Société Anonyme: Modernism for America
April 23—August 20, 2006
Armand Hammer Museum at UCLA

The dry and slightly pretentious-sounding title put me off—I had no idea (until I saw the show) what the Société Anonyme was, let alone that it was responsible, almost single-handedly, for bringing modernism to the attention of the American art world! The show is fantastic, rich with modernist masterpieces and information about the history of an art era in the United States that so many of us now take for granted; but I was surprised by the limited marketing. On a lovely afternoon in summer when admission is free, there should have been oodles of visitors oohing and ahhing and making joyous discoveries in the galleries, but instead there were perhaps 20 of us wending our way through the Man Rays, Duchamps, Miros and Mondrians.

Using the art, correspondence, advertisements and gallery guides that heralded the modernist movement in the United States, Société Anonyme tells the fascinating and compelling story of one woman’s crusade—with the help of several prominent artists, most notably Marcel Duchamp—to alert the American public to modern art, even going so far as to curate exhibitions illustrating to visitors how to incorporate modern art into living spaces. The woman, Katherine Dreier, an artist in her own right, had a remarkable eye for modernist talent and through the Société Anonyme was able to help propel several major artists on their way to success. The Société hosted and curated several exhibitions during the 1920s and ‘30s, including pioneering solo-artist shows for several artists including Wassily Kandinsky.

Société Anonyme opens in a particularly evocative manner—with a re-creation of the very first exhibition hosted by the Société, complete with lace doilies wrapped around the frames of the art, an absurdist touch added to the installation by Duchamp himself.

The primary motivation behind the Société was education, so it makes good sense that the collection amassed by Dreier and the Société were eventually transferred to Yale University, the creators of this exhibition. But I wish that both Yale and UCLA had placed as much emphasis on drawing in crowds as mounting a wonderful and edifying exhibit. The sheer quantity of big name artists in this exhibition alone is enough to make it a blockbuster—if anyone knew it existed. If I had created an exhibit such as this one, I would be shouting it from the rooftops as I wish the Hammer would.

Fortunately, the Hammer’s marketing for their Also I Like to Rock summer music program is more aggressive, with major promotional spots provided by the sponsor Indie Rock station 103.1 FM. These free evening musical events will hopefully draw people not just to the museum, but also into the galleries with their extended hours.


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