1130 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA. Open Tuesday-Sunday 11 am – 5 pm, Free Thursday Evening 5 – 8 pm
805.963.4364 www.sbma.net
Enjoy half-price admission!
Exhibition Openings
Studio of Mathew Brady. Mathew Brady, Sixth Corps Staff Officers, Winter of 1864, 1864. Salted paper print from a glass plate negative. Courtesy of the Wilson Centre for Photography.
Salt and Silver: Early Photography 1840 – 1860
September 8 – December 8, 2019
Featuring more than 100 seldom-displayed salt prints from the Wilson Centre for Photography, this extraordinary exhibition provides a rare chance to experience some of the earliest photographs ever made, by many of the most important and groundbreaking figures in the history of the photographic medium. Salt and Silver surveys the first two decades of photography’s evolution through the salt paper print process, unveiled in 1839 by the English scientist and scholar William Henry Fox Talbot. Talbot’s invention was a scientific and artistic breakthrough that created an entirely new visual experience. The technique—which used the simple compounds of salt and silver—was efficient, portable, and versatile, traits that allowed the practice of photography to spread across the globe from the early 1840s onward. Featuring the work of more than 40 practitioners, Salt and Silver traces their networks and geographical reach from England into Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, India, China, and North America. The presentation at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art represents the final opportunity to see this exhibition after being on view at Tate Britain, London; Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, and the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery at Scripps College, Claremont, CA. Salt and Silver: Early Photography 1840–1860has been organized by the Wilson Centre for Photography with the Yale Center for British Art.
Lewis P. Tabor, Untitled (Astronomical Study), 1935. Gelatin silver print. SBMA, Museum purchase with funds provided by Howard Stein.
The Observable Universe: Visualizing the Cosmos in Art
September 29, 2019 – January 12, 2020
By definition, the observable universe comprises all matter that can be seen or captured with current technologies. As vast and all-encompassing as that may seem, it still presumes a specific perspective from which all else is viewed and conceptualized—one afforded by the particular viewpoint of being on earth. Our unbridgeable physical distance from other cosmic entities, including the infinite reaches of other galaxies, has forced artists to look to observational sciences such as astronomy for inspiration and to employ experimental techniques to conceptualize the vastness of outer space. In astronomy, there are multiple methods used to visualize celestial objects. Similarly, numerous artists’ perceptions of the universe vary widely, inspired by a variety of cosmological models. Drawn primarily from SBMA’s permanent collection and supplemented by loans from area collections, The Observable Universe explores a diverse range of artistic representations of the cosmos, roughly coinciding with the “Space Age” of the last 60 years.
Exhibitions On View
Installation of Chris Kallmyer: Ensemble at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 2019.
Chris Kallmyer: Ensemble
May 19 – September 15, 2019
Ensemble is the title of a new multimedia installation by Los Angeles-based sound and performance artist, Chris Kallmyer. The exhibition centers around a sculptural instrument created specifically for the exhibition comprised of raw timber and handmade bells that functions as a communal bell-ringing instrument, or carillon. The instrument, activated by a group of individuals, employs a method of making music by non-musicians that blends collective listening with lively communal rituals and meditation practice. Presented in SBMA’s Preston Morton Gallery and including a selection of musical scores developed by the artist, related drawings, and a video projection documenting the inaugural staging of the instrument, Ensemble serves as an oasis for contemplation and exploration. Accompanied by a series of sound and meditation workshops, the exhibition functions as a production and rehearsal space—part laboratory and part sanctuary—made active by various participants throughout the exhibition’s duration. The exhibition serves as an active studio for Kallmyer to further explore the post-Fluxus poetics of everyday objects, what happens when audience-turns-performer, and what we collectively seek from the experience of listening.
Augusto Escobedo, Dancing Figures, n.d. Aluminum. SBMA, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Lewin
Out of Storage and into the Light: Sculptures That Tell Stories
March 10 – August 18, 2019
This is the first exhibition organized by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art devoted exclusively to the specific artistic medium of sculpture. The presentation features over 50 objects from the permanent collection, many of which have yet to be exhibited. The selected works of art reveal the impressive historical and geographical breadth of the permanent collection, including Pre-Columbian, Ancient Egyptian, Ancient Greek & Roman, 11th- to 17th-century Southeast Asian, Ancient to 13th-century Chinese, 19th-century African, and 19th- to 21st-century French, English, and American sculpture. An unorthodox juxtaposition of works from such a diverse array of cultures allows for a more global interpretive approach to these works of art. Because the installation is organized thematically (Dance and Music; The Human-Animal; Flight; The Head; The Body), rather than by culture or time period, the unexpected visual proximity of such an eclectic variety of art provokes unexpected trains of thought. This show is guest curated by Gülru Cakmak, Associate Professor of 19th-century European Art at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, at the invitation of Deputy Director and Chief Curator Eik Kahng.
