Fall ’06 News & More from the Art Alumni Group ADEPARTMENT OF ARTr PRACTICE tCOLLEGE lOF LETTERSe & SCIENCE tAT THE UNIVERSITYte OF CALIFORNIA rAT BERKELEY ART MAKING IN TIMES OF CHANGE the late 1960s and early 1970s This distinctive period was on Cal alumni Paul Cotton, Jim 1964 – 1972: Alan Kaprow: puts on th "Happenings" in alternative venues. framed in the tumult of the Pomeroy, and Sam’s Café. Polly 4 1968: Peter Seltz named Director of Civil Rights Movement, the Frizzell (aka Marty Carstens) the new Berkeley Art Museum; 1965 Free Speech Movement born ART stages the “Funk Show.” Vietnam War, and a broad will converse with colleagues on Berkeley campus counter-cultural revolution felt about the social and esthetic ALUMNI 1967 race riots in Miami, Buffalo, Newark, and Detroit strongly in the Bay Area. Many phenomenon of the Colby SYMPOSIUM 641967 “Summer of Love” in San Francisco students at Berkeley sought Street House and the circle of ' ways of making art that would alumnus Michael Haimowitz. 160 Kroeber Hall resonate with the times and Bryan Rogers, Dean of the October 14, 2006 forces of change. They broke School of Art and Design at 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. the mold of traditional materi- the University of Michigan, als and categories of expression. will make a case for alterna- ries recalling memorable inci- 1968: Richard Serra creates pieces at In the 4th Symposium, alumni tive modes of art making and dents from those educationally Castelli Gallery by hurling molten lead across gallery floor. will discuss how this period teaching in relation to the and socially befuddling times. 1968 Protest against the Vietnam War affected their sense of purpose larger community. Members of Brilliant and yet painful as turns into three days of violent civil unrest in the streets of Berkeley and how discoveries they made the Art Practice faculty at UCB those years may have been, its 1968 Martin Luther King shot and killed during their years at Cal led to will then address the health of foibles and odd characters are 1968 Robert Kennedy shot and killed the work they are doing today. the Department today and, we memorable, too. Please make 1969 People’s Park protests and month- Mary Heilmann, now living in hope, enlighten us on the phi- every effort to attend, and bring long occupation of the City of Berkeley by the National Guard New York, will be among the losophy that guides it. your stories, for we want to see many speakers. Historian and By the end of the day we you. You will be glad you came. art writer Terri Cohn will talk may be glad for some pithy sto- 1969: Nam June Paik, “TV Bra for Living Sculpture” w/ Charlotte Moorman Symposium III: Painting in the ‘80s 1969 crew of Apollo 11 lands on the moon he 2005 Alumni tive at the San Jose Museum of at Diablo Valley College. The Symposium spotlighted the Art. The third speaker was Rick discussion was moderated by 1970: Robert Smithson, “Spiral Jetty” at Great Salt Lake, Utah. extraordinary strength of paint- Arnitz BA’75, MFA ‘82 whose Jack Hanley MA’82 who oper- 1972: Judy Chicago “Womanhouse” in ing in the Art Department work can be seen at the Stephen ates galleries in San Francisco Los Angeles: “the first openly T during the early to mid-1980s. Wirtz Gallery in San Francisco. and Los Angeles. Eventually the female-centered art installation” The particular mix of individu- The morning session ended conversation on the stage went als among the students and fac- with a no-host lunch at the audience-wide and raised a lot ulty of that era created an ethos Adagia, a relatively new restau- of interesting issues. 1970 National Guard shoot and kill four that stimulated creative interac- rant at Bancroft and College. A short champagne student demonstrators and injure 11 others at Kent State, Ohio tion and resulted in a legacy to The alumni attending the sym- reception in the lobby closed 1970 voting age lowered to 18 be reckoned with. posium essentially took over the day. 1970 Jimi Hendrix dies The day began with a the restaurant, pushing together It seems an unusually high 1975: Ant Farm “Media Burn” at S.F. Exploratorium 1972 Watergate scandal breaks heartfelt tribute to the teaching many of the restaurant’s tables percentage of alumni from the in the news of Robert Hartman. ( See “Art for an impromptu two hour 1980s have continued making 1973 Paris Peace Accords signed– US troops withdrawn from Vietnam Alumni Honor Professor Robert reunion party. their art with some success. 