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Elana MannBellows and QuakesThrough sculpture, sound, and community engagement, the artwork of artist Elana Mann explores the power of the collective voice and the politics of listening. Mann’s sculptures, resembling the horns and rattles prominent in musical instruments, serve to create, amplify, and embody sound. < Back Elana Mann, Unidentified Bright Objects Elana Mann, Bans Off Our Bodies Elana Mann, Bans Off Our Bodies Elana Mann, Unidentified Bright Objects 1/4 Elana Mann Bellows and Quakes Through sculpture, sound, and community engagement, the artwork of artist Elana Mann explores the power of the collective voice and the politics of listening. Mann’s sculptures, resembling the horns and rattles prominent in musical instruments, serve to create, amplify, and embody sound. The physical creation of sound and of hearing itself is an intangible discourse that is visualized through her artworks. For Mann, the act of listening can be a catalyst for social change. Her sonic sculptures, street protests and performances in galleries and museums produce a collective voice to enable social activism. These works generate a sonic link between art practice and civic action, providing visible symbology to connect the ephemeral and material power of sound. Previous Next

The Exhibition Census Block Map #countmein Blog photo gallery Artists in Residence Videos About the Census Every 10 years, the U.S. Census counts every resident in the nation. A complete and accurate count of California’s population is essential to the state. The Lancaster Museum of Art and History and the neighborhoods which immediately surround the Museum, historically, have had high Low Response Scores (LRS). Neighborhoods with Low Response Scores typically go undercounted and remain underrepresented and underfunded. For the first time, the Census participation will be conducted primarily through online self-responses instead of hard copy mailing efforts. This change has the potential to drastically impact state and county funding. Many critical factors can be barriers to participation in the Census including education, race, languages spoken, poverty level, homelessness, immigration status and level of trust. The Lancaster Museum of Art and History believes that change happens at the speed of trust. The Museum has found the best way to build trust between an organization and its community, breaking down these barriers, is by embedding artists who reflect the communities in which they live and work, who look the same and speak the same language. Through a series of workshops, community gatherings, candid photography, and a public exhibition, the artists-in-residence will increase the self-enumerated responses of these identified Low Response Score (LRS) neighborhoods in the 2020 Census. This is especially important for areas like the Antelope Valley. In the Antelope Valley, approximately 101,320 people are living in Hard to Survey (HTS) Block Groups. The Museum of Art and History and the neighborhoods that immediately surround the Museum are designated as Very High or High Low Response Score (LRS) neighborhoods. The Lancaster Museum and Public Art Foundation (LMPAF), the Museum of Art and History and the City of Lancaster believe that organizations and community leaders must be proactive, educating, encouraging and empowering residents to participate in the Census! Generously sponsored by Housing Corporation of America #CountMeIn Photo Videos #CountMeIn Videos Share Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied #CountMeIn Photo Gallery Spotlight Cafe Book Making Workshop Tote bag Screen Printing Workshop Chalk Drawing Engagement Artists’ Bookmaking On The BLVD Gallery Video #CountMeIn Census Block Map Below you will find a map of each neighborhood block group located in downtown Lancaster. Block groups can vary in size and population typically from 1,000 to over 3,000 people in any one block group. Block groups with “Very High” Low Response Scores (LRS) are seen in red; block groups with “High” Low Response Scores are seen in orange; and block groups with “Medium” Low Response Scores are seen in yellow. Block groups seen in green are regarded as having a “Low” Low Response Score. Do you live in one of these block groups? If so, what is level is your Low Response Score? #CountMeIn is working towards having each block group decrease their Low Response Scores by 10% or from “Very High” to “High,” “High” to “Medium” and “Medium” to “Low.” #CountMeIn Artist in Residence Robin Rosenthal has been developing creative place-keeping projects in the Antelope Valley since 2015, when she was commissioned Artist-in-Residence by the LA County Arts Commission for their NEA Our Town funded AV Art Outpost initiative (on which LMPAF was a partner). She is the Founder and Artistic Director of Real93543, an emerging local arts organization whose programming engages Littlerock and Southeast Antelope Valley residents in an arts-based process of strengthening local ownership and social connection—highlighting community-specific narratives through documentary media, educational programs, and public art. (See Real93543’s projects at www.real93543.org .) With