The opening of SFMOMA Artist’s Gallery’s new show, Wondrous Strange: A 21st Century Cabinet of Curiosities is the impetus for an evening to explore ideas about time though art, whimsy, music and mechanics.
Artwork (from left to right) by Jo Ann Biagini, Sharon Beals and Michele Muennig
From 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on July 22, 02010 join Long Now and the SFMOMA Artist’s Gallery as we open both venues and close off the adjoining street to delve deep into the Wunderkammer installation in the Gallery, the 10,000 Year Clock prototypes at Long Now and the Golden Mean, aka the Snail Car. There will be prizes for the best costumes so gather your time traveler gear – think late 18th through the early 20th century – and head our way! Musical accompaniment will be provided by punk band “The Grannies” and entertainment by the Burley Sisters burlesqueteers.
Its title derived from a line in Midsummer Night’s Dream, the show looks at the wondrous and the strange as propellants for the imagination of the viewer. Featuring works by more than a dozen Bay Area artists and including photography, sculpture, and painting, the exhibition explores themes such as evolutionary biology and history, progress and decadence, and the carnal and the intellectual. This contemporary version of the Cabinet of Curiosities provides a rich environment for the work of these 21st century artists who strive to reconnect us to the sources of wonder.
