The weather has taken a turn for the cool and a four-day weekend is upon us. What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than to visit beautiful Balboa Park and behold America. And by that I mean attend the groundbreaking exhibition Behold, America! Art of the United States from Three San Diego Museums.
This collaborative exhibition (with the very long name) brings together the finest American works from three of the most prestigious museums in town: the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, The San Diego Museum of Art, and the Timken Museum of Art.
As a result Behold, America! offers an unprecedented opportunity to view the full sweep of American art history, from colonial to contemporary.
Internationally known for their permanent collections and scholarly exhibitions, each museum will show work that revolves around one of three themes, Figures, Forms, and Frontiers.
Here’s a summary of what to find where so that you can plan accordingly.
At The San Diego Museum of Art, early American portraiture by Thomas Sully is seen in concert with contemporary works by Cindy Sherman and John Currin in the Figures component of the collaboration. This is probably the most relevant to the LGBT community. Cindy Sherman has spent decades photographing herself in the guise (drag) of a host of different women (and men) from throughout history beginning with her career-making Film Stills series. Don’t miss out the other themes though.
The Timken Museum of Art presents Forms, which includes examples of traditional still-lifes by Raphaelle Peale, early American modernism by Morgan Russell and Manierre Dawson and a minimalist work by Agnes Martin.
The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego is the only non-Balboa Park space involved. It will exhibit Frontiers, emphasizing landscape painting by artists such as Albert Bierstadt and Georgia O’Keefe and including important installations by artists like Vito Acconci, Ann Hamilton, and Robert Irwin.
I know Thanksgiving means turkey and stuffing and trips out of town. So, if you don’t have the time or the energy to behold anything except a sofa this weekend then don’t worry because you can Behold, America! right up until Feb. 10, 2013. Note: all three museums are closed on Thanksgiving Day.
