Museum showcases Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg and the ‘Aesthetic of Indifference’

Ryan lely/Sonoma Valley Sun
This work by Roy Lichenstein invites the viewer to take a closer look.

submitted photo
Two Red and Yellow Apples; Lichtenstein, Roy, 1981. Acrylic on canvas. Collection of Harry W. and Mary Margaret Anderson.

There are two questions a reporter should never ask a museum curator: “How’s it hanging?” and “Which painting would you steal?” Sonoma Valley Museum of Art guest curator Dr. Louise Siddon, who curated the museum’s current exhibit, “From Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art: Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg and the Aesthetic of Indifference,” is more indulgent than most.
“You know it was funny, I actually talked about that with [SVMA executive director] Lia Transue. We were standing in front of the Frankenthaler here and she was like, ‘I love this piece’ and I said, ‘This would be the one I would steal.’ I think it is beautiful,” said Siddon, who added “Rauschenberg is one of my favorite artists of all time. Anything by him I would take home happily.”
Local art lovers needn’t risk art thievery to enjoy Siddon’s curatorial efforts. The 42-piece exhibit (on loan from San Francisco’s Fine Arts Museums’ Anderson Collection and the Anderson Graphic Arts Collection) continues through Oct. 19 and includes prints, monotypes and paintings focused on works by Johns and Rauschenberg as well as such abstract expressionists as Helen Frankenthaler, Sam Francis and Robert Motherwell, and pop artists like Alan D’Arcangelo, Wayne Thiebaud and Ed Ruscha.
“The ‘indifference’ is slightly misleading,” Siddon says of the exhibit’s title. “Because it’s not that they are indifferent. But it’s that they are presenting this ambiguous front so that we have to do all this intellectual work,” she explained. “And that intellectualism is a major difference between abstract expressionism and the ‘Aesthetic of Indifference’ artists.”
Siddon received her Ph.D. at Stanford, where she focused on the works of American printmakers and photographers in the first half of the 20th century. Her own credentials aside, Siddon credits her inspiration for the exhibit to art critic Moira Roth and her 1977 Art Forum essay, “The Aesthetic of Indifference.”
“I owe it all to Moira. I totally stole her ideas and put them on the wall,” Siddon laughed. “I think it’s a fascinating essay and an under-read essay. It is its 30-year anniversary, so it seemed appropriate.
“The aesthetic she is describing is this mode that is somewhere between abstract expressionism, which is typically painterly and kind of abstract obviously – and pop art, which is crisp and graphic.”
Beginning in the 1950s, artists including Johns, Rauschenberg and composer John Cage began a skeptical exploration of what they perceived as the apolitical, non-narrative aspects of works of abstract expressionism, which, as Roth wrote, “made and talked about an art characterized by tones of neutrality, passivity, irony and, often, negation.”
“In the ‘70s, Roth was very interested in social content and protest,” said Siddon. She suggests that these artists responded to this apolitical quality with a kind of indifference. Not that they are actually indifferent, but presenting indifference in order to provoke a response.”
The “From Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art: Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg and the Aesthetic of Indifference” exhibit works as something of a collage itself, given the intentional juxtaposition of contrasting images throughout the museum space.
“I think that the juxtaposition of pieces enhances the appreciation of the art itself,” said Siddon. “To take the collage metaphor – being a curator is about creating a collage of other people’s art. There is that question of ‘are you a critic or an art historian?’ It’s the same thing when working in a museum environment or a teaching position. You are putting your own spin on work other people made.”
“From Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art: Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg and the Aesthetic of Indifference” opens with a members preview reception beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 10. The exhibit opens July 12 and runs through Oct. 19. SVMA is located at 551 Broadway in Sonoma and is open to the public Wednesdays through Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 for individuals, $8 for families, and free to members, with admission free to the public on Sundays. Memberships may be acquired or renewed at the door. For more information, visit www.svma.org.