Inside Out Issue 13

INSIDE | OUT

T H E STO RY O F CA LI FO R N IA T H E STO RY O F YO U OA K L A N D M USEU M O F CA LI FO RN IA

GIANT ROBOT’S INFLUENTIAL TAKE ON ASIAN AMERICAN POP CULTURE

The Vinyl Experience / How LPs foster connections and inspire storytelling After Hours / Friday evenings come alive with provocative salons SPRING 2014

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WELCOME

SuperAwesome!

David Choe, cover of Giant Robot, issue 50 (detail).

Lori Fogarty Director and CEO

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OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA

BOTTOM: COURTESY OF ERIC NAKAMURA

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hat is definitely the word for the spring lineup of exhibitions, programs, and people at the Oakland Museum of California this spring. The two major exhibitions of the season—opening for our Members during special preview hours on April 18—tap into a range of experiences, from mind-expanding pop culture that jumps from the pages of Giant Robot into our galleries, to the nostalgia and musical storytelling of Vinyl: The Sound and Culture of Records. Expect to see, feel, listen, and enjoy, whether it’s spinning a favorite record at one of the listening stations in Vinyl or playing a video game in a custom car created by Giant Robot’s founder, Eric Nakamura. These are exhibitions that everyone will find SuperAwesome!

The pages ahead also showcase new leaders at the Museum and a long-standing leader in our community. This year, the Museum will be looking to the future with our biennial benefit gala, OMCA NEXT, featuring the legendary Billy Beane as honorary chair. Through this partnership, we’ve had a chance to learn much more about the commitment to the community long demonstrated by the Oakland A’s and the team’s minority owner, Lew Wolff. While the fate of the A’s in Oakland is still up in the air, we think you’ll enjoy learning more about the team’s community spirit in our Thought Leader profile.

Finally, I am so personally pleased to be able to introduce you to some new additions to the OMCA team in the pages ahead. We have two new curators who have joined us recently, Suzanne Fischer and Christina Linden, and they are already making their mark in our galleries and exhibition projects. And we are truly fortunate, too, that a visionary in museum interpretation and visitor experience—Kelly McKinley—has joined our staff as the director of OMCA’s curatorial team. You’ll meet them and read about some of their favorite objects in our collections—objects that reflect the full span of the Museum’s scope in telling the story of California.

The program lineup to accompany our exhibitions is also at its most awesome this season, infusing Friday Nights @ OMCA with events and in-gallery programming that are sure to inspire. I hope to see many of you for the opening weekend of festivities for SuperAwesome and Vinyl—or gold panning in the gardens in May!

CONTENTS

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kozyndan, Domo Arigato Mr. Nakamura, 2002 (detail).

features 8

departments

Art and Giant Robot A SuperAwesome look at the edgy aesthetics of

a seminal pop culture phenomenon.

4 In the Galleries

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OMCA’s newest staffers pick their favorite items from

The Vinyl Experience A new exhibition explores how LPs inspire

the Museum’s collections.

6 Thought Leader

shared stories.

Oakland Athletics minority owner Lew Wolff talks about how baseball and museums connect communities.

18 After Hours Friday Nights @ OMCA present a series of thoughtprovoking Salons.

20 Calendar TO P : C O U R T ESY O F E R I C N A K A M U R A ; B OT TO M : R YA N L E B L A N C

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

22 Retail Tales The OMCA Store features a stunning selection of handmade jewelry by gifted designers.

23 Advancement A new publication celebrates OMCA’s groundbreaking architecture and recent transformation.

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 ©2014 Editor: Kelly A. Koski

Caption tk.

Contributors: Lori Fogarty, Joni Hess, Linda Larkin, Claudia Leung, Maggie R. Pico, Lisa Sasaki Photography: Terry Lorant Produced by: Diablo Custom Publishing dcpubs.com

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IN THE G ALLERIES

Personal Favorites

THREE NEW OMCA STAFFERS SHARE THEIR TOP PICKS FROM THE MUSEUM’S GALLERIES

URBAN RENEWAL Christina Linden, associate curator of painting and sculpture, knows that everything changes eventually. “I was in Budapest in 1991, not long after the first free parliamentary election in Hungary. I remember standing in the Kunsthalle next to a large minimalist sculpture, while watching workers dismantle a giant red star in the public square,” she says when asked about her most vivid museum memory.

Her favorite piece in the Gallery of California Art, Beat artist Bruce Conner’s Spider Lady House, illustrates change of a

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somewhat less sweeping nature. It’s a giant collage assembled from found objects, including pieces of houses demolished in San Francisco’s Western Addition neighborhood.