1974 Richard Nixon resigns as Hartman” page 2) In the afternoon ses- Among those who sent their good President of the Untied States Mark Johnson MFA ’82, sion, a panel of alumni artist wishes for this reunion were Eve Professor of Art at San shared perceptions they have Aschheim BA’84, and Shirin “Conversations about75 Art” at the Francisco State, introduced the of the 1980s and their cir- Neshat BA’79 MFA ‘83. ' three speakers. Each showed cumstances as artists working The sessions were video- Berkeley Art Museum slides that helped the audience today: Enrique Chagoya MFA’87, taped. An edited version will In our continuing series of informal, entertaining, and enlightening discussions at the Berkeley Art Museum: see how twenty-some years of Associate Professor of Art at soon be available on DVD for research has allowed their work Stanford; Randy Hussong BA’78 the oral history archive and for On December 4, performance artist and CCA professor Tina to grow. The first speaker was MA’79 now teaching in the Art interested alumni. Watch the Takemoto BA’90, PhD, discussed video work of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha BA’75 MFA’78. Marie Thibeault MFA ‘82 , who Practice Department at Cal; AAG website for more infor- On June 4, Jim Melchert and Fred Martin, old friends, alumni is Professor of Art at Cal State Glen Moriwaki BA’77 MA’79 who mation about how to obtain artists, and educators who went on to become major figures in University, Long Beach. She was is teaching painting at City DVDs and other news about the Bay Area art world and beyond, talked together about pieces followed by Deborah Oropallo College of San Francisco; and this and other symposia. in the BAM exhibition “Measure of Time.” MFA ‘82 who had recently been Luz Ruiz BA’83 MA’85, former Our next “Conversation” will happen in December. Please given a mid-career retrospec- Chair of the Art Department check the website at www.calartalumni.org for more details. Worth Ryder Gallery news Art Alumni The Worth Ryder Gallery exhibition season for Honor Professor Notes from the 2005-6 opened with another excellent Art Alumni President Show and Benefit Sale. On behalf of the faculty, Robert Hartman staff, and the students, the Department would like to Possibly the most riveting part of the 2005 Art extend our thanks to the entire Art Alumni Group, Alumni Symposium was the tribute paid to Robert “Hey! Is this your last issue Lynne Rutter, Eric Hiss, and the volunteers for orga- (Bob) Hartman, Professor of Art Emeritus, whose of the ArtLetter???” nizing this amazing event. years at Cal spanned three decades from 1961 until Through the proceeds raised from these last two his retirement in 1991. In this issue of the ArtLetter you will benefits we have been able to build the new partition Dean Smith BA’84, MA’87, MFA’88, began by recall- read about events, what your fellow in the large gallery, which made its debut with this ing Bob’s gentle, no-nonsense manner: “Bob worked alumni have been doing, and how exhibition; purchase a new digital camera; new Apple the most subtle magic…. helping us to see our own to keep in touch. The Art Alumni G5 computer and in the future new sound system process and methods from inside out.” Dean then read a letter from John Zurier MA’82, who recalled Group has been publishing this annual and video projector, which have been sorely needed. what Bob had taught him about simply look- In October, the Art Department in partner- newsletter in an effort to reach out to ing: “Volume and space are one-and-the-same and the thousands of art alumni who have ship with the Caucasus and Central Asia Program simultaneous. The world is like this. There’s never shared experiences at Cal. The cost of presented the highly acclaimed painting exhibition any break in the continuity… Try looking not to this enormous mailing is rising every Contemporary Images of Mongolia. February’s change, but (to) what happens during the moment year even as our postage support from annual Faculty Show is always great fun, with resi- of change.” Ethel Mann MFA’88 spoke next. “I revisit Cal Alumni has been eliminated. We dent and visiting faculty including works from Cal Bob’s voice in every new work,” she said, thanking will continue to publish the ArtLetter alumni Randy Hussong, Kevin Radley and Ada him for her lifelong love of painting. “He opened the on our website at www.calartalumni. Gamez. American Mythologies, curated and pro- doors of perception, one after another.” Mary Snowden org. However, after this issue, printed duced by student Jodi Zarkovich, opened in March. MA’65 credits Bob with “understanding better than anyone what was going on in painting at that time,” copies of the ArtLetter will be mailed This ambitious exhibition featured artworks created adding that over the years he stayed as intellectually only to subscribing members of the Art by both student and professional artistsand was quite the media hit having been covered by a number of engaging as he was when she had first met him.