Presidio of San
Francisco (January 16, 2008) -- The Presidio is proud to announce
that it will host the exhibition Transforming Art: the Art of
Chris Hardman at the Presidio Officers’ Club Exhibition Hall
from January 23 to May 4, 2008. The free exhibition will be open
Wednesdays to Sundays, 11 am to 5 pm. The Presidio Officers’ Club is
located at 50 Moraga Boulevard.
"We are pleased to be hosting Transforming
Art at the Presidio,” said Craig Middleton, Presidio Trust
Executive Director. “We invite everyone to come see this
thought-provoking art installation, which transforms the Officers’ Club
exhibition space.”
This is Chris Hardman’s first major
multi-gallery installation of sculptural and theatrical ideas, which he
developed while creating his performance pieces with Antenna Theater of
Sausalito, California. Hardman’s work investigates how our minds alter
the visual information we receive. The sculptural elements fuse light,
reflection and shift from two to three dimensions in colorful, immersive
environments. A theatrical audio walk narrated by Hardman is available
for $5 per person.
“Transforming Art presents art forms
that introduce visual clues which reveal how our mind transforms
information to create our view of the world,” explained Hardman. “We are
all active participants in seeing the world around us; we are not just
passive observers. I want us to notice how we actually experience the
world. With this information, we may begin to rethink our relationship
to our surroundings and events.”
Hardman, founder of Antenna
Theater, is known for creating art installations that engage the
viewer’s participation through touch, sight and sound. Past works have
combined cutting-edge audio technology with interview-driven sound
designs, puppetry, masked movement, 3-D projections, sensor-tripped
animation, sculptural objects, features of the natural landscape, and
pre-fabricated environments. Additional photos and the artist’s bio are
available upon request.
The Presidio Trust will host two related
events at the Officers’ Club:
An Evening with the Artist: Chris Hardman
Wednesday, January
30, 2008, 7- 8 pm
The Eye and the Brain: The Latest
Science
Wednesday, March 26, 2008, 7- 8 pm
Dr. Julie Schnapf,
UCSF, Department of Ophthalmology
For further information,
please call the Presidio Events Line: (415) 561-5500
The Presidio Trust was
established by the United States Congress in 1996 to manage the Presidio
of San Francisco, a former army base located at the base of the Golden
Gate Bridge. The 1,500-acre site contains the infrastructure of a small
city as well as expansive open space, a 300-acre historic forest,
spectacular views, and rare and endangered plants and wildlife. It
comprises nearly 6 million square feet of buildings, including 469
historic structures that contribute to its status as a National Historic
Landmark District, making it unlike any other national park. In
establishing the Trust, Congress mandated that it make the park
financially self-sufficient by 2013. The Trust is the only federal
agency with this mandate.
Antenna Theater of Sausalito is a
non-profit arts organization which produces original work in many
disciplines. Artistic Director Chris Hardman founded Antenna in 1980 to
experiment with sound, sculpture, and live performance. Antenna's work
has been presented at the Smithsonian Institution, the Brooklyn Academy
of Music, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Spoleto
Festival, the Cervantino Festival in Mexico, and the Roundhouse in
London. In addition, Antenna Theater has brought their unique
combination of sound, image, and movement to adventurous Bay Area
audiences in surprising settings--recycling centers, high schools, Army
barracks, the desert playa at Burning Man, and the Pacific Ocean's edge.
Antenna has been invited to present its interactive piece, “Euphorium”
in 2008-2009 in Berlin, Germany.