“Conner was using things that were lost as much as they were found,” Linden explains. “His art looks at what’s around you—the urban landscape as well as the patterns on your walls. This piece has fur, bottle caps, twine, nylons, jewelry. There’s an ice skate and a bird’s wing, too.” Pieces of walls from torn-down homes form the backing. “It’s a real treasure. It’s literally made out of San Francisco.”

OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA

Bruce Conner, Spider Lady House, 1957–59.

But all things must change, and the Conner piece is going into storage so that constant exposure to light won’t damage it.

This gives Linden a chance to dive into OMCA’s collection to discover more wonders to display—and share with visitors.

PEAK ENGAGEMENT Kelly McKinley, OMCA Lab director, says, “Museums are changing. There is a cultural shift going on.

More and more, they are less about places filled with stuff, and more about places where people come together to explore and learn.”

McKinley, who joins the Museum after seventeen years at the Art Gallery of Ontario, says that OMCA is a pioneer in this regard.

She points to an exhibit of tule elk in the Gallery of

FROCK OF AGES Suzanne Fischer, associate curator of contemporary history and trends, comes to OMCA from The Henry Ford, a museum complex in Michigan, and brings with her a lifelong interest in how—and why—things work.

Gown worn by gay rights pioneer José Sarria.

“I’m interested in the reasons people make things,” says Fischer, “and that unites my passions for science, creativity, and culture.”

Consider her favorite piece in the Gallery of California History: a sequined gown made of paper, once worn by the late gay rights activist and drag opera singer José Sarria.

“It’s more than fifty years old, but it’s still the same color and it’s not even torn,” Fischer says. “It’s a great story about OMCA’s dedication to conserving and preserving objects in the collection.”

It also bears witness to a time, place, and person. “Sarria lived when San Francisco

OMCA staff finish the floor inside the tule elk diorama.

California Natural Sciences, in which Museum staff are painstakingly restoring the animals’ hair, as a prime example.

“In the past, this work would have been done out of sight,” she says. “But here, the work is done in the open, completely transparently, so visitors can meet the staff and feel like a part of the process.”

McKinley, who oversees the Museum’s curators, exhibit developers, and evaluators, says this inclusive vision is what excites her most about her new role.

“Art, history, and nature are integral to our everyday lives,” she says. “We want people to be actively engaged in the many ways the Museum is a place of learning, delight, and awe.”

was just becoming a place for outsiders to find community,” she adds. “This gown shows that political struggle can be joyful and beautiful.”

In the space where craft overlaps with culture, you’ll find Fischer at work.

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A CONVERSATION WITH

LEW WOLFF

OAKLAND ATHLETICS MINORITY OWNER—AND CONTROVERSIAL NEWSTADIUM SEEKER—DISCUSSES HOW BASEBALL CAN BRING US TOGETHER

As the man intent on moving the A’s into a new and updated stadium—quite possibly outside of Oakland—Lew Wolff finds himself at the heart of a passionate, and often contentious, debate about where the team truly belongs. Here he speaks to Inside Out about baseball, art, and the public nature of a community’s most treasured institutions.

I UNDERSTAND YOU HAVE QUITE A BACKGROUND IN ART— YOU’VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART IN LOS ANGELES. IS THAT RIGHT? I was a trustee at MOCA for a decade and a half, but I stopped some years ago—I just got too busy. Now I’m just an art voyeur. I was actually thinking about the Oakland Museum of California recently. I remember when it opened. I love that unfinished concrete. I always loved the design.

HOW DID YOU FIRST GET INVOLVED IN BASEBALL? It was just an opportunity. Bud Selig [the commissioner of Major League Baseball] was a fraternity brother of mine at the University of Wisconsin, and he called on me one day to see if I was interested in buying out one of the two former owners of the A’s. To me, sports are just fun, and they’re interesting. But I never thought I had to own a team. I’d rather play, if I could, than watch.

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OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA

MICHAEL ZAGARIS

YOUR WIFE, JEAN WOLFF, IS AN ACCOMPLISHED ARTIST. DID SHE INTRODUCE YOU TO THE ART WORLD? Yeah. She was sculpting, and now she’s doing collages and watercolor.

We’re not huge collectors, but two or three times a year she takes me to all the galleries in New York and Paris.

THOUGHT LE ADER

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MUSEUMS AND BASEBALL TEAMS BOTH SERVE AS PUBLIC, CIVIC INSTITUTIONS OF SORTS. DO YOU THINK OF THE A’s THAT WAY? We definitely view baseball in America as an institution, even though it’s also a business. And while we try to operate for profit, baseball has a much higher profile as a community activity—that’s not just the A’s, but all the teams. And just like a museum, we reach out to all aspects of the community, whether it’s kids in the hospital, or Boys & Girls Clubs, or different educational funds. A museum is also a gathering place, just like a baseball stadium or the zoo. They all reach out to the community, especially to young schoolchildren.