a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MFA from Queens College, CUNY, Rosenthal taught studio art at San Antonio College and the San Antonio Art Institute, and exhibited her experimental videos nationally before coming to Los Angeles to work in film and television. Her award-winning documentary filmmaking practice, as half of the Littlerock-based Pony Highway Productions, draws from her background as an artist, educator, and motion picture industry professional, and informs her work in creative place-keeping. Short link to Positively Littlerock Story Map Tour: https://arcg.is/18X4D1 YouTube link to Real93543 In a Day video: https://youtu.be/ZzcDyJgwAsM Edwin Vasquez is a self-taught artist. Vasquez has studied with other notable Antelope Valley Artists and Teachers such as Glen Knowles, David Babb, Rich Sims and Warren Scherich. Over the years, Vasquez has been featured in several group exhibitions including the State Latin American Visual Arts in Rhode Island (where his work was recognized by Governor Lincoln D. Chafee), Communication at Casa 0101 in Los Angeles, Don’t Sleep! at the Latino Art Museum in Pomona and is a regularly selected artist in Lancaster’s Museum of Art & History’s annual All-Media Juried Art Exhibition. Vasquez has participated, as both an Artist and Curator, in numerous local exhibitions. Vasquez was born in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala in 1964. Jane Szabo is a Los Angeles based fine art photographer with a Master of Fine Arts from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. Her work investigates issues of self and identity. Using self-portraiture and still life as a vehicle to share stories from her life, her work merges her love for fabrication and materials, with conceptual photography. Szabo brings many facets of visual art into her photographic projects, incorporating sculptural, performance and installation elements into her work, and her imagery is often infused with humor and wonder. Szabo's background in the film industry, creating props and miniatures for theme parks, and overseeing set construction for film and television, undoubtedly informs her creative process. #CountMeIn Events Calendar #CountMeIn: A Census 2020 Project Friday, July 19 , 2020, 6 - 9PM 44857 Cedar Ave, Lancaster, CA 93534 Join the #CountMeIn team for its first official project workshop happening this Friday during Spotlight Cafe Open Mic Night beginning at 6 pm. The #CountMeIn team will be onsite asking participants to generate poetry/prose using the words "count," "me," and "in." These works can then be shared with an audience, letting them and your community know that our community matters and that you deserve to be counted on the upcoming Census. This project is generously supported in part by the California Art Council, City of Lancaster and the Lancaster Museum and Public Art Foundation. #CountMeIn: Census 2020 Book-Making Workshop Saturday, August 3, 2020, 3 - 6 PM 742 W Lancaster Blvd, Lancaster, CA 93534 Join the #CountMeIn team at Li'l Book Bug on the BLVD for a fun bookmaking workshop. This workshop will utilize Census 2020 as inspiration to create a collaborative art book. The #CountMeIn team will be onsite leading participants through the creative process. All materials will be provided. These works can then be shared with an audience, letting them and your community know that our community matters and that you deserve to be counted on the upcoming Census. Artist-in-Residence, Jane Szabo, will be onsite photographing interested participants while they create the books. This project is generously supported in part by the California Art Council, City of Lancaster and the Lancaster Museum and Public Art Foundation. #CountMeIn: Tote Bag Screen Printing Workshop Thursday, October 24, 2020 4 - 9 PM 665 W Lancaster Blvd, Lancaster, CA 93534 Join the #CountMeIn Team for its next #CountMeIn, A Census 2020 Project, Screen Printing Workshop! Taking place in the Fran and Hernando Marroquin Family Classroom, participants can grab a tote bag, or bandana, and impress upon them Census-minded artwork. Take the tote bag with you as peruse the great, organic food at The BLVD Farmer's Market! This project is generously supported in part by the California Art Council, City of Lancaster and the Lancaster Museum and Public Art Foundation. #CountMeIn: Chalk Drawing Engagement Saturday, December 7, 2020 2:30 PM Sacred Heart Church - 565 W. Kettering Street The #CountMeIn team invites the Families of Sacred Heart Catholic Church to participate in an afternoon of chalk drawing. Chalks and other materials will be provided for families to create their own colorful drawings on the asphalt, in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. During the event, the #CountMeIn team will share information about the upcoming 2020 Census and the value of being counted. #CountMeIn: Artists’ Bookmaking Saturday, January 25, 2020 11 AM - 3 PM 44857 Cedar Ave, Lancaster, CA 93534 On Saturday, January 25th the #CountMeIn Team invites a group of Antelope Valley artists to the Andrew Frieder Creative Space at MOAH:Cedar to make pages for a collaborative, accordion-fold art book, using the letters of the words #CountMeIn, and referencing inclusion, being counted, community, etc. The resulting artists’ book will be shown as part of MOAH’s #CountMeIn exhibit. Artists will have access to materials in the well-stocked Andrew Frieder Creative Space, and can bring materials and mediums from their own practice as well. #CountMeIn #CountMeIn2020 #CountMeInAV #Census2020 #LancasterMOAH Map Artist in Residence Calendar #CountMeIn Resources The Exhibition www.census.gov www.advancementprojectca.org www.avph.org www.cityoflancasterca.org Resources

