“July 3rd, 2009: The Modern and the Mythic at the Blanton’s B Scene”

Discussing Matto with Kaela Hoskings

A couple of weeks ago, my boyfriend TK and I hit up B Scene, the monthly art party at the Blanton Museum of Art (@blantonmuseum on Twitter).  The theme of the night was “The Modern and the Mythic,” based on the works of South American artist Francisco Matto.  By incorporating a South American theme into the evening’s festivities, the Blanton captured the spirit of Matto’s life and work .

After grabbing some food and drink, we strolled through the gallery to check out Matto’s work.  Living his entire life in Uruguay, Matto is best known for his modern abstraction of universal symbols and everyday surroundings.  I really enjoyed his geometrically shaped sculptures of the human form.  They were often made of primitive materials such as weathered wood and then painted.  Video and photos are forbidden at the Blanton, but you can learn more about Matto and even preview some of the exhibit here.

One of my favorite parts of the evening was a painting activity where we got to paint in Matto’s style.  Since he uses common and basic symbols in his works, TK and I created our own mini-Matto masterpieces.  Sadly, we forgot to pick them up before we left!  It was also nice to salsa dance to local latin-alt band Maneja Beto.  They really helped set the festive mood of the party. [Download their song "Campanera" (mp3) courtesy of local music blog, Covert Curiosity.]

Maneja Beto gets the crowd dancing

While at the event, we got a chance to speak to Kaela Hoskings, Interim Director of Public Programs at the Blanton Museum.  In the video, Kaela tells us a little more about Francisco Matto and explains how the Blanton was able to translate his ideas and spirit into the event.

Thanks to everyone who met us at the event.  If you couldn’t make it out, look for us at next month’s B Scene, which will have members of the Austin Improv Collective!

Did you make it out to the B Scene this month? Tell us about your favorite part of the event in the comments!

While watching the 3-minute video, try to spot the following:

• 

  Guest painted image in the style of Francisco Matto

  Meat on sticks!

• A white jellyfish
• Lovely audience made art pieces
• Some hot salsa dancing
• Jasmine covered in paint

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