IF THE A’s DO ULTIMATELY MOVE—TO SAN JOSE OR FREMONT OR SOMEWHERE ELSE IN OAKLAND—HOW WOULD THAT CHANGE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THIS COMMUNITY? First of all, that’s going to take a while. But the answer is that it won’t, at all. Our market is the East Bay and the South Bay, so our relationship to our fans wouldn’t change at all. We are regional. Museums are regional, too. In other words, museums, sports teams, things like that—they’re what make urban centers work. They bring people together for different things in one place. They’re really quite similar.

WHAT STRATEGY, IF ANY, DO THE A’s EMPLOY IN TERMS OF ENGAGING WITH THE COMMUNITY AROUND THEM? We like to touch as many local institutions as possible within our market area, which is not just Alameda County. It’s Contra Costa County and Santa Clara County, too. The goal is relating baseball to that, whether it’s providing tickets to Little Leagues or handing out our Mathletics workbooks for grade-school kids, or working with hospitals.

IS THAT KIND OF OUTREACH A WAY TO CREATE A NEW GENERATION OF A’s FANS? These programs become normal for us. We do them every year, and they’re another way of reaching out. We don’t have to try to create new fans. We want to gear most of our activities for people who are somewhat disadvantaged because we here are appreciative of where we’ve ended up in our careers. And, of course, because it’s fun!

Top: Lew Wolff with former A’s outfielder Rickey Henderson.

Above: Wolff and A’s General Manager Billy Beane.

A’s General Manager Billy Beane teams up with OMCA NEXT! The Oakland A’s and OMCA share a commitment to serving the community, particularly in the areas of education and access for underserved youth. OMCA is pleased to announce that the legendary Billy Beane is honorary chair of the Museum’s upcoming gala, OMCA NEXT. Join us for this dazzling celebration, which will benefit the Museum’s school tours and education programs, on Saturday, May 10. For more information, visit museumca.org/NEXT.

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OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA

art and giant robot A LOOK AT THE EDGY AESTHETICS AND CULTURAL RELEVANCE OF A SEMINAL POP CULTURE ZINE

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rom manga to multimedia, the art featured in the groundbreaking Asian American pop culture magazine Giant Robot was as diverse as it was creative.

Giant Robot was conceived in 1994 by publisher and gallerist Eric Nakamura as an underground zine—a self-published

niche magazine with a small circulation—made of stapled, Xeroxed pages.

Spurred by the artistic community it fostered, the tiny publication grew to include stores, art spaces, online video content, and more.

Along the way, Giant Robot became a touchstone for groups from both sides of the Pacific, and was the first publication to bring Asian American pop culture

COURTESY OF ERIC NAKAMURA

into the mainstream. The magazine became more polished before shutting down in 2011, but its edgy sensibilities never changed. Today, Giant Robot still exists online, has a retail store, and hosts about twenty exhibitions per year at its Los Angeles gallery space.

“With Giant Robot, there’s always a playful irreverence, a focus on Asia, Asian Americans, and the cultural production that connects the West Coast with the Pacific region,” says Carin Adams, OMCA’s associate curator of art and material culture. “But to understand the richness of it, you have to unpack its different facets.”

That legacy comes to OMCA beginning April 19 in a major exhibition called

SuperAwesome: Art and Giant Robot, co-curated by Adams and Nakamura.

Highlighting new and site-specific works by fifteen artists from the Giant Robot community alongside objects and ephemera from the magazine’s history,

SuperAwesome brings a new level of interactivity to OMCA’s Great Hall.

Here, Inside Out introduces you to six of the artists in the exhibition.

Clockwise from top left: kozyndan, Domo Arigato Mr. Nakamura, 2002 (detail); Giant Robot ephemera; Giant Robot, issue 4.

Andrew Hem, I think that possibly, maybe I’m falling for you, 2014.

Andrew Hem Perhaps no artist personifies the themes of Giant Robot better than Andrew Hem. He was born in Cambodia, then raised in Los Angeles after his parents fled the Khmer Rouge when he was just months old. He fell in love with graffiti as a teenager, before finding a passion for figure drawing.

His oil and acrylic work is informed by both life in the United States and his Cambodian heritage, while reflecting universal themes like change, loneliness, and community. Like most of the artists associated with

SuperAwesome Opening Weekend

Giant Robot, Hem finds inspiration and connection across mediums, in everything from anime to cinema.

