Curator and Art Collector Deborah Irmas to Speak at SJMA on 9/27/17

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SAN JOSÉ, California (August 30, 2017) — Deborah Irmas, curator of This Is Not a Selfie: Photographic Self-Portraits from the Audrey and Sydney Irmas Collection, will give a lecture about the exhibition and the photography collection at the San José Museum of Art on Wednesday, September 27, 2017, at 7:15 PM. Deborah Irmas’s parents, Audrey and Sydney Irmas, donated their photography collection to Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Deborah Irmas will share insights into her family’s collecting philosophy, her essay for the catalogue, and more. Creative Minds: Deborah Irmas is part of SJMA’s ongoing lecture series. Tickets are $12 ($6 for Museum members) and will include the Opening Reception from 8 – 10 PM. Tickets are available to purchase at /event/creative-minds-and-opening-reception-not-selfie.

Deborah Irmas is an independent curator, art writer, collegiate educator, and documentary film producer. Audrey and Sydney Irmas began acquiring photographs with Deborah in the mid-1970s and eventually specialized in collecting self-portraiture in the early 1980s. In 1992, the Irmases donated their collection of 139 photographic self-portraits to LACMA. Since then, fifty additional works have been added to the original gift. LACMA mounted six exhibitions drawn entirely from the Irmas’s collection; and in 2015, commissioned Deborah Irmas to write the essay, “This Is Not a Selfie.” Deborah Irmas curated This Is Not a Selfie: Photographic Self-Portraits from the Audrey and Sydney Irmas Collection with the curatorial team of the Wallis Annenberg Photography Department at LACMA. The San José Museum of Art is the first museum to debut this exhibition, on view now through January 14, 2018. SJMA’s presentation is organized by Rory Padeken, associate curator.

 

SAN JOSÉ MUSEUM OF ART

The San José Museum of Art celebrates new ideas, stimulates creativity, and inspires connection with every visit. Welcoming and thought-provoking, the Museum rejects stuffiness and delights visitors with its surprising and playful perspective on the art and artists of our time. SJMA is located at 110 South Market Street in downtown San José, California. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 AM to 5 PM and until 8 PM or later on the third Thursday of each month. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $6 for students, and $5 for youth ages 7 – 18. Members and children ages 6 and under are admitted free. For more information, call 408-271-6840 or visit www.SanJoseMuseumofArt.org.

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Programs at the San Jose Museum of Art are made possible by generous operating support from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Yvonne and Mike Nevens, a Cultural Affairs grant from the City of San Jose, and the Richard A. Karp Charitable Foundation.