Reshaping the Narrative: California Perspectives
September 14 through November 24
Mills College Art Museum
Hours: Tuesday - Sunday, 11am - 4pm
Free and Open to the Public
Sonya Rapport, French Dinner, 1976. Pencil, Prismacolor, ink stamp, solvent transfer and stitched and tied yarn with metallic threading on pre-printed and pre-stamped found perforated continuous feed computer printout paper, 45” x 55.125”.
Reshaping the Narrative: California Perspectives surveys the myriad ways artists represent and reflect our local communities. The exhibition includes both contemporary and historical works from Mills College Art Museum’s permanent collection and highlights California, and the Bay Area in particular, as a site of resistance, abundance, and celebration.
Drawing inspiration from the diverse cultures and remarkable histories that define California, the featured artists offer unique and local perspectives on themes that resonate during this presidential election year, such as immigration, civil rights, labor activism, feminism, and cultural identity. Through various mediums including painting, sculpture, and photography, the artists create pieces that challenge conventional narratives and offer new perspectives on California’s rich history and complex social landscape.
Featured in the exhibition will be Sonya Rapoport’s French Dinner, a beautiful example of her Yarn Drawing series from 1976 in which she drew into dot-matrix printed data on found computer printout paper with graphite, colored pencil, and ink stamps, and stitched the construction together with colorful yarn.