“Oftentimes, I start a painting as if I was getting ready to act out a role for a movie. I have to do research

THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 6–8 PM

on the characters and live a life in their shoes,” Hem

Donor Forum Preview

told writer Amanda Erlanson, with whom he collaborated on a book called Dreams Towards Reality. “I love

Member Preview, 3–7 pm Friday Nights @ OMCA, 5–9 pm Public Sneak Peek, 7–9 pm SATURDAY, APRIL 19, 11 AM–5 PM Open to the public

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OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA

creating worlds that do not exist. A world where people don’t care about others’ appearance, and nobody has to worry about fitting in or being an outcast.”

TOP: COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

FRIDAY, APRIL 18

Shizu Saldamando Shizu Saldamando is a contemporary artist born and raised in San Francisco and educated in Southern California, where she currently lives. Her drawings, paintings, sculptures, and video art have been showcased internationally. But it’s probably her raw, intimate portraits of personal friends that have been most widely recognized.

Once referred to by Saldamando as “kind of homage pieces,” the portraits typically depict people who live outside of mainstream consumer society. Her subjects include tattooed punk rockers and multiracial working people. Her work appears on varied mediums, including sheets of paper, wood panels, and Ray Potes, untitled, 2014.

Ray Potes Ray Potes has long been on the creative world’s cutting

even bedsheets.

No matter the subject or medium, Saldamando’s work is characterized by a visceral, uncompromising authenticity that challenges traditional notions of normalcy and acceptance.

edge, and his artistic interests span many genres. In 2009, he successfully raised money to publish the thirteenth edition of the popular photography zine,

Hamburger Eyes, on the crowd-funding site Kickstarter. The following year, he designed a shoe for major skateboarding brand Etnies. His photographs have always been characterized by a unique eye for humor and detail.

Mundane occurrences are given new depth by Potes’s stark, black-and-white photos. “It’s like the apocalypse has been announced,” the Australian arts and culture site Lifelounge aptly summarized, “so Shizu Saldamando, May, Post Break-up, 2011.

COURTESY OF THE ARTISTS

everyone has decided to party.”

Potes, a Honolulu native who lives in San Francisco, started Hamburger Eyes as a self-published zine photocopied during the graveyard shift at Kinkos. It has since grown into what he and colleagues call a photography “epicenter” that publishes hundreds of zines a

MEMBER TOUR

SUPERAWESOME: ART AND GIANT ROBOT Saturday, May 17, 11:15 am

year with work by photographers of all levels.

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Adrian Tomine, The Donger and Me, 2001.

Deth P. Sun Deth P. Sun’s paintings and illustrations straddle the line between whimsy and mythology in delightful fashion.

The Berkeley-based artist cites luminary children’s author and illustrator Richard Scarry as an influence, and most of his work features a nameless cat character navigating various fantasy worlds.

From lonely nighttime landscapes to cozy homes, the environments Sun creates range from intimidating to reassuring. Sometimes we find the cat engaged in heroic struggles; other times we find the cat transmitting our own feelings of loneliness or isolation. But for many, that cat—and the situations Sun puts it in—has come to define his work. “It was a way of creating a genderless, non-race character,” Sun told LA Weekly in 2011.

Sun’s art has been featured in Giant Robot, shown in

knickknacks in his online Etsy shop.

Deth P. Sun, untitled, 2012–14 (detail).

Now based in Brooklyn, UC Berkeley graduate Adrian Tomine first made his name with the comic series

Optic Nerve, a self-published zine created in the 1990s. The artist’s personal connection to the comic is clear: its stories span geographically from California, where he was born, to Japan, where his family traces its heritage. Tomine’s work has been featured in Giant Robot many times, and his success has continued to grow. His 2007 graphic novel, Shortcom-

ings, set in Berkeley, is one of many critically acclaimed works. And if his style looks familiar, consider this: Tomine has illustrated more than ten New Yorker covers since 2004.

“There’s something about the process of translating the messy chaos of real life into a clean, simple

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drawing that’s always been comforting to me,” he told

SuperAwesome: Art and Giant Robot is made possible in

Giant Robot in 2012.

part by support from the Deluxe Corporation Foundation.

OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA

TOP: COURTESY OF ERIC NAKAMURA; BOTTOM: COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

Adrian Tomine

exhibitions across the West, and even adorns a range of

Rob Sato, Five Movements for Little Guys, 2014 (detail).

Rob Sato Rob Sato

Watercolorist Rob Sato was raised in Sacramento

and reality, yet Sato has said he is greatly influenced

and now lives in Los Angeles. His work is a fascinating

by seminal works of literature and music, as well as by

mash-up of influences and explorations, including the

real-life events from throughout human history.

independent video game The Pack, developed spe-

The end results are the beautiful watercolors that even

cifically for the SuperAwesome: Art and Giant Robot

Sato sometimes struggles to explain. “A lot of the time

exhibition.

