Tradition with a twist

The Laguna Art Museum will hold its 23rd annual auction Saturday. As one of California’s longest-running museum auctions, the event is steeped in history, yet it remains progressive, adding new elements to entice art enthusiasts. “One of the things we wanted to do was to pull in more artists up and down the coast to have a wider selection geographically,” museum director Bolton Colburn said.

For the first time this year, the auction will include works by emerging artists, selected through a juried process. The museum asked emerging artists to submit works, then forwarded those pieces on for evaluation by the jurors -- men and women who run some of the most respected galleries in the state.

The jurors chose 47 artists, whose work will be up for auction Saturday alongside pieces by 108 invited artists.

“The juried process adds a lot of up-and-coming talent who don’t normally have access to a museum space,” Colburn said. “We thought it would evoke a response.”

Bolton said there will be a wide variety of styles, from the best in contemporary art to plein-air paintings.

“People can expect some great work from emerging artists from California, a great example of work by artists mid-career, and California artists in and around Laguna Beach who are the best of the best,” Colburn said.

Invited artists include Leonard Kaplan, Ken Auster, Roger Armstrong, Tony Berlant, Larry Cohen, Tim Cohen, Sam Durant, Jennifer Faist, Jeff Koegel, Adam Ross, Susan Tibbles and Richard Turner.

Janet Eggers, who is on the museum’s advisory board, remembers when the auction first began in 1982.

Eggers said the idea came from Suzanne Paulson, who was in charge of education at the museum as well as the junior council, a group of mothers who raised funds for children’s art education.

“The idea was to have an art auction to benefit children’s art education in schools,” Eggers said. “The first year we had boxed art. We selected a group of artists, sent a white box and asked them to create [a piece].”

She said it was held in the smaller Cuprien room, where everyone crammed together.

Eggers said 40 to 50 artists participated that year, and the event raised about $20,000.

The second year, artists were given white paper shopping bags to turn into art.

“At that point it was a silent auction,” Eggers said.

At first the artists donated their work outright to benefit art education, but as the auction progressed some artists began to receive a certain percentage of the sale.

“The third year we sent out tubes,” Eggers said. “A number of artists were interested because it allowed them to stretch their imagination. It freed them up to do something totally different.”

Another year, Eggers said, they used a square yard of canvas, and the auction was called “Yard of Art.”

“This all started before the museum was remodeled. When the remodeling was going on museum director Bill Otten had the museum painted pink,” Eggers said. “We sent all the artists a tube of pink paint. They had all these creative ideas; I think that year we called it ‘In the Pink.’”

The live auction component was added in the mid-1990s.

Museum volunteer Marsha Daniels has been a museum volunteer since 1989.

She remembers that the formation of the junior council occurred as a result of Proposition 13.

“At that time, Laguna Beach Unified School District had cut education funds, primarily at the elementary schools,” Daniels said. “The junior council went to the district and said if they came up with half of the art teacher’s salary, we’ll match it.”

Daniels echoed Eggers sentiments of the importance of art education for children.

“Here we are an art community, and we’re not going to have art education in our schools,” Daniels said. “It was an easy way to ask artists to donate.”

“At some point during the tenure of Charles Desmarais, it stopped being a benefit for the children’s art education program to benefit the museum’s operating fund,” Eggers said. “That same year the junior council dissolved because the art auction was taken away.”

In 1991 Daniels was paid to run the auction and co-chaired the event with board member Teri Kennady.

“They gave us a year to reorganize and determine how to continue to put on a art auction,” Daniels said. “That was one of the years and a great economy. I believe 89 artists participated, and we raised $125,000.”

Funds raised have gone to a variety of museum needs, including the general fund, which fosters exhibits. In recent years, though, the focus has been on art education, such as the museum’s Learning Lab, which opened in November 2004.

“Usually about 150 to 200 people attend,” Colburn said. “It’s a great place historically for collectors to come and get great deals on some great art.”

The event is from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday at Laguna Art Museum, 307 Cliff Drive. Wine and fine food will be served. Tickets are $125. Information: (949) 494-8971, ext. 200.20051021iomul9knDON LEACH / COASTLINE PILOT(LA)Amanda Erlinger is one of 47 emerging artists whose work was selected through a juried process for the 23rd annual Laguna Art Museum auction. The benefit event takes place Saturday night.