Our Fine Friends: Joseph Becker, SFMOMA Curator

We took a trip up to San Francisco this weekend and had the pleasure of being given a tour by my good friend, Joseph Becker, assistant curator of Architecture and Design at the SFMOMA, of his most recent exhibition, Field Conditions.

Joseph's overview of the show:

"Can there be architecture without buildings? What if a wall or a floor went on forever? What happens when people move through a room? From immersive installations to intricate drawings, the works in Field Conditions pose provocative questions about the construction, experience, and representation of space. This exhibition assembles an array of projects by both noted architects and contemporary artists — including Stan Allen, Tauba Auerbach, Sol LeWitt, Daniel Libeskind, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Lebbeus Woods, and others — that redefine the relationships between invisible and visible, field and boundary, finite and infinite. Field Conditions invites us to imagine beyond the frame."

The show was fantastic. Many of the pieces have been formed through mathematical equations or rules established by their creators, yet still resonate with organic and beautiful final compositions. Joseph commented on Daniel Libeskind's sketch series in the show, explaining how these are architects and artists are blurring the boundaries of what is considered "architecture" or "design," much in the same way their fine artist contemporaries were stretching the accepted standards of painting at the time.

For a thesis-grade write-up on the exhibition, here's a post by Joseph covering all you could ever want to know about the show and its inspiration.

Field Conditions is on view until January 6th, so make sure you catch it if you find yourself in SF before then.

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