I have no idea what I’m going to be making,” he says.

Sato’s paintings feature familiar objects but transport them to surreal, dreamlike settings. They occupy

“You start out with a line, and it turns into this incredible world that you can dive into.”

a wholly original space somewhere between fantasy

On view in OMCA’s Great Hall April 19–July 27

The Giant Robot Scion XB art car.

Get gaming!

Visitors can play a rotating selection of vintage Japanese video games in the Giant Robot Scion XB— a car designed by Eric Nakamura and turned into an interactive gaming station.

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STERE

L Y N I V THE

E C N E I R E EXP t, Raphael Ville . untitled, 2014

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

s ie r o t s d e r a h s e ir p s in s P L w o h s e r lo p x e n io it ib A ne w ex h

EO

or all the convenience of today’s streaming playlists and online music sharing, something vital has diminished with the rise of modern audio technology: a sense of shared experience.

“The digital age definitely has something missing,” says Senior Curator of Art René de Guzman. “It’s that need to connect with others. The physicality of records actually forces us to connect with people.”

OMCA’s new exhibition, Vinyl: The Sound and

Culture of Records, examines and facilitates the unique interactions that albums spark among music lovers of all kinds. Visitors will have opportunities to experience the power of vinyl firsthand at listening stations and through visual displays that reveal how vinyl works. Special events featuring guest speakers and DJs will look at the deep connections that record fans and audiophiles have with this medium.

De Guzman and exhibition designer Scott Moulton say the inspiration for Vinyl came from an experiment conducted by Seattle-based Olson Kundig Architects. The firm, known for its community involvement, set up record players in its art space, [storefront], and let visitors listen to LPs together.

“We loved the idea of people coming together and sharing stories through their record collections,” Moulton says. “It tapped into a key mission of the Museum: telling stories of California through the people who live here.”

VINYL: THE SOUND AND CULTURE OF RECORDS Saturday, April 19–Sunday, July 27 On view in OMCA’s Great Hall Exclusive record store of Vinyl: The Sound and Culture of Records:

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RACONTEURS ON RECORD Throughout Vinyl’s duration, the Museum will invite Bay Area music experts and vinyl fans to share stories about their love of albums. Here, Inside Out offers a few examples of the sorts of narratives that only LPs can inspire.

Oakland record producer Steve Stevenson will curate a collection of records from his 1-2-3-4 Go! label and store of the same name. The albums will be available for visitors to play on six turntables in the exhibition.

Raphael Villet, untitled, 2014.

“It’s such a cool idea for an exhibit, and I’m thrilled to

tangible feel of vinyl, as well as the medium’s sound

“He worked in the store,” she says,“and he would watch

quality. “There’s nothing like holding the test pressing of

people come in, size them up, and recommend the

a new record for the first time. It’s satisfying to know that

album they needed to buy.”

you have put this new piece of art out there in the world.”

Writer Sylvie Simmons is another vinyl aficionado

Another vinyl fan, KFOG DJ Rosalee Howarth, recalls

who used her taste in records as a qualifier for relation-

spinning LPs at an underground station in Carmel, at a

ships. “I would select my boyfriends by their records,”

time when all music on the radio was played on vinyl.

says Simmons, a longtime contributor to Britain’s Mojo magazine. “If a boy had that first Leonard Cohen album

“There were these overlap segues that could only occur by playing LPs,” Howarth says. “There was that one

or a hard-to-find release from the Incredible String Band,

Led Zeppelin song that could crossfade with that one

it meant he was OK to date.”

Supertramp song, and somehow stay on the beat. Those

Simmons is one of many experts who will conduct a music

phenomenal crossfades were a major reason the freaks

listening session during Vinyl’s three-month run. Her session

and heads used to love to listen to music on the radio.”

will be on guilty listening pleasures, and visitors will be invited

When she wasn’t spinning records on the air, Howarth worked in a record store, where she met her husband.

DON'T MISS VINYL'S BONUS TRACKS!

to bring in LPs that they are embarrassed about loving.

“It used to be like a rite to play a piece of music,” Simmons

CONTEMPORARY SPINS

COMFORT ZONES

Musical instrument builder, photographer, and composer Walter

Matthew Passmore, co-founder of Rebar Art and Design Studio,

Kitundu will present new work that interprets turntables as inspi-

has designed long, snakelike seating elements that can be

ration for sculptures, and artist Raphael Villet will interview and

adjusted into different arrangements, allowing visitors to experi-

photograph some of the Bay Area’s top vinyl collectors.

ence the exhibition in different group dynamics.

