Lyn Bishop : Sharing Secrets

I try to take at least a day a month to get out of the studio and see other art. It’s inspiring, and I often return to the studio with new ideas or solutions for work that I am in process with. For months now, I have been trying to plan a weekday gallery walk in San Francisco’s SOMA district. Finally, I made it happen, and had a very enjoyable art date with myself in the process.

Taking the train to San Francisco is easy, and with increasing gas prices and parking fees, it makes a lot of sense. There are many galleries within a walking distance of the Caltrains station, so I set off on foot to explore.
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On Friday night (March 21st, 2008) the exhibit How Fast Your World Is Changing opened at Ampersand International Arts, 1001 Tennessee Street, in San Francisco. The opening reception was a lively event showcasing the work of Harrell Fletcher, Christine Hill, Hope Hilton, Jessica James Lansdon, Jennifer Delos Reyes and Markuz Wernli-Saito.

In contrast to most of the gallery openings I’ve been to lately, this exhibit featured work that directly requested the viewers to take an active role in the work. It was less about gazing and more about participating, and as such, blurred the boundaries of a traditional art viewing experience. Curator Lori Gordon sets up opportunities that intentionally deviate from the viewers expected experience.

Of all the interesting work presented, there were three pieces that I found myself continuing to think about: Hope Hilton’s project Walk with Me, Jennifer Delos Reyes’s piece Choral Society (for Lori Gordon), and Markus Wernli-Saito’s project Returning the Negatives. Each one of these works asked me to engage in the experience in an almost invasive way, allowing me a participatory role in the outcome.

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