member ID:­­­­­

member for a day pass

Just for You!

bring a friend to OMCA and receive a member for a day pass.

Get a sneak peek at exhibitions, take your family on a scavenger hunt, and find bargains in the OMCA Store

Your friend will enjoy all the benefits of membership for the day.

Valid February 1–28, 2012.

Member ID:­­­­­

OMCA Store Member Sale

Save 20% on your next purchase

S h aun rober t s and t oni gau t h ier

Present this coupon at time of service to receive discount. In-store only.

Valid March 1–31, 2012.

Member ID:­­­­­

50% off group tickets book a tour for 15 people or more during april and save 50%!

For availability, contact 510-318-8429 or groupsales@museumca.org.

Reference code MEMPROMO. Valid April 1–30, 2012.

Member Appreciation Day Saturday, February 11, 11 am–5 pm It’s all about you! Join us for a special event celebrating OMCA Members.

- Member Sale Take 20 percent off all merchandise in the OMCA Store.

- Jewelry Designer Trunk Show Meet some of our favorite jewelry designers, preview their newest designs, and take advantage of your 20 percent Members-only sale discount. Participating designers include Philippa Roberts, Mark Poulin, and Molly McGrath.

- Member-only Tours • Julie Muñiz, associate curator of design and decorative arts, leads Members on a tour of Space-Light-Structure: The Jewelry of Margaret De Patta.

• Take part in an insightful and poignant docent-led tour of 1991: Oakland-Berkeley Fire Aftermath, Photographs by Richard Misrach.

- Family Fun Pick up a Family Gallery Guide, and set out on a scavenger hunt adventure throughout the Galleries. Gallery 101: Helpful tips for parents and grandparents on how to share a gallery experience with kids without scaring them away.

Member Preview: The 1968 exhibit Friday, March 30, 3–7 pm Be among the first to view this unforgettable exhibition during Members-only viewing hours. Enjoy live music and specials in the Blue Oak café. Regular Member guest privileges apply.

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calendar

Donor Forum Exhibitions Family Events Member Events Special Events Trips & Tours

exhibitions, events, and programs JANUARY

FEBRUARY

Family Gallery Walk Jan. 8, 1 pm

Leader Lunch: Tiffany Shlain Feb. 6, 11:30 am–2 pm Donor Forum Member event.

Graffiti Installation Jan. 21, 11 am–5 pm By local artists Ras Terms and Safety First.

Family Day: Eco-Friendly Make-Your-Own John Muir Beard and Mustache Jan. 22, 12–3 pm Jan. 22 is the last day to see the John Muir exhibition!

White Elephant Preview Sale Jan. 29, 10 am–4 pm Oakland Museum Women’s Board warehouse, 333 Lancaster St., Oakland.

Lunar New Year Celebration and Other Asian Traditions: Year of the Dragon Jan. 29, 12–4:30 pm Bring your friends and family to this OMCA tradition! Elements of Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, and other Asian cultures will be featured in the festivities, including dragon and lion dances, Red Panda Acrobats, and storyteller Nancy Wang of Eth-Noh-Tec. Presented in collaboration with DEAF Media and OMCA’s Asian Pacific Advisory Council.

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Member Appreciation Day Feb. 11, 11 am–5 pm California Futures Feb. 11, 1–3 pm Intergenerational panel discussion on Question Bridge: Black Males.

Family Gallery Walk Feb. 12, 1 pm Family Day: History Alive!

Sun Yat-sen Feb. 12, 1:30 pm Family Day: Painting with Music Feb. 19, 12–3 pm Family Day: Storytelling Feb. 26, 12–3 pm

MARCH White Elephant Sale Mar. 3 and 4, 10 am–4 pm Oakland Museum Women’s Board warehouse, 333 Lancaster St., Oakland.

Family Day: ThingamaKids!

Mar. 11, 18, and 25, 12–3 pm

OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA

blue oak café member discount complimentary small coffee or beverage.

Present this coupon at time of service to receive discount.

Valid through January 31, 2012.

Member ID:­­­­­

member for a day pass bring a friend to OMCA and receive a member for a day pass.

Your friend will enjoy all the benefits of membership for the day.

Valid February 1–28, 2012.

Member ID:­­­­­

OMCA Store Member Sale

Save 20% on your next purchase Present this coupon at time of service to receive discount. In-store only.