INDIE PARTNERS

CRATE EXPECTATIONS

Vinyl opens on April 19, serendipitously coinciding with inter-

In vinyl’s heyday, the plastic milk crates used in grocery stores

national Record Store Day, an annual celebration of the culture

often doubled as storage bins for albums. For the exhibition, a

surrounding indie record stores. Several of the Bay Area’s best,

range of Bay Area music lovers will curate crates, filling them

including Amoeba Music and 1-2-3-4 Go!, are involved in creat-

with LPs that visitors will be able to browse through and spin.

ing content for the exhibition.

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

be a part of it,” says Stevenson, who says he loves the

SPECIAL EVENTS: TALK AND PLAY Alternating Fridays, 7–8:30 pm, April through July Alternating Saturdays, 1–2:30 pm, April through July Turn off your digital devices and be inspired by live record spinning and conversation! Passionate fans, avid collectors, music writers, and noted DJs will share stories and amazing records.

Tall, Play, and Sip: On Friday evenings, mixed drinks and other beverages will be on sale in the Vinyl exhibition during these engaging programs. More details at museumca.org/events. adds. “It took an effort to take an album out of the sleeve, wipe it down carefully, before putting it on the turntable.”

TALES FROM THE TURNTABLE Amoeba Records co-founder Marc Weinstein agrees with Simmons about the ritual of playing music and describes his first experiences with vinyl as if they were a religious practice. “We would put that LP on the altar, let the needle drop, and listen to it over and over,” Weinstein says. “I think of that music like it’s church music.”

Howarth, Simmons, and Weinstein are “analog na-

PANEL DISCUSSION: COVER ART Marvin Spohn Lecture in the Graphic Arts Saturday, June 21, 1–2:30 pm A panel of experts will discuss the influence of artists from

SuperAwesome: Art and Giant Robot who have created artwork for album covers.

This annual lecture is named in honor of graphic artist Marvin Spohn.

tives”—listeners raised on records in a time before one could store the entire Beatles catalog on an iPhone.

GET YOUR GROOVE ON AT OMCA!

Curator de Guzman says there will be plenty in Vinyl to

Donor Forum Preview: Thursday, April 17, 6–8 pm

excite analog enthusiasts, but he also notes that the exhibition welcomes “digital natives”—music fans raised in the age of CDs and MP3 files.

Fortunately, plenty of younger listeners understand the

Member Preview: Friday, April 18, 3–7 pm Public Sneak Peek and Record Swap: Friday, April 18, 7–9 pm, during Friday Nights @ OMCA

physical appeal and social experiences that come with records. Take 18-year-old musician Joey Armstrong,

Members are invited to join the fun at Friday Nights @ OMCA after

whose Oakland-based band, Emily’s Army, releases

their special preview. Don’t miss this opportunity to buy, sell, and

albums in hard form as well as on all the digital platforms.

share your favorite albums with local record sellers and collectors!

“There’s nothing like vinyl; the sound quality is so much better,” says Armstrong, a student at San Diego State University. “My favorite moment is that little scratch you hear when the needle digs into the record.”

Armstrong picked up a lot about music from his

communal experience that vinyl fosters is the medium’s greatest appeal.

father, Billie Joe, lead singer of Green Day. Whether

“I have a record player in my dorm room,” Armstrong

sifting through record stores with his bandmates or

says, “which is the perfect way to get together with my

spinning LPs with friends, Armstrong says that the

friends and listen to music.”

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AF TER HOURS

SuperAwesome FRIDAY NIGHTS @ OMCA ARE EDGIER THAN EVER, WITH DARING NEW PROGRAMS THAT RIFF ON CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

OMCA offered its first Salon on March 21, when visitors danced the night away to Taiwanese band Won Fu and watched the new screwball comedy film, Awesome Asian Bad Guys. Don’t miss these upcoming festive parties!

ZINES & PRINT CULTURE Friday, May 30, 7–9 pm ANIME & MANGA Friday, July 25, 7–9 pm For more information, visit museumca.org/salons.

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his spring, OMCA is presenting multiple events in conjunction with SuperAwesome: Art and Giant Robot and Vinyl: The Sound and Culture of Records that take the themes of these exhibitions to new levels. Called the SuperAwesome Salon series, these programs are boundary-busting mash-ups involving art, music, food, fashion, games, and film. The goal? To give visitors fresh opportunities to share, talk, taste, and listen—and dive into the creative worlds of Asian American pop culture and music on vinyl.

SALON ACTIVITIES INCLUDE: Mixology2: With specialty cocktails and DJs spinning vinyl, this is mixing at its best, in every sense of the word.

Noodle Cook-Off: The Bay Area’s top noodle chefs present their finest ramen, soba, udon, and more. Visitors get to sample the results and vote for their favorites.

Art Making: In the spirit of SuperAwesome and Vinyl, OMCA offers hands-on, DIY activities, from creating a zine to stop-motion animation to Post-it note art making.

