Adams, Wiley Art Exhibits

Museum Hall - San Francisco  2023

 

Wiley Painting - San Francisco  2023

Last July: after meeting Margaret at the REI parking lot in Marin we drove over to the de Young museum in San Francisco. There were two large exhibits going on at the time: Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence, and Ansel Adams in Our Time. 

The Adams exhibit required timed reservations. It was quite crowded, and the purpose of the exhibit was not very clear. I've seen better Adams exhibits in the past, to be honest.

The Wiley exhibit was compelling enough, I guess. I was somehow more interested in the economics of the show versus any artistic merit it might have. The paintings were quite large, and since I've had some experience in framing my photos, I kept wondering just how much money the basic raw materials for the pieces cost. Margaret didn't seem to be interested in this particular topic though.

I'm posting a photo of the official explainer below. You know it's official 'cause of its nice use of museum-talk: "cites and subverts this centuries-old process," "deconstructs this chain of associations," "equating light with divinity attributes moral value to color." K.

Wiley Museum Explainer - San Francisco  2023