Summer Salon Series 2012: Beyond the Banner
Fridays, June 1 through August 31, 5:00-9:00 p.m.
Curated by The Museum and Agitprop
June 1: There Goes the Neighborhood, Micki Davis
June 8: Mark Tribe, The Third Party, The Donkeys
June 15: Cognate Collective, Andrew Printer, The Third Party
June 22: Pierre Bismuth, Tim Schwartz, Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975
June 29: Sesshu Foster, The Battle of Algiers
July 6: Border Corps, The Night James Brown Saved Boston
July 13: Ash Smith, Periscope Projects, Ryanna Projects (Anna Gray and Ryan Wilson Paulsen)
July 20: Omar Lopez & Alberto Caro, Omar Pimienta with John Pluecker, The Third Party
July 27: The Yes Men, Katherine Brook, Century of the Self, Stephanie Lie, The Third Party
August 3: Andrew Dinwiddie, Joe Yorty and Kelly Eginton
August 10: Steve Lambert, Peaking Lights, The Third Party
August 17: Allison Cobb, Zac Montanaro, Jamilah Abdul-Sabur
August 24: Rina Banerjee, Gary Garay
August 31: Mark Dzula, Joshua Tonies, Andrew Printer, The Border Corps and The Third Party
Please check the Museum calendar for specific details on each night's presentations and schedule.
Special thanks to Agitprop, Lorraine Graham and Rick Tyner & M-Theory Records.
What is the Summer Salon Series?
Every Friday evening, from June 1 through August 31, 2012, The San Diego Museum of Art will be hosting artists, lecturers, poets and performers to investigate the topics of historical fictions and the dissemination of information. Where do we get our news from? Who and what controls our access to information? What are the historical images and myths that affect our current social, cultural and political discourse? How is fiction used by artists to tell stories and create awareness of particular issues? Is there such a thing as the ethical use of propaganda? With such a glut of information at our fingertips, how do we assemble this information into practical knowledge? What are the personal fictions we tell ourselves as individuals? When does "the document" become the event itself in terms of shaping public discourse? These are the types of questions that have been raised since the popularization of postmodernist inquiry in the 20th century, which raise relevant questions for the information age, and serve as an appropriate link between contemporary art and the 15th century art that will be on view at the Museum over the summer.
This program provides the Museum an opportunity to present its version of the “salon,” a place for all those interested in art and culture to meet, discuss ideas, and engage with artistic performances. The Series presents projects, performances, talks, demonstrations, and workshops, most for one night only.
How was the theme of the 2012 Summer Salon Series decided upon?
In 1471, the Portuguese king Afonso V carried out a military campaign in Northern Africa that ended in the capture of the important cities Asilah and Tangier near the Straits of Gibraltar. To commemorate his victory, Afonso V commissioned a set of four tapestries that were originally hung in his royal palace. The first three tapestries illustrate the long siege and battle for Asilah, but the conquest of Tangier is depicted in a single panel: receiving no reinforcements, the town’s citizens chose exile over massacre and abandoned the city to the Portuguese army. Woven soon after the 1471 battles, these monumental tapestries, each measuring 12 by 36 feet, are considered among the finest Gothic tapestries in the world. Long held at the Collegiate Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Pastrana, Spain, they are commonly identified as the “Pastrana Tapestries.”
For three months, from June 9 until September 9, 2012, the San Diego Museum of Art will host The Invention of Glory: Afonso V and the Pastrana Tapestries, an exhibition that marks the first time that these recently restored tapestries have been shown in the United States. Exquisitely rendered in wool and silk threads by Flemish weavers in Tournai, Belgium, the tapestries teem with vivid and colorful images of knights, ships, and military paraphernalia set against a backdrop of maritime and urban landscapes. They are also among the rarest and earliest examples of tapestries created to illustrate what were then contemporary events, instead of allegorical or religious subjects. The designer minimized the misery of warfare, reinventing the event with the heroic image of Afonso and the ideals of chivalry in mind. Along with the glorification of the battles, the tapestries act as document of the earliest stages of European colonialism. Yet, at the time of their creation, these works would have been considered a primary document of the battles; now, 500 years removed, we can understand how these tapestries were utilized as a tool to mold opinion. The problematic nature of these otherwise incredible works raises several issues, the focus of which will comprise the 2012 Summer Salon Series.
Where did the 2012 Series' title come from?
The Series title, “Beyond the Banner," is actually an advertising term, which refers to a type of web page advertising that uses strategies other than an embedded image at the top of the page, such as sponsoring, contest promotion and blending with the content of the page itself. In other words, this type of advertising is a bit harder to separate from actual content. In the Medieval and Renaissance periods of course, banners were the flags that armies carried bearing the symbols and crest of their sovereign state or lord, and they are quite prominent throughout the Pastrana Tapestries. The 2012 Series has taken as its starting point the historical re-examination of the 15th century Pastrana Tapestries, in order to investigate the fictions of our own information age.
Who does the Museum partner with on the Summer Salon Series?
The San Diego Museum of Art is proud to work with important community partners in curating the Summer Salon Series.
Agitprop is the Series Co-Curator. Agitprop is an alternative, community-oriented art space in the North Park neighborhood of San Diego.
Rick Tyner is the Project Curator for Musical Arts and manages M-Theory Records, located in the Mission Hills neighborhood of San Diego. The shop is a favorite of vinyl junkies, DJs and music enthusiasts alike. They frequently hold in-store performances and are passionate about turning people on to music they may not know about.
Lorraine Graham is the Project Curator for Literary Arts. She also curates the Agitprop Literary Arts Series.
How do I apply to have my work included in the 2012 Summer Salon Series?
Please note that the application process is closed, but the RFP illustrates how artists submitted their ideas to the Museum.
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