Kehinde Wiley, Equestrian Portrait of Prince Tommaso of Savoy-Carignan, 2015. Oil on canvas. Collection of Dennis and Jeanne Masel. Image courtesy of the artist and Roberts Projects, Los Angeles
Kehinde Wiley: Equestrian Portrait of Prince Tommaso of Savoy-Carignan
March 3 – October 13, 2019
Kehinde Wiley has become internationally recognized for his examinations of the aestheticizing of power and masculinity through the time-worn genre of portraiture. This major painting is an extension of the artist’s Rumors of War series, which takes the form of historic equestrian portraiture. In Wiley’s hands, this established genre expands in scale to over nine feet in each dimension, and explodes in color with a revelry of bold and bright hues. Opposed to tradition is also the fact that the sitters for these works are not the typical European nobleman in a powerful position but people the artist meets on the street, mostly from New York. Special workshops and education programs are being planned for the duration of this project. This work comes to SBMA from a generous loan as well as support from Jeanne and Dennis Masel.
Kehinde Wiley: Equestrian Portrait of Prince Tommaso of Savoy-Carignan is part of SBMA’s Park Projects—a new series of installations utilizing the grand stairwell at SBMA’s Park Entrance. Serving as the Museum’s main point of access during the ongoing renovation, this space is currently the site of temporary installations of works by cutting-edge contemporary artists. On view to the public for extended periods, these projects provide increased visual impact as well as opportunities for meaningful engagement.
Claude Monet, Villas in Bordighera, 1884. Oil on canvas. SBMA, Bequest of Katharine Dexter McCormick in memory of her husband, Stanley McCormick.
Highlights of the Permanent Collection
Ongoing
In celebration of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s 75th Anniversary in 2016, this installation highlights some of the most important works of art from SBMA’s permanent collection, as well as several of the most exciting gifts and acquisitions in the areas of modern and contemporary art, photography, and the arts of Asia.
Events
Monday – Friday, June 10 – August 16, 9 am – 3 pm
Summer Art Camps
Ages 5 – 12
Location: SBMA’s Ridley-Tree Education Center at McCormick House, 1600 Santa Barbara Street
$250 SBMA Members/$300 Non-Members
To register, visit www.sbma.net/kidsfamilies or email education@sbma.net.
Exhibition-related programming for Chris Kallmyer: Ensemble
Thursdays, July 11, 18, 25; August 8, 15, 22, 6 – 6:30 pm
Drop-In Workshops
Free
Saturdays, July 13; August 17, 10:30 – 11 am
Guided Meditations
Gael Belden, educator with UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center at The Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, leads a meditation and mindfulness experience in the Chris Kallmyer: Ensemble exhibition. Belden has over 30 years of mindfulness practice and teaching, and is the Director of UCLA/MARC’s Intensive Practice Program. Pre-registration required
Free
To reserve a spot, email communityprograms@sbma.net.
Thursdays, August 1; September 5, 6 – 7 pm
1st Thursday Performances
Enjoy collectively created music and performances by avant-garde and traditional musicians, new age practitioners, and surprise guest artists on a handmade carillon.
Free
Saturday, July 13, 6 pm
Ted Nash: The Sound of Art
As part of a two-week stay as SBMA Artist in Residence and resulting five-day workshop, Grammy Award-winning musician and composer Ted Nash shared insight and experience with a selection of local students and fellow musicians. This workshop focused on using improvisation to guide the composition process, and was inspired by works from SBMA’s collection and contemporary special exhibitions—culminating in this free performance.
Mary Craig Auditorium
Free
Reserve tickets at the Museum Visitor Services desk, or online at tickets.sbma.net.
Sundays, July 14; August 11; September 8, 1:30 – 4:30 pm
Studio Sundays
Visitors of all ages are welcome to participate in this hands-on workshop with SBMA Teaching Artists. Each month explore a different medium, including clay, metal, ink, wood, photography, and paper, and gain inspiration from works of art in the Museum’s permanent collection or special exhibitions.
SBMA’s Family Resource Center
Free
Sunday, July 21
Session I: 2 – 3 pm
Session II: 3:30 – 4:30 pm
Art Kitchen/Science Studio: Today’s Special
In Art Kitchen/Science Studio, Teaching Artists use works of art from the Museum’s collection as a starting point to explore the shared materials, methods, and myths associated with art, food, and science. Hands-on demonstration, experimentation, taste testing, and art making provide the perfect recipe for learning.
Is a chef’s culinary creativity with a basic recipe similar to a jazz musician improvising from a musical score? The phrase “special of the day” implies a one-time offering, dependent on ingredients at hand. The Chris Kallmyer: Ensemble exhibition centers around an interactive sculptural instrument designed to be activated by collaborating non-musicians and also includes a daily musical score developed by the artist for visitors to interpret. Join the Museum’s summer Artist in Residence renowned jazz musician Ted Nash and SBMA Senior Teaching Artist Tina Villadolid in the galleries for an interactive performance, followed by an art activity and a tastings of three different exhibition-inspired takes on single seasonal ingredient prepared by local chefs. Each session is limited to 30 participants and advanced registration is required.
SBMA’s Luria Activities Center
Free
To register, contact Elena Hancock at 884.6457 or education@sbma.net.
