All Together Now: AT MCASB, MARINELLA SENATORE INVITES COMMUNITIES TO MAKE THEIR OWN ART

'Piccolo Caos (Little Chaos)Museum ofContemporary ArtS anta Barbara photos
‘Piccolo Caos (Little Chaos)

Museum ofContemporary ArtS anta Barbara photos

When talking to artist Marinella Senatore, whose show “Building Communities” is currently up at Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara, aka MCASB, the word “ethics” comes up several times. In her participatory works, she acts as a sort of producer, overseeing the creation of a work — be it an opera, or a film, or a series of photos — with the participation of people from small towns and inner cites around Europe.

“I’m critical and skeptical about many public projects,” she says. “Sometimes I think the role of the artist is abusive. They are using the energy of the people for their own cause. From the beginning they already have a clear idea of what they want to make and won’t change anything.”

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ART REVIEW: Structures and Space – MCA’S LATEST EXHIBIT SHOWS THE FUTURE OF DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE

'Masters of Architecture (detail),'Design, Bitches 'Heavy,'Design, Bitches 'Radiant Body Globs,' Ball-Nogues Studio Installation view of "Almost Anything Goes: Architecture and Inclusivity" at Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara 'Eye Candy Table (detail),'Atelier Manferdini Museum of Contemporay Art Santa Barbara photos
‘Masters of Architecture (detail),’Design, Bitches

‘Heavy,’Design, Bitches

‘Radiant Body Globs,’ Ball-Nogues Studio

Installation view of “Almost Anything Goes: Architecture and Inclusivity” at Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara

‘Eye Candy Table (detail),’Atelier Manferdini
Museum of Contemporay Art Santa Barbara photos


In the 21st Century, things have gotten wiggly. Where once a discipline hopper like Warhol was an anomaly, it’s now rare to find an artist working in one medium. The new exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara asks whether a similar breakdown is happening in the architecture and design world, and if affording firms and designers museum space changes the way we see them, or how they see their audience. “Almost Anything Goes” explains the title of the exhibit that opened last week and runs through April 13.

The focus is on Los Angeles artists trained in architecture, the majority with a link to the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-ARC) in downtown L.A. Along with MCA’s Miki Garcia, the exhibit has been curated with Brigitte Kouo, a SCI-ARC graduate.

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