Kevin KowalskiSculptural LandscapesInspired by the natural word, artist Kevin Kowalski creates ceramic works that call to the visual landscapes around him. His travels and experience in clay provide the foundation for his creative process, allowing him to develop his skills in techniques such as mocha diffusion and many other decorative processes. < Back Kevin Kowalski, Sculptural Landscapes Kevin Kowalski, Sculptural Landscapes Kevin Kowalski, Sculptural Landscapes Kevin Kowalski, Sculptural Landscapes 1/3 Kevin Kowalski Sculptural Landscapes Inspired by the natural word, artist Kevin Kowalski creates ceramic works that call to the visual landscapes around him. His travels and experience in clay provide the foundation for his creative process, allowing him to develop his skills in techniques such as mocha diffusion and many other decorative processes. Kowalski’s series, Sculptural Landscapes , captures the beauty and chaos of industrial and natural processes. The surfaces of each vessel are texturally dense and entropic. Shards and outcroppings of clay appear from a smooth surface that itself is coated in a colorful and runny glaze, culminating into an abstract sculptural landscape. Utilizing a variety of different clays, glazes, found rocks, and the use of multiple flashing slips, the works are a visual amalgamation of a built landscape and organic environmental elements. Previous Next

MOAH 665 W. Lancaster Blvd., Lancaster, CA 93534 ALWAYS FREE Spring/Summer (April - October): Tuesday and Wednesday | 11 AM - 4 PM Thursday | 11 AM - 8 PM Friday, Saturday, and Sunday | 11 AM - 4 PM Closed Mondays, Holidays, and during periods of installation Winter Schedule (November - March): Tuesday - Sunday | 11 AM - 4 PM Closed Mondays, Holidays, and during periods of installation (661) 72 3-6250 Closed Holiday Dates Thursday, November 27, 2025 - Friday, November 28, 2025 In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday Saturday, November 29, 2025 Regular museum operations will not occur this day but the facility will be open for the second annual Holiday Market by the Lancaster Museum & Public Art Foundation Saturday, December 13, 2025 The museum will be closed for the Magical BLVD Wednesday, December 24, 2025 - Thursday, December 25, 2025 In observance of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Wednesday, December 31, 2025 - Thursday, January 1, 2026 I n observance of New Year's Eve and New Year's Day Need a hotel? Admission Info The Lancaster Museum of Art & History does not charge admission however, we appreciate donations that help support our exhibits and educational programming. SUGGESTED DONATION General: $5 Senior/Student: $3 Welcome to the Lancaster Museum of Art and History The Lancaster Museum of Art and History (MOAH) dedicates its operations to celebrating diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and engagement within the immediate community. MOAH aims to reflect the rich history, culture, and people of the Antelope Valley. MOAH is committed to collecting and exhibiting multiple perspectives through contemporary art and history, bringing forth thought-provoking and engaging programming. Our collaborations and partnerships with organizations like the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), AV Seed and Grow, Art-In-Residence, and Art Bridges, among others, echo our efforts to provide an innovative curriculum to patrons of the museum. History Founded as the Lancaster Museum Art Gallery (LMAG) in 1986, the museum's first location is where the Antelope Valley Union District Office now sits. In 2012, the museum was completely revamped as MOAH with a new site, branding, and building. Since then, the museum has continued its expansion. There are now over 10,000 art pieces and artifacts in MOAH’s permanent collection, diverse and interactive art programs, hundreds of exhibitions, and four immersive locations with the City of Lancaster, including MOAH, the Elyze Clifford Interpretive Center, the Western Hotel Museum, and MOAH: CEDAR. Sponsors The Museum of Art and History (MOAH) takes pride in being one of the few museums local to the Antelope Valley region. MOAH appreciates and thrives off the generous support from our wonderful Sponsors and Cultural Partners. We invite you to align your brand with an extraordinary cultural space committed to its community. Sponsors provide vital support to the museum's exhibitions, conservation projects, and education initiatives while enjoying various benefits tailored to meet key business objectives. For more information and to discuss opportunities, contact the Lancaster Museum and Public Art Foundation at 661-723-5903 or email lmpaf@cityoflancasterca.org . Visiting one of our museums? Let us help you plan your trip!

