Martin Morububuna and Purago Marabe completed their one-month-long residency in the Kimball Artist Studio on November 1, 2009.
Martin created a vibrant mural showing Papua New Guinea as a panoramic collective of plants, animals, houses, boats, people and their bilas. Bilas is a word in Melanesian Tok Pisin that refers to the array of headdresses, necklaces, belts, armbands, and aprons that people use to adorn themselves for dance and ceremony. The mural expresses Martin’s wish for all people to honor the past and keep traditional values strong.
Simultaneously, Martin worked on some partly finished canvases that he brought with him from Port Moresby. These canvases might make another appearance in Victoria, British Columbia at the Alcheringa Gallery where Martin’s work will be included in Hailans to Ailans.
Meanwhile, Purago offered our visitors pairings of his poetry and his paintings such as Hanuabada... [more]
Todd and Meklit describing their process with visitors and sharing work created during their time with us.
Todd working on yet another layer of his piece, "Resilience"
Cultural Encounters Commissions
The Fine Arts Museums solicit California artists and art groups to create site specific works and installations in response to the de Young's permanent collection, temporary exhibitions, or the building and its environment
Todd and Meklit, Artistic Director and resident artist, respectively, of the Red Poppy Art House joined us as June Artists-in-Residence as well as commissioned artists for the de Young Museum with their project entitled Meklit Hadero and Todd Brown: Light, Shadow, and the Space of in Between.
Every month the de Young invites artists to install and demonstrate their art form at the museum. This interactive program is meant to encourage dialogue between the museum visitor and local working artists within the community.
In the case of Hadero and Brown, the artists integrated their artistic processes with the physical environment of the Kimball Gallery in an interactive installation enhanced by musical compositions and two-dimensional art. The ultimate goal of Todd and Meklit was to inspire visitors to integrate art into their own home, work, and life environments.
In an effort to document their their uniquely intensive process, Todd has included several images and further explanations of his and Meklit's various works on his website: www.artist-toddbrown.com
Please visit his site and see what beautiful inspir.. [more]
Today was a very special day at the de Young. Visitors were encouraged to wear festive hats to honor Bouquets to Art, which runs through 5 pm tomorrow. Hat-judging was led by San Francisco’s premier movie critic and hat diva, Jan Wahl. Prizes were awarded for Best Botanical Theme, Most Creative, Cutest Kids, Most Couture and Best Couple or Group. Over 50 participants paraded around the Piazzoni Murals Room to celebrate one of the de Young’s most beloved traditions. The most stunning, artistic, and simply outrageous hats imaginable were worn proudly by people of all ages. Check out some of the fun!
The Yearly Invasion of Flowers into the Museum through the lens of the Conservation Patrol.
Monday Afternoon, March 16, 2009 The set up wraps up.
On the other hand, the Conservation Patrol gave a reprieve to these "grapes." Any furry creature would be in for a big surprise if they stole one of these plastic stand-ins.
This animal slipped in because he was made of flowers.
