SF Camerawork | Upcoming Exhibitions

Fall 2008 Exhibitions
September 4 - November 1, 2008
Opening Receptions, featuring performances:
Thursday September 4 & October 2, 5 - 8 pm

Through a series of participatory multi-media performance events and ongoing interactions in the gallery, this dynamic exhibit evolves as artists and audience collude to turn SF Camerawork into a participatory space and to blur the boundaries between art maker, viewer, and media.

September 4 – 27, 2008
Roger Sayre: Sitting: One Hour Portraits
Sittings by appointment: sign up now!

Photo credit: Roger Sayre

Sayre installs a large pinhole camera and a chair with an upright
headrest, akin to those used by 19th Century daguerreotypists, and
visitors who enlist to participate are 'on exhibit' for the duration of
a one-hour exposure. The resulting portraits will be displayed to
examine the intertwined histories of photography and performance.

Tim Sullivan
Participatory events on
September 4, September 13, September 27

Photo credit: Tim Sullivan

Sullivan invites gallery guests to step into a rowboat set up before a video
camera and blue screen. As the camera rolls, participants and viewers
can watch as the actions in the boat are merged with various
pieces of film footage created by the artist, inspiring
situational improvisation and performance.

September 4 – November 1, 2008
Oliver Herring and multiTASK: TASK Party SF
Participatory events on September 6, September 13,
September 20, September 27, October 4

Simple tasks devised by artist Oliver Herring and left in an envelope
become catalysts for mass performance. TASK’s participatory nature
provides limitless opportunities for audience members to interact with
one another and their environment. A website featuring the project’s
video, images, and participants’ experiences will be
on view in the gallery and online.

September 30 – November 1, 2008
Guillermo Gómez-Peña with Violeta Luna
and colleagues from La Pocha Nostra:
Performance Karaoke in Three Parts
Participatory events on October 2, October 11, October 21

La Pocha Nostra
Photo credit: Zach Gross

In three separate performance events, the artists will arrange
tableaux vivants with the audience, manipulating the participants' body
positions and adding costumes and props to their impromptu personae.
As audience members join in and adopt a ‘temporary ethnic identity,’
the truly political nature of the work reveals itself as participants begin
to make aesthetic, political, and ethical decisions on the spot.
Photographers will capture the results and images will
be mounted as the exhibit continues.

Second Front: Identity Theft Virtual
Participatory events on October 2, October 23

Second Front
Photo credit: Second Life

Second Front is the first performance art group in Second Life—an
online 3D world where people interact in a social economy through
avatars. In this installation, Second Front members (9 people distributed
internationally) will interact with gallery viewers in real life, taking their
pictures and gathering profile information to be used in two acts of viral
performance. Gallery visitors can, at any time, enter a space in Second
Life created by the group especially for this exhibition, interact with an
avatar, and have their identities “stolen” for the performances.

Past Exhibitions
View descriptions and selected photos from
exhibitions of the past few years here.

Admission:
(suggested donation)
$5 for general public
$2 for students and seniors
FREE for SFCW members
Open late First Thursday of each month
Free admission First Tuesday of each month