Bruce Conner’s CROSSROADS (1976, 35mm, b&w/sound, 37min.), is featured in the exhibition Bruce Conner: IT'S ALL TRUE at SFMOMA through Jan. 22; © Conner Family Trust, San Francisco
Where would you like art to take you this winter?
Bay Area museums offer some wildly diverse “itineraries” via exhibits running for just a few more weeks. They provide a respite from the season’s blustery storms and political tempests.
You can immerse yourself in Paris in the era of “The Three Musketeers” or the Zapotec culture of Mexico a thousand years ago. Check out the New York gallery scene in the 1950s or the streets of Oakland in the 1960s. Further toward the edge — a nuclear test at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific in 1946, and the latest in 3-D artwork and technology.
Here are our suggestions, in the order they will close:
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, “Bruce Conner: It’s All True”: As a painter, sculptor, photographer and filmmaker, Conner (1933-2008) was almost too versatile and quirky to make it into the pantheon of modern artists. SFMOMA makes his case in this vast exhibit, in the city where he spent much of his life.
Conner represents the dark side of American art in his era, and his films remain masterworks. The stunning black-and-white montages include everything from a 1946 nuclear bomb test to a gyrating go-go dancer. This is a rare chance to see a full film program on a big screen.
Details: Through Jan. 22; 151 Third St., San Francisco; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Tuesday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursday; $19-$25, free for visitors 18 and younger; 415-357-4000, sfmoma.org.