Mission Statement: The Lancaster Museum of Art and History is dedicated to strengthening awareness, enhancing accessibility and igniting the appreciation of art, history and culture in the Antelope Valley through dynamic exhibitions, innovative educational programs, creative community engagement and a vibrant collection that celebrates the richness of the region. History: Founded in 1986, the Lancaster Museum of Art and History operates four sites within the City of Lancaster, serving the Antelope Valley and greater Los Angeles County regions. MOAH, the museum’s primary exhibition space, is host to large-scale curatorial initiatives, which celebrate the historic traditions and artistic revolutions taking place in Southern California. MOAH holds a collection of over 10,000 artworks and artifacts, producing community-oriented programming engaging diverse audiences. MOAH:CEDAR, located at the Cedar Center for the Arts campus, boasts additional gallery spaces which highlight experimental and emerging artists and their studio practices, is home to the Museum’s artist-in-residence program and activates the regions youth and young adults through its weekly programs. The Western Hotel Museum and the Elyze Clifford Interpretive Center offer semi-permanent exhibitions highlighting the rich indigenous, ecological, natural, and economic histories of the Antelope Valley and provide access to the past and future from environmental perspectives. Learning is at the core of Lancaster MOAH’s mission. Collecting, exhibitions and programs are all undertaken in an effort to provide the residents of the Antelope Valley with a way of integrating art and history into their lives and taking away the lessons that these disciplines offer. By presenting quality exhibitions and programs as well as committing to the proper care and preservation of works of art and artifacts relating to history and culture of the Antelope Valley, the Lancaster Museum of Art and History is the region’s center for art and historical engagement. MOAH's exhibition program is diverse, offering a range of displays for all age groups. Exhibitions of locally collected dinosaur and native artifacts, collectible toys and hands-on history of the pinball machine have delighted children, while the presentation of works by major California artists and creative presentations from sustainable energy to the history of the surfboard have appealed to adults. Exhibitions that are especially relevant to the Antelope Valley have included shows on aircraft and space travel as well as displays on the industries and natural resources that built the area. For artists, the museum hosts an Annual Juried All-Media Art Exhibition and Annual High School Student Exhibition. Increasingly, the Lancaster Museum of Art and History is presenting exhibitions to the residents of the Antelope Valley that feature works by regional, national and internationally renowned artists. Land Acknowledgement: The Lancaster Museum of Art and History (MOAH) acknowledges the original inhabitants of the Antelope Valley including the Tataviam, Vanyume, Nüwü (Chemehuevi), Serrano, Kawaiisu, and Kit anemuk peoples who call this region home. The museum honors the Valley’s history as a renowned center of trade and commerce, a vital part of a widespread economic network that reached far beyond its own boundaries. The Lancaster Museum of Art and History recognizes its position as a guest on these unceded lands and honors the ongoing work of Indigenous peoples to preserve their history, culture, and stories for future generations.

