This two-part workshop fuses interpretive strategy and hands-on art-making opportunities into a single unit, encouraging audiences to be actively engaged with the exhibition Human/Nature: Artists Respond to a Changing Planet. Over the course of two sessions, participants will learn about the art-historical context of the exhibition, explore the curatorial process behind its genesis, and finally make their own creative projects in response to the exhibition. For reservations, please contact Michael Muehlhausen, Public Programs Coordinator, at 858 454 3541 x198.

 

Join Human/Nature artist Dario Robleto and science historian, poet, and author Jennifer Michael Hecht as they discuss the intersection of art and science, and consider the questions “Can art inspire conservation? Can conservation inspire art?” Robleto, a conceptual sculptor, dissects and then reconstructs his materials into new configurations bearing layers of history, meaning, and nuance. His featured work in the exhibition consists of a series of sculptures that focus on the disappearance of species, the mourning we collectively experience as we witness the changing of the earth, and how loss can inspire new ways of thinking.

Jennifer Michael Hecht is the author of award-winning books of philosophy, history, and poetry including Doubt: A History and The End of the Soul: Scientific Modernity, Atheism and Anthropology. Her book reviews appear in The New York Times and The Washington Post. Hecht earned her Ph.D. in the History of Science from Columbia University in 1995 and now teaches at New York University and The New School University.

 

Featured in the exhibition Memory Is Your Image of Perfection, Los Angeles-based artist Susan Silton’s work resides in the uncomfortable, fluid, tenuous, and sometimes exhilarating space of the in-between. In this performative lecture, Silton activates the multivalent space of the voice, drawing from diverse artistic, theoretical, and anatomical sources to contextualize her multi-disciplinary practice. The title of Silton’s presentation, She Had a Laugh Like a Beefsteak, refers to a description of Gertrude Stein’s laugh by biographer M.D. Luhan in 1935. Purchase tickets to this event.

 

MCASD and the San Diego Natural History Museum are collaborating for this all-day event led by Human/Nature artist Mark Dion and Philip Unitt, SDNHM Curator of Birds and Mammals. Unitt is also a specialist in subspecies identification of California birds, author of The Birds of San Diego County, and editor of Western Birds, the regional journal of ornithology for western North America.

Participants will begin the day at the SDNHM for an informative discussion by Dion and Unitt on the birds of the San Diego/Tijuana region and Dion’s previous work in that locale, followed by a tour of the Tijuana Estuary. Dion, who completed a site-specific project at the Tijuana Estuary as part of inSite_05, along with Philip Unitt and Estuary staff members, will talk about the Estuary’s ecological habitat. Then, participants will head to MCASD’s downtown location for a guided tour of Human/Nature led by Dion and MCASD Education staff. For reservations, please contact Michael Muehlhausen, Public Programs Coordinator, at 858 454 3541 x198.

 

In conjunction with the exhibition Weighing and Wanting: Selections from the Collection, join Dr. Hugh M. Davies, MCASD’s David C. Copley Director, for an evening of reflection and insight into the past 25 years of the institution’s acquisitions and history.

 

The first Thursday of every month, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego hosts TNT (Thursday Night Thing), an ongoing program of intriguing events in MCASD's Downtown galleries. Beginning at 7 pm, something different and interesting will be happening downtown— from slide jams, DJ lessons, and poetry readings to live bands, artists' talks, and video projections— TNT's eclectic events will be occasions to interact with the arts and artists in the San Diego region.

PHOTO BY TERRI RIPPEE.

Film lovers can enjoy an eclectic array of film screenings each month as selected by Film Curator Neil Kendricks.
 
Admission varies and is noted with each screening below. Tickets may be purchased in advance at the La Jolla front desk. For more information call 858 454 3541.

 

 

With its atmospheric mood of '70s paranoia, Philip Kaufman's 1978 sci-fi thriller ups the ante on terror in his classy remake of the cult classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Featuring Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, and Leonard Nimoy, this socially relevant allegory taps into the ever-resilient metaphor of pod people as creepy manifestations of our collective fears of alienation, loss of identity, and the unknown. Please note: Invasion of the Body Snatchers has adult content, violence, and disturbing images.

 

 

Quietly devastating in its juxtaposition of realism and the occult, master of the macabre Roman Polanski's 1968 classic renders a truly believable world where the existence of the supernatural is either the trappings of the troubled psyche of mother-to-be Rosemary (portrayed by a superb Mia Farrow), or something all too real. Please note: Rosemary's Baby has adult content, violence, and nudity.

 

 

MCASD presents its fourth annual collaborative screening with Cinefemme, the San Francisco and Los Angeles-based nonprofit, showcasing the films of independent women filmmakers. For one night only, enjoy an engaging collection of short films by women artists not afraid to push the filmmaking envelope, such as the short documentary, "The Fighting Cholitas," about a group of bold and fierce female Bolivian wrestlers.

 

 

Alan Parker's unflinching adaptation of Billy Hayes' true, life-and-death struggle to survive behind bars in a brutal Turkish prison continues to shock audiences 30 years after its release. Composer Giorgio Moroder's Oscar-winning, electronic-driven soundtrack underscores the film's vivid, gritty imagery, while the late Brad Davis delivers his best-known role as an American tourist-turned-naive-drug-smuggler daring to challenge a cruel, foreign penal system. Please note: Midnight Express is rated R for adult content, graphic violence, and disturbing images.

MCASD Members will get an exclusive sneak peek at this new exhibition that celebrates works acquired for the Museum's collection in the past 25 years. Weighing and Wanting is the first exhibition of a two-part series, and will feature sculpture, paintings, prints, drawings, and photography.

At 7 pm, Members are invited to hear artist John Baldessari and Dr. Hugh M. Davies, MCASD's David C. Copley Director, in conversation, followed by a cocktail reception.

At 6 pm, MCASD Members at the Contributor Level and above are invited to a special sunset reception featuring hosted cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, courtesy of the Hyatt Regency La Jolla. Call 858 454 3541 x121 to upgrade your Membership and enjoy this special event.

For more information on joining or upgrading your current MCASD Membership, please contact Katie Oram at koram@mcasd.org or 858 454 3541 x121.

Be a part of MCASD’s exciting inner circle and experience the Museum's upcoming exhibition season first-hand. These one-hour long, theater-style, multimedia presentations are free of charge to MCASD Members. To schedule your preview, please call Cynthia Tuomi at 858 454 3541 x118 or e-mail ctuomi@mcasd.org.

 

 

Join MCASD's Gallery Guides for free public tours of the Museum's La Jolla and Downtown locations. Tours begin at 2 pm on Saturdays and Sundays, and at 6 pm Thursday evenings. No reservations necessary.