Jo Hanson (San Francisco, 19?? - 2007), left two major legacies to the art world. One was the encouragement of environmental art, and the other was the single best known of Hanson's works, the "Crab Orchard Cemetery".
The Peninsula Art Museum acquired most of the original works in "Crab Orchard Cemetery" from Hanson's estate and plans to reinstall them as "Crab Orchard Cemetery Revisited". The exhibition opens July 12 and closes Sept. 20.
The original "Crab Orchard Cemetery" was exhibited in museum and university galleries across the country. Hanson duplicated the tombstones (in styrofoam and ink) and photographed the environment of the cemetery on huge rolls of negative film which will line the gallery walls. She recorded the birds and other environmental sounds of the original cemetery to complete the visitor's experience.
As an early environmentalist, Hanson invented the trash-into-treasures genre of artmaking. During her tenure on the San Francisco Art Commission, she established the Artist in Residence Program at SF Recycling (NorCal Transfer Station).
Robert Flynn Johnson, recently retired as Chief Curator of the Achenbach Collection, stated, "Gustavo Ramos Rivera is an artist who surprises, delights, and sometimes overwhelms the uninitiated with his extraordinarily exuberant and colorful draftsmanship.
"Ramos Rivera is probably the least premeditated artist I have ever encountered. His is not an art of calculation, but that of an artist whose activity involves making his inner feelings visible through the application and arrangement of color and line."
The monotypes range in size, with several as large as 5 ft by 3.5 ft. The sculptures are even larger, ranging up to 8 ft in height. Thematically, there are clear relationships between the two methods of art creation, and the X in "Xpresiones" reflects the recurring symbology.
Ramos Rivera was born and raised in Ciudad Acuna, Mexico, and moved to San Francisco in 1969. He acknowledges Rufino Tamayo and Richard Diebenkorn as important influences on his art.
Independent art scholar Bruce Nixon wrote, "Ramos Rivera belongs to a generation of Mexican artists that emerged between two distinctive eras: on the one hand, a society still clearly marked by Mesoamerican traditions, the mestizo land whose heritage had been both simplified and compellingly codified by the Mexican muralists; and on the other, a postwar culture moving inexorably beyond the grasp of those traditions as well as their representations, one in the process of becoming truly international."
An outstanding bilingual catalogue of Ramos Rivera's 2006 retrospective was co-published by the San Jose Museum of Art and the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art. March 15
“In My Opinion” comments from the Crab Orchard Cemetery exhibition:
So unique – use of styrofoam, bird sounds and background! WOW — Tish Showen
Fabulous! I grew up visiting cemeteries weekly and lived in southern Illinois, but did not see Crab Orchard Cemetery until now. Thank you for the exhibit.
Wonderful, wonderful show! Fantastic and surreal in a wonderful way!
Very good to see Crab Orchard again. Saw it when Jo was making it and we were grad students under Mel Henderson, and saw it at SFMOMA. Excellent! —Brent Bushnell
A fascinating example of an early “multimedia” exhibit!
Very beautiful installation!! Recreates the heart of Jo’s voice. Thank you – Susan Leibovitz Steinman
So many memories. —Patricia Tavenner
Jo – it was great to re-visit Crab Orchard. —Priscilla Birge
So glad I am on your list! Thank you for a wonderful exhibition. Next time I’ll come to the reception. —Clare Smith
Nice seeing new perspectives of things. —Bob Jarmusz
Very nice exhibit. It has a timelessness, like a real cemetery. —James Courtney
Very nice. The lady helping us was very good and patient with all our questions. She made the whole experience super extra special!
The Crab Orchard Cemetery is a spectacular work of art. So moving and reminiscent of my searching old cemeteries all over the country, for America’s history and my ancestors. Great show. —Pat English
I wondered how I would react to the Crab Orchard Cemetery because death is the subject. I marvel at the concept and execution of the work and thank the Peninsula Museum of Art for having the exhibit! —Marian Yap
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