Valid March 1–31, 2012.

Member ID:­­­­­

50% off group tickets book a tour for 15 people or more during april and save 50%!

For availability, contact 510-318-8429 or groupsales@museumca.org.

Reference code MEMPROMO. Valid April 1–30, 2012.

Host Your Next Event at OMCA Corporations and nonprofits receive a 20 percent discount; Members receive a 10 percent discount.

Family Gallery Walk Mar. 11, 1 pm Lecture and Curatorial Tour: Space-Light-Structure: The Jewelry of Margaret De Patta Mar. 25, 2 pm

The 1968 Exhibit: Donor Forum Member Preview Mar. 29, 6–8 pm OMCA Members See It First!

The 1968 Exhibit and All Of Us Or None: Social Justice Posters of the San Francisco Bay Area Mar. 30, Members 3–7 pm

APRIL Family Day: Jewelry Crafts Apr. 15 and 29, 12–3 pm Family Day: Do-it-yourself Apr. 22, 12–3 pm

Space-Light-Structure: The Jewelry of Margaret De Patta Feb. 4–May 13 The 1968 Exhibit Mar. 31–Aug. 19 All Of Us Or None: Social Justice Posters of the San Francisco Bay Area Mar. 31–Aug. 19 Modern Cartoonist: The Art of Daniel Clowes Apr. 14–Aug. 12

docent tours of the Galleries and Gardens. Take advantage of our delicious catering options. Prices start at $6 per person. Contact Group Sales at 510-318-8429 or groupsales@museumca.org.

Travels with the Art Guild in Dallas and Fort Worth (Mar. 30–Apr. 4), with an ways of Holland and Belgium (Apr. 27–May 4), with

Curatorial Conversations and Poster-Making Demos Saturdays, Mar. 31, Apr. 14 and 28, May 12 and 26, June 9 and 23, July 7 and 21, Aug. 4 and 18, 12–4 pm

(July 9–18), with an extension to Western Ireland (July

Docent Tours of the Gallery of California Art Saturdays and Sundays, 2 pm

Question Bridge: Black Males Jan. 20–July 8

Groups enjoy special pricing on tickets and exclusive

extension to Marfa (Mar. 27–30). Cruise the water-

ONGOING EXHIBITIONS

NEW EXHIBITIONS

The Group Sales Advantage

History Hollywood Screening: Fire Ruin Renewal Sundays, 2 pm, through Feb. 12

OMCA Highlight Tours Fridays and Saturdays, 1 pm

1991: Oakland-Berkeley Fire Aftermath, Photographs by Richard Misrach Through Feb. 12

events@museumca.org for more information.

Join the OMCA Art Guild for a roundup of Texas art

ONGOING EVENTS

California Futures Apr. 22, 2–4 pm Discussion on the future of California jewelry.

A Walk in the Wild: Continuing John Muir’s Journey Through Jan. 22

Call Angela Wilbourn at 510-318-8505 or email

Docent Tours of the Gallery of California History Sundays, 3 pm Architecture Tours by the Council on Architecture First Sundays at 1 pm Note that events and programs are subject to change. For updated listings, visit museumca.org.

an extension to The Hague (Apr. 25–27). Visit Detroit, Cranbrook, and Toledo (May 7–12). Explore Ireland 19–22). Enjoy Santa Fe (first week in Aug.). And don’t miss Italy: The “New” Rome, Umbria, and Beyond (Oct. 10–19), with an extension to Tuscany (Oct. 19–22). For more information, visit museumca.org/travel.

Free First Sundays are made possible in part by Wells Fargo.

OMCA Family is made possible by generous support from Chevron.

Museum Hours Monday

Closed

Tuesday

Closed

Wednesday

11 am–5 pm

Thursday

11 am–5 pm

Friday

11 am–5 pm

Saturday

11 am–5 pm

Sunday

11 am–5 pm

W I N T E R / s p ring 2 0 1 2

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NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

Oakland Museum of California 1000 Oak Street Oakland, CA 94607-4892

SALT LAKE CITY, UT PERMIT NO.6563

modern cartoonist: the art of daniel clowes | Opening April 14, 2012 The Story of California. The Story of You.

Oakland Museum of California museumca.org

d a n i e l c l o w e s , h a p p i n e ss mov i e p ost e r , 1 9 9 7

ONLY OMCA MEMBERS SEE IT FREE!