Gaming: What could be a more appropriate way to celebrate the pop culture aesthetic of Giant Robot than by playing iconic video games from past and present?

Fashion: Rock your most awesome look at OMCA’s Salons and shop for street-chic apparel from local designers.

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OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA

Right: A DJ from The 45 Sessions, a local 7" vinyl collective, plays classic film tunes.

FRIDAY NIGHTS @ OMCA, 5–9 PM The East Bay’s best party features:

Salons

• Half-price gallery admission for adults (ages 18 and under are free!)

• Local beer, wine, cocktails, and nonalcoholic beverages in the Blue Oak beer garden • DJs and live bands • Dance instruction, costume contests, comedy, and more • Family-friendly drop-in activities, with monthly themes: – May: make your own comic, inspired by SuperAwesome: Art and Giant Robot ­– J une: create your own album art, inspired by Vinyl: The Sound and Culture of Records – July: build a summer pinwheel – August: paint a river rock • Story time with the Oakland Public Library on the final Fridays of the month

Above and this image: SF Mixology presents a fiery demonstration at the SuperAwesome Salon: Film. Below: Post-it note art, a Giant Robot tradition, will be re-created at each Salon.

• Makers & Tasters Series, ranging from beer brewing to book signings, on the first and final Fridays of the month • Extended hours in the galleries, special exhibitions, and the OMCA Store • Gourmet food trucks from Off the Grid Presented in partnership with Off the Grid: Lake Merritt @ OMCA. Friday Nights arts programs are made possible in part by generous support from the Walter and Elise Haas Fund.

SHAUN ROBERTS

MEDIA PARTNERS

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CALENDAR

Check out the full lineup of events and programs at museumca.org.

OMCA TOURS California Art Tour Saturdays and Sundays, 2 pm California History Tour Sundays, 3 pm OMCA Highlight Tour Fridays and Saturdays, 1 pm

OMCA FAMILY

EXHIBITIONS, EVENTS, AND PROGRAMS

Architecture of the Museum Tour First Sundays, 1 pm Every Sunday in June, 1 pm

MEMBER TOURS Family-Friendly Tour: Wild in California Saturday, April 19, 11:15 am SuperAwesome: Art and Giant Robot Saturday, May 17, 11:15 am Gold Rush Tour with Gold Panning Saturday, June 21, 11:15 am Family-Friendly Sculpture Garden Tour Saturday, July 19, 11:15 am

Drop-in Workshops: Flipbooks and Turntabling Sunday, April 27, noon–3 pm Enjoy an afternoon of fun workshops inspired by SuperAwesome and Vinyl. Make your own flipbooks and learn basic DJ techniques for beat matching and scratching. Made possible by generous support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Pan for Gold Sundays in May, noon–3 pm Head to the Museum gardens to try your hand at gold panning, and keep what you find! Also, learn to tell the difference between the real deal and fool’s gold. Made possible by generous support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Summer Reading Celebration with the Oakland Public Library Sunday, August 3, noon–4 pm Join us in the Museum gardens to celebrate the culmination of the Oakland Public Library’s annual summer reading program. The free event includes performances, story time, and arts and crafts. Made possible in part by Wells Fargo.

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OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA

TOP: JASON LEW; BOTTOM: SHAUN ROBERTS

Oakland on Two Wheels Third Sundays, May through October, 10 am Cycle through Oakland’s neighborhoods with an experienced guide

SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS SuperAwesome: Art and Giant Robot April 19–July 27 | Great Hall Vinyl: The Sound and Culture of Records April 19–July 27 | Great Hall Judy Chicago: A Butterfly for Oakland April 26–November 30 | Gallery of California Art

T O P : O D E L L H U S S E Y; R I G H T: C O U R T E S Y O F T H E A R T I S T A N D PA U L C H A D B O U R N E M I L L S A R C H I V E O F C A L I F O R N I A A R T, O M C A

Now on View: We Dream in Art Over the past year, OMCA Connect—the Museum’s community engagement team—asked Oaklanders the question “What is your dream for your community?”

Citizens responded by making collage squares, which, along with photographs of the participants, create the mural on the Museum’s outer wall, on Oak Street, and the Alameda County Administration building. Don’t miss this vibrant exploration of our community’s future the next time you visit OMCA.

Sunshine and Superheroes: San Diego Comic-Con May 23, 2014–May 31, 2015 | Gallery of California Art Bay Motion: Capturing San Francisco Bay on Film Through June 29 | Gallery of California Art A Cinematic Study of Fog in San Francisco Through June 29 | Gallery of California Art Inspiration Points: Masterpieces of California Landscape Through July 13 | Gallery of California Natural Sciences The Smallest of Worlds Through August 31 | Gallery of California Art

Judy Chicago, A Butterfly Atmosphere for Oakland, 1974.