Chris Kallmyer: Ensemble. Photo by Ian Byers-Gamber
Sunday, July 28, 2:30 pm
Chris Kallmyer: Artist Talk
Learn about the artist’s distinctive and participatory approach to making music and art as he discusses past projects and the development of his current installation at SBMA. Rethinking the traditional audience/performer relationship, Kallmyer’s workshops, installations, and site-based explorations of sound and listening have been presented in museums, concert halls, and other unexpected spaces.
Mary Craig Auditorium
Free
Reserve tickets at the Museum Visitor Services desk, or online at tickets.sbma.net.
Thursdays, August 1; September 5, 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Family 1st Thursdays
Bring the whole family and enjoy 1st Thursday together in SBMA’s Family Resource Center located on the Lower Level. Museum Teaching Artists assist families in creating special exhibition-based art projects. Afterwards, enjoy galleries until 8pm.
SBMA’s Family Resource Center
Free
Armchair Travel Lectures
Sunday, August 25, 2:30 pm
The Places We Seldom See
Pico Iyer
From Iran to North Korea, from Cuba to Tibet, Pico Iyer has spent more than 40 years traveling to the places we hear about more than know about. In a world ever more mediated, he longs to see places first-hand, and catch a human reality often lost in images or on screens. Sharing long, detailed stories about his journeys across Iran, to Pyongyang, and to other places in the news more than in our heads, he catches some of the beauty and surprise of travel and reminds us why travel is more urgent than ever in a world where we’re so often lost in our own bubbles. Iyer is the author of 15 books, including, this year, Autumn Light, This Could be Home, and A Beginner’s Guide to Japan. Two of his recent works The Art of Stillness and The Open Road were national bestsellers.
Mary Craig Auditorium
$10 SBMA Members/$15 Non-Members
Purchase tickets at the Museum Visitor Services desk, or online at tickets.sbma.net.
Sunday, September 29, 2:30 pm
National Geographic’s “Old and New in Persia”: A History of Travel and Tourism in Iran
Keelan Overton, PhD
This talk takes as its launching point the September 1939 issues of National Geographicmagazine, which features a 20-page article by the Baroness Ravensdale and 13 color photographs by Stephen Nyman. For many Americans, this was their first exposure to seeing Persia and its cultural heritage. What was the goal of this issue? Who were these adventures and photographers, and why did they go to “Persia?” What was travel like at the time? How do the tourist itineraries of the past compare to those today?
Mary Craig Auditorium
$5 SBMA Members/$10 Non-Members
Purchase tickets at the Museum Visitor Services desk, or online at tickets.sbma.net.
Saturdays, September 7 and 14, 10 am – 1 pm
Ceramic Studio Saturdays
Studio Saturdays are an informal opportunity for students of all skill levels to create ceramics without the long term commitment. Come on the first Saturday to develop or refine both sculptural and functional techniques of ceramics through hand building or throwing. Return the following Saturday to glaze your works of art. This two-part course features small group instruction and individual attention for beginners, while advanced students are welcome to work independently.
Location: SBMA’s Ridley-Tree Education Center at McCormick House, 1600 Santa Barbara Street
$70 per month SBMA Members/$80 per month Non-Members
To enroll, visit register.sbma.net
Thursday, September 12, 5:30 – 6:30 pm
Sketching in the Galleries
All skill levels are invited to experience the tradition of sketching from original works of art. Museum Teaching Artists or special guests provide general guidance and all materials. Each program is open to 10 participants.
Free
To reserve a spot, email communityprograms@sbma.net.
Thursday, September 19, 5:30 – 7 pm
Writing in the Galleries
Writers of all levels are invited to participate in this informal exploration of the Museum’s galleries as an impetus to writing. Each session is led by a visiting writer/facilitator who begins with a conversation and prompts, partially inspired by works on view. Participants are free to write on their own and then reconvene as a group to share and comment on each other’s work. Please bring a journal or notebook, laptop, or tablet on which to write.
Free
To reserve a spot, email communityprograms@sbma.net.
Tuesday, September 24, 7:30 pm
The Aeolus Quartet
Since its inception, the Aeolus Quartet has been awarded prizes at nearly every major competition in the United States, and is dedicated to bringing music into the community through highly innovative and engaging outreach programs. In celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday next year, they will perform the composer’s Op. 18 No. 5, Op. 95, and Op. 131.
Mary Craig Auditorium
$20 SBMA Members/$25 Non-Members
Purchase tickets at the Museum Visitor Services desk, or online at tickets.sbma.net.
Thursdays, September 26 – December 19, 6 – 9 pm
Fall Adult Ceramics Class
Inspired by works of art in the Museum’s permanent collection and current exhibitions, students of all skill levels are able to develop and refine both sculptural and functional techniques of ceramics through hand building, throwing, surface decoration, and glazing techniques. This course features small group instruction and individual attention for beginners, while advanced students are welcome to work independently. Suitable for beginners, the classes include both small group instruction and individual attention. Course includes all materials, firings, and a docent-led tour of the Museum.
Location: SBMA’s Ridley-Tree Education Center at McCormick House, 1600 Santa Barbara Street
$400 SBMA Members/$485 Non-Members
To enroll, visit register.sbma.net