Diane SilverStones ThrowFor Diane Silver, working with her hands is a transformative act taking inspiration from the natural world. Silver utilizes ceramic, wax, and textiles like hemp and thread to create organic forms that resemble those in nature. Silver allows for the material to speak for itself with a raw and organic feel. < Back Diane Silver, Stones Throw Diane Silver, Stones Throw Diane Silver, Stones Throw 1/2 Diane Silver Stones Throw For Diane Silver, working with her hands is a transformative act taking inspiration from the natural world. Silver utilizes ceramic, wax, and textiles like hemp and thread to create organic forms that resemble those in nature. Silver allows for the material to speak for itself with a raw and organic feel. Her work is minimalist, characterized by its simplicity through her use of clean lines and natural materials. Her works have spoken to the gendered division of labor or touched upon themes of religion through abstraction. Stones Throw explores an alternative way of measuring the passage of time, marked by the menstrual cycle. Previous Next

Rent Our Space for Your Next Photo Shoot Please review our policy and fill out the request form. Read the Policy PLEASE NOTE: We are pausing photo shoot requests until January 5, 2026. We appreciate your patience and look forward to working with you in the new year! Photo: Candace Benjamin Photography Photo: Danielle Bacon Photography Photo: Eric Minh Swenson Photo: Eric Minh Swenson Photo: Candace Benjamin Photography Photo: Eric Minh Swenson Photo: Candace Benjamin Photography Photo: Candace Benjamin Photography Show More Photo Shoot Policy Please Read Due to an increased interest in the usage of our facility for photoshoot services, we have implemented a series of guidelines to better ensure that all of our guests have the best museum experience possible. We ask that you please adhere to these guidelines, or you may be asked to vacate the premises. For Personal Usage For groups of three or fewer guests, you are welcome to take photos for personal use (E.g. Wedding, graduation, formal photos) for a donation of $5.00, per person. For groups of four or more guests, we require a scheduled appointment, and you will be charged a mandatory staffing fee of $44.00, per hour. Photoshoot appointments must be scheduled through the request form listed on the Museum website at least 72 hours in advance. You may NOT be in any one gallery for a period exceeding 30 minutes. Use of camera flash is NOT permitted at any time, within the museum. You may NOT lie or sit on the floor, or in any way be obstructive to walkways or the views of other guests. You may NOT ask any other guests to move or to vacate any part of the facility. You must store any bags or bulky equipment at the Front Desk. (If your shoot requires a change of clothes, you must still leave baggage with staff. Personal belongings may be retrieved at the end of your visit) For Commercial Usage For any photos or video taken for commercial purposes (E.g. Brand promotion or music videos), you must obtain a filming permit from the AV Film Liaison. Permits can be obtained at AVFilm.com and this process takes approximately three days. We must also receive written permission from any artists whose work may be featured in your production. Once the permit has been obtained and artists have granted their permission, you will need to schedule a facility rental to use the indicated space. Normal rental fees will apply. All other guidelines listed for personal photos will also apply to photos taken for commercial purposes.

Walk of Honor The Aerospace Walk of Honor program pays tribute to the outstanding accomplishments of distinguished test pilots. Sidewalk monuments along West Lancaster Boulevard continue to honor the contributions of these brave men and women. As the first project in the United States to honor test pilots, the Lancaster's Aerospace Walk of Honor program acknowledges the City of Lancaster's seventy-five year tradition as the nation's Host City and aerospace center. The program's purpose is to honor a distinguished group of internationally known experimental test pilots who flew at Edwards Air Force Base during their careers. The Aerospace Walk of Honor was established by the Lancaster City Council in 1990. The project awards recognition to test pilots whose aviation careers are marked by significant achievements beyond one specific accomplishment. In a profession where extraordinary achievement is the norm, honorees selected for the Aerospace Walk of Honor were those who soared above the rest. The Aerospace Walk of Honor program was completed in 2009 when the 100th honoree was inducted. California artist Robert Schaar has painted a series of portraits of the Center’s NACA/NASA pilots inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor. These Include: A. Scott Crossfield Walk of Honor 1990 Joseph A. Walker Walk of Honor 1991 Fitzhugh L. Fulton Jr. Walk of Honor 1991 Neil A. Armstrong Walk of Honor 1991 William H. Dana Walk of Honor 1993 Milton O. Thompson Walk of Honor 1993 Fred W. Haise Walk of Honor 1995 John B. McKay Walk of Honor 1996 John A. Manke Walk of Honor 1997 Thomas C. McMurtry Walk of Honor 1998 Stanley P. Butchart Walk of Honor 1999 Donald L. Mallick Walk of Honor 2000 C. Gordon Fullerton Walk of Honor 2000 Rogers E. Smith Walk of Honor 2003 Bruce A. Peterson Walk of Honor 2003 Edward T. Schneider Walk of Honor 2005 John H. Griffith Walk of Honor 2006 View or Download the Official Walk of Honor Map by clicking on the cover image or here . Visiting one of our museums? Let us help you plan your trip!