Since moving to Beijing in 2008 one of my primary focuses has been to travel to regions outside of the major art centers of China to find new artists, visit universities, galleries, museums, meet the directors and professors of areas not regularly traveled by western art professionals.
Maybe it was the fact that it was a free sneak preview. Maybe it was because Michael Cera and director Miguel Arteta gave an in-person discussion following the film. Whatever it was, hundreds of people showed up by 5pm for a 7pm screening. (Some guests even started arriving as early as 1pm.) The crowd was mainly comprised of herds of UCLA students, perhaps more than the Hammer has ever seen at once.
The line wrapped around the entire courtyard.
"No further admittance." The theater was full to capacity- 295 people. Hundreds of others were turned away.
People amuse themselves during hours of waiting.
Billy Wilder theater manager Steven Foley busy with crowd control.
The film is loaded and ready to go at 6pm.
Sound engineer Jeben Marshall and projectionist Jim Smith discuss in the Billy Wilder Theater.
It seems like every American holiday is now also being celebrated or at least talked about in China. I received many text messages wishing me a happy Thanksgiving. It seems that everyone knows about Thanksgiving and I think has a basic understanding of its meaning but I didn’t actually see anyone celebrating it. I haven’t seen any turkeys in China either.
The Hammer Museum Presents Rachel Whiteread Drawings in
First Drawings Retrospective of the British Artist
On View January 31 - April 25, 2010
This winter the Hammer Museum presents a retrospective of drawings by Rachel Whiteread, the first large-scale museum survey of work on paper by the British artist. Organized by Allegra Pesenti, curator of the Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, this exhibition includes key examples of the artist’s sculpture displayed alongside her drawings. The exhibition features 155 drawings, 8 sculptures, and a vitrine filled with roughly 200 objects selected by Whiteread. Although her sculpture is well-known and widely published, Whiteread’s work on paper has remained largely behind the scenes until now.
“My drawings are a diary of my work,” Whiteread explains, and like the passages in a diary her drawings range from fleeting ideas to labored reflections. They are produced independently of the sculpture yet are critical
Nic Hess. Spindle Implosion (Automatic Crash Response), 2009. Tape. 6 1/2 x 20 1/2 x 7 in. (16.5 x 52.1 x 17.8 cm). Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Purchase.
At the close of his installations, artist Nic Hess removes the used tape, wrapping it into densely packed balls. This video documents the de-installation of his Hammer Project Automatic Crash Response. (Run Time: 3 min.) The Hammer acquired the resulting sculpture for the Hammer Contemporary Collection.
