Deborah Oropallo on Houdini: Working-Class Superhero January 6, 2012

Deborah Oropallo, a well-known Bay Area artist whose work is featured in the exhibition Houdini: Art and Magic, discusses Houdini as a working-class superhero, who not only captured the popular imagination of his time, but continues to inspire contemporary artists such as herself today. Musing on the reason for Houdini’s impact, Oropallo writes, “The artist’s job is basically to make people look. To look at what they know and to question what they know. Houdini operated in the same arena.” Oropallo, in conversation with Stretcher.org co-founder Meredith Tromble, will talk about her works in the show as well as current projects. Light refreshments served.

Deborah Oropallo has won numerous prestigious awards such as the National Endowment for the Arts (1991), the Modern Masters Award (1998), and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Award (2005). Oropallo’s works are included in numerous museum collections including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. A solo exhibition of her Guise series was mounted at the de Young Museum in 2008.

Meredith Tromble teaches at the San Francisco Art Institute in the department of Interdisciplinary Studies. She has lectured at the Tate Britain, the de Young Museum, and the University of Provence, among others. She is co-founder of the online art magazine, Stretcher.org.

TIME: 1 – 2:30 PM

ADMISSION: FREE with regular admission as follows: General Admission, $12; Students with a valid ID and Seniors, $10; Members and Youth 18 and under, free

Official Website: http://www.thecjm.org/index.php?option=com_ccevents&scope=prgm&task=detail&fid=8&oid=698