2006-2007 - Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

YBCA ANNUAL REPORT 06_0701_DEEPLY PERSONALAll art is deeply personal, but some artists have an intense desire to share their individual stories. And oddly enough, art is sometimesthe most universal when it is the most personal—reaching and connecting us in truly extraordinary ways. In a world divided by ideologicalrifts, recognizing the points where we do connect becomes more crucial than ever. The artists in this series reject mass media, massculture, mass anything, in favor of their own simply honest, impeccably forthright, idiosyncratic and often maverick insights. We inviteyou inside these intimate works, where we hope you’ll glimpse a little something of yourself.visual artCOSMIC WONDERJUL 15–NOV 5, 2006The transcendental and the infinite—these were the quests of Cosmic Wonder,a colorful exhibition of metaphysical artfrom a new generation. Guest curatorBetty Nguyen brought together a range ofcontemporary artists exploring trance and“alternative” realities.R. CRUMB AND FRIENDSMAR 17–JUL 1, 2007YBCA saluted quintessential undergroundartist and local treasure R. Crumb with anexhibit that offered the most substantialportrait of his work to date in the US. TheYBCA career-spanning exhibit was organizedthematically to showcase Crumb’s ideologies,and highlighted collaborations from early SanFrancisco days to more recent work with hiswife Aline Kominsky-Crumb.jenny. robert crumbFILM/VIDEOTOO SCARY FOR DVD:NEGLECTED HORROR ON 35MMThursdays in JulyThis series showcased a host of cool, terrifyingand weird horror movies that have so farescaped the grasping claws of the mystical,malevolent silver disc. Films includedFour Files on Grey Velvet, Eye of the Cat,10 Rillington Place and White of the Eye.THE WORD AND THE IMAGE:THE FILMS OF PETER WHITEHEADSep 14, 15, 21, 27 & 28An unsung hero of British cinema, PeterWhitehead is an extraordinary characterwhose films provide a fascinating andimportant window onto the late 1960scounterculture of both London and NewYork. Films included Pop Films, TonightLet’s All Make Love in London, Benefit ofthe Doubt and The Fall.SWINGING SCANDINAVIA: HOW NORDICSEX CINEMA CONQUERED THE WORLDOct 5 & 7A two night program that mapped theevolution of postwar Scandinavian eroticcinema, from the Swedish naturalist filmsof the 50s through the early 70s when theeffects of Denmark’s abolition of censorshipcame to the fore. Films included Venomand Without a Stitch.THE LAST MOVIEOct 20Dennis Hopper’s notorious, radical 1971masterpiece in a new 35m print. Rarelyscreened and still unavailable on DVD, TheLast Movie is a hallucinatory trip full ofoutrageous imagery, lush landscapes andmeta-cinematic effects.NO BOUNDARIES: THE TRANSGRESSIVEDOCUMENTARIES OF KAZUO HARANov 9, 11, 16 & 19Kazuo Hara has been making scandalousfilms about scandalous people since 1972.This screening included four remarkablefilms, none of which are in distribution inthe US: Extremely Private Eros: Love Song1974, Emperor’s Naked Army MarchesOn, A Dedicated Life and Goodbye CP.CINEKINK SFJan 18–20CineKink, a New York-based organizationthat recognizes and encourages the positivedepiction of alternative sexuality in filmand television, teamed up with YBCA again toproduce this altogether unique, educationaland entertaining festival. Ranging fromdocumentary to drama, camp comedy toerotica, films included Vice & Consent,Webcam Girls, Power Plays, Passion Plays,Going Under and The Best of CineKink.video Still from GOING UNDERLOLITA IN FULL BLOOM: JAPANESE TEENHEROINES OF THE 80SFeb 8, 15 & 17“Lolita” does not have the same meaningin Japan as elsewhere. Think Hello Kitty,not Nabokov. It is about an image of kawaii(cuteness). These three films star female popstars known in Japan as “idols.” In contrastto the cutesy, innocent young girl stereotype,these tantalizing heroines portrayed sassy,bold and naively sexy adolescents on thebrink of womanhood. Films included SailorSuit and Machine Gun, Typhoon Club andExchange Students.Syndromes and a CenturyApr 13–15The sublime film by Thai filmmakerApichatpong Weerasethakul who spenta week at YBCA in 2005, is a funny andstrangely spiritual work that exploresmemory and the seemingly insignificantthings that trigger happiness.I Don’t Want to Sleep AloneApr 19–22In this tour de force from the master ofabsurd minimalism, Tsai Ming-Liang wovean unlikely tale of dreams, loneliness,intense sexuality and healing.THE BIG IDEAS_01. DEEPLY PERSONAL TEXT •