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Dennis Oppenheim (1938-2011) Dennis Oppenheim by Donna Granata, FOTM Portrait Series 2002 Focus on the Masters regretfully announces the passing of Dennis Oppenheim. The artist died January 22 in New York after a battle with liver cancer. He was 72. Dennis Oppenheim was a world famous pioneering figure within contemporary art, leading in the fields of land art, body art, performance, video, film, sculpture and public art. After receiving his undergraduate degree from the School of Arts and Crafts in Oakland CA, Dennis received his MFA in 1965 from Stanford University. The artist has exhibited his works internationally in galleries and museums including the Tate Gallery, London; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Whitney Museum of American Art and The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; Galerie Pro Arte, Germany; and the Joseph Helman Gallery, New York to name only a few. He has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1997 he was included in both the Venice Biennale and the Johannesburg Biennale, and in 2007 he was recognized for Lifetime Achievement at the Vancouver Sculpture Biennale. The City of Ventura’s Public Art Program is very fortunate to have among its collection one of the first public art projects Dennis produced, Bus-Home, a large functional sculpture gracing the Bus Transfer Center at Ventura’s Pacific View Mall. Bus Home by Donna Granata, Focus on the Masters Archive 2002     During FOTM’s documentation of Dennis, he shared the importance of bringing an art experience to a population who may not often visit museums or galleries. Bringing the art object to the viewer was a concept he enjoyed. “Bus Home deals with the metamorphosis of one image into another. In a kind of animated freeze frame the house slowly becomes a bus. In this three-dimensional pictorial equivalent of a journey, the journey consists of a swirling loop, a spiral. This work should be magical and hard to contemplate, as is often the case when one thing turns into another,” explained Oppenheim. “I hope this work would also bring calm to especially young travelers, by showing a flow, and connection between where you came from and where you are going.”   One of the most brilliant and iconic artists of our time, Dennis Oppenheim’s importance as an American artist will not only continue to direct international attention to the City of Ventura’s Public Art collection but also generate perpetual recognition for our progressive community’s dedication to the arts.   Ventura is but one page in a rich chapter in this great artist’s life. Our community is very fortunate to have such grand example of this artist’s work to call our own.   To learn more about Dennis Oppenheim please visit: http://www.dennis-oppenheim.com/   Focus on the Masters Interview with Dennis Oppenheim June 11, 2002 YouTube Video Tape Biography Links: Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xk60mf3UhM Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk456L-D2jY&feature=related Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z73MUa0LkDA&feature=related   Archive of American Artist Transcribed Interview: http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-dennis-oppenheim-12924   This e-mail was sent from Focus on the Masters Immediate removal with ® Secure. To forward this e-mail to a friend or colleague, . To change your e-mail address or update preferences, .