MUSEUM HOURS Monday Closed OMCA NEXT: REFLECT, REFRACT, REVEAL Gala Celebration!

Saturday, May 10 Don’t miss OMCA’s biennial benefit gala, a tribute to the Museum’s mission to inspire California’s future and foster the next generation of stewards, citizens, innovators, and creators. This special evening benefits the Museum’s school tours and education programs. For more information, visit museumca.org/NEXT.

Tuesday Closed Wednesday

11 am–5 pm

Thursday

11 am–5 pm

Friday

11 am–9 pm

Saturday

11 am–5 pm

Sunday

11 am–5 pm

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RE TAIL TALES

BRILLIANT BIJOUX

IN THE OMCA STORE THE OMCA STORE FEATURES A WIDE SELECTION OF HANDMADE JEWELRY BY GIFTED ARTISTS 1

2

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1. Holmes Pocket Watch This classic watch, which comes with a black leather strap and clip for attaching to a pocket or belt loop, was designed in San Francisco by TOKYObay.

3. Cast Pewter Pendant Based on the shape of a woodpecker skull, this pendant, designed by Ria Charisse, hangs from a black leather cord.

4. I. Ronni Kappos Earrings These 14-karat gold-filled teardrop earrings, by Los Angeles designer I. Ronni Kappos, are made with vintage German glass.

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OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA

JIM BLOCK

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Stop by to shop during your next visit, or browse online at shop.museumca.org

2. Dome Earrings Carmel-based artist Maja crafted these bold earrings out of oxidized silver.

ADVANCEMENT

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REVISITING AN

ARCHITECTURAL ICON A NEW EDITION OF A GIFT OF ARCHITECTURE CASTS A FRESH LIGHT ON OMCA’S GROUNDBREAKING DESIGN

W

hen OMCA opened in 1969, the building’s design, overseen by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Kevin Roche, was hailed as a major contribution to midcentury architecture. The structure’s fluid integration of indoor and outdoor areas and bold use of materials established OMCA as both a vibrant urban park and a compelling public space. Roche’s brilliant vision and Dan Kiley’s inventive landscape design were celebrated in a book called A Gift of Architecture, published by the OMCA Council on Architecture in 1989.

Now, the Council on Architecture is proud to announce the second edition of A Gift of Architecture, updated and expanded to include OMCA’s recent transformation, the first phase of which was completed in 2010. San Francisco-based Mark Cavagnero Associates worked closely with OMCA to preserve the Museum’s architectural importance while creating new ways to enhance public engagement. In the fall of 2010, OMCA—in recognition of its efforts to blend the distinct visions of Roche and Cavagnero while upholding the integrity of each—was honored with the Twenty-five Year Award from the American Institute of Architects, California Council.

This exciting new publication includes the original book’s thirty-twopage text and black-and-white photography, and features new essays and color images of OMCA as it looks today. The book will be available in the OMCA Store beginning May 30.

TO P : N AT H A N K E R R

BRING A GROUP TO OMCA! OMCA Members: Know a group that might want to visit the Museum? Clubs, associations, organized tours, or other interested groups can receive a special discount in May and June by mentioning Inside Out. To learn more, visit museumca.org/group-visits.

ARCHITECTURAL EVENTS! A Gift of Architecture: Preview & Reception Thursday, May 29 This invitation-only event is for Donor Forum Members and members of the Council on Architecture. Meet architect Mark Cavagnero and be the first to purchase a signed copy of the new publication.

Architecture of the Museum Tour First Sundays, 1 pm Every Sunday in June, 1 pm The OMCA Council on Architecture will lead tours of the Museum every Sunday throughout the month of June.

A Gift of Architecture: Public Book Launch Sunday, June 29, 2 pm Join the Council on Architecture for a book signing at the OMCA Store.

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NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

Oakland Museum of California 1000 Oak Street Oakland, CA 94607-4820

SALT LAKE CITY, UT PERMIT NO.6563

Fertile Ground: Art and Community in California Opens Sept. 20

Jointly organized by the Oakland Museum of California and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Frida (Frieda) Kahlo, Frieda and Diego Rivera, 1931.

COLLECTION OF SFMOMA. ALBERT M. BENDER COLLECTION, GIFT OF ALBERT M. BENDER; © BANCO DE MEXICO D I E G O R I V E R A & F R I D A K A H L O M U S E U M S T R U S T, M E X I C O , D . F. / A R T I S T S R I G H T S S O C I E T Y ( A R S ) , N E W Y O R K .

MEMBERS SEE IT FIRST!