In 1949, the artists Clay Spohn and Mark Rothko threw a “costume carnival” with a provocative theme: “The Unknown.” Over 1,600 revelers in weird, surrealist outfits flocked to dance the night away at the San Francisco Art Institute, buzzing with hope and possibility of a new, futuristic vision for the 1950s.
In the same playful spirit, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is hosting an art party called Waves of Knowing, curated by the experimental Oakland artist collective Smartbomb. On Thursday, Oct. 2, when SFMOMA is free to Bay Area residents from 4–8 p.m., Smartbomb takes over multiple floors of the museum with music, poetry, film screenings, free screen printing and more.
Since its inception over a decade ago, Smartbomb has grown from curating underground shows to collaborating with major Bay Area institutions such as SFJAZZ and SFMOMA. Rooted in the Bay Area’s hip-hop and jazz scenes, yet constantly pushing the envelope on unorthodox collaborations, Smartbomb’s work is too amorphous to be bound by a single medium or genre.
Waves of Knowing is a prime example. On the fourth floor of SFMOMA, a program called Vibration Is an Invitation features a video performance from Macro Waves, whose dreamy projections and other high-tech work centers on social justice. Sarah O’Neal (who occasionally contributes to KQED Arts) will read anti-imperialist poetry; shapeshifting singer and producer IDHAZ will perform live with violinist Emily Bouton; and improvisational jazz band Agnes Martian will create glittering synth-driven soundscapes.
In the Wattis Theater during another program called Every Point Tells a Story, composer Zachary James Watkins will perform a live score to visuals by Melanie Marie, plus film screenings by Billie0cean, Andrew Kodama, Jules Retzlaff, Nick Derenzi and others. Muzae Sesay, a painter whose work has been featured in SFMOMA, will also celebrate the launch of a new jersey he designed for the Oakland Roots on the fifth floor.
