SFMOMA's Art Bash uses sights, sound and splendor to celebrate power of crowds reuniting

A slideshow of photographer Michael Jang’s work plays during the Art Bash at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art on Friday, April 8.Photo: Laura Morton / Special to The Chronicle

When Art Bash returned to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art on Friday, April 8 — for the first time since 2019 — it attracted crowds in full, pre-COVID force. For five hours, five floors of the museum were packed with unmasked (vaccination-verified) revelers dancing, drinking and viewing performances and art activations throughout the building.

“It speaks to how much people want to come together and how important it is to have culture be part of post-COVID San Francisco,” said Janet Bishop, SFMOMA’s chief curator.

But even amid the thumping soundtracks of the Bay Area’s DJ $picy, Miles Medina and Rcade that gave the institution a nightclub feel, the museum found ways to center art for partygoers. That included the stunning dinner setting in Schwab Hall designed by 2006 SECA awardee Sarah Cain, images set to music by Minneapolis photographer Alec Soth and jazz musician Dave King in their performance “The Palms,” and San Francisco documentary photographer Michael Jang’s projected photo installation in the white box theater.

From art cars and photography to performances by pop punk royalty, here are some of the most memorable moments from Art Bash, the major fundraiser that helps underwrite the museum’s education and community programs, such as free admission First Thursdays for Bay Area residents.

Diners at the Art Bash were seated in a psychedelic room designed by contemporary artist Sarah Cain at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.Photo: Laura Morton / Special to The Chronicle

Dinner design

Cain’s décor for the McCalls dinner that began the night for some VIPs was one of the most stunning transformations of the second floor since SFMOMA’s reopening in 2016. The psychedelic, wrap-around wall treatment was a much-discussed element.

“The wallpaper came from a painting I recently did called ‘Walk in lightly, leave like lightning,’ ” said Cain, who traveled from Los Angeles for the event. “I just sort of pulled it from the atmosphere and put all the pieces together. And I asked for a purple carpet.”

Cain also noted that Portland, Ore., artist Shelley Pehrson, who created the paper flowers arranged in the People’s Pottery Project bud vases on the tables, also made the flowers that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., wore in her hair at the 2021 Met Gala with her famous “Tax the Rich” gown.

Photographer Michael Jang (left) talks with Jim Sottile during Art Bash.Photo: Laura Morton / Special to The Chronicle

Art pop-ups

Schwab Hall wasn’t the only space to undergo a transformation. Several bathrooms at the museum were given pops of graphic art by Fernando Garcia’s San Ferncisco Studio. In the second floor red-hued men’s room, an abstract vinyl decal mural took pride of place on the wall opposite the sinks and mirrors.

Mural artists DJ Agana (left) and Vogue paint their entry for the derby in McLaren Park during Art Bash at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.Photo: Laura Morton / Special to The Chronicle

Derby work

On the rooftop pavilion, San Francisco artists DJ Agana and Vogue spray-painted their entry in the SFMOMA Soap Box Derby, which returns to McLaren Park on Sunday, April 10, for the first time in more than 40 years. Their work, a moving truck design covered in homages to San Francisco street art, was a nod to the many similarly graffitied vehicles still spotted in the city.

“To have graffiti in SFMOMA breaks stereotypes and stigma about graffiti,” Agana said. “And to see art in motion in a group setting is incredible.”

时尚承认他发现画的作物wd slightly nerve-racking, but said it was worth it “if we can expose ourselves to more people and show them what we can do with a spray can.”

‘The Palms’

The combination of King’s piano and percussion with Soth’s curated images projected on the screen in the Wattis Theater made “The Palms” a high point of the evening.

In one of the most affecting movements of the performance, Soth layered photographs by New York photojournalist Weegee on an overhead projector and announced their titles to moody underscoring.

During the finale of another section, Soth submerged photos in trays of chemicals that made each image slowly dissolve, as though going through a reverse development process.

The Linda Lindas

The Los Angeles punk quartet performed a dynamic set in the atrium, which featured songs “Never Say Never,” “No Clue” and “Talking to Myself.”

The all-girl band range in ages from 11 through 17, and was accompanied by the girls’ parents, who proudly rocked on stage-side. The group ended its set by inviting the Go-Go’s drummer Gina Schock onstage for a cover of “Tonight.”

Paolo Asuncion streams the performance of the Linda Lindas for his daughter Presley during Art Bash.Photo: Laura Morton / Special to The Chronicle

“I’m in love with these girls,” said Schock, whoserecent book and exhibition, “Made in Hollywood: All Access With the Go-Go’s,” features her work as a photographer. “I predict they’re going to be the next Go-Go’s. They’re getting bigger by the moment.”