Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

Exterior of YBCA 

After the SF Exhibition on February 11, 2020, I went to the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The building was right across SF Moma which made it fairly easy to find. Walking in the building, I was noticed it was a smaller gallery and focused more on contemporary and electric media art such as photography, video, installation and even virtual gallery. The gallery was easy to manage and was made in a way in which people can independently view all the installations and galleries in one big room.

Interior View of The Body Electric

The main exhibition I saw was called the Body Electric. This was a collection of more than seventy works or art revealing how Techonology transforms out ways of understandings. Majority if not all were sculptures, videos, Photographs, and virtual reality videos. The themes that occurred in most of these works of art emphasized gender, sexuality, race and class. 

In addition to these themes, these artworks were about our body, everyday life and our sense of self. One artist that stuck out to me was called “Mollusca and the pelvic Floor”, from 2013 by Trisha Baga. This was a virtual reality room that had people wear 3D glasses to view this strangling connection between. Her and with technology. She uses notable tech such as Alexa and popular science fiction books and films to create her own films. The main purpose for this piece was for her to create a form of communication. 

Another artist exhibition I chose was by Lynn Hersman Leeson. She was born in 1941 in the United States. 

The work that this artist does includes chromogenic prints, photographs and installations. 

One of the works that interested me was called “Selections from Roberta” in 1979 and also “Robert Construction Cart” in 1973. Both of these works similarly include the idea of digital surveillance and control. The context behind this is a Robert Breitmore, a fictional persona crafted by Leeson herself. She includes real life activities such as opening bank account, obtaining credit cards, renting an apartment and seeing a psychiatrist.

What I liked about this piece was how Leeson illustrated and constructed from a number of these 

Personal like artifacts. The construction chart was a piece that showed how she did and the kinds of actions she took part in. 

“Robert Construction Cart” 

Me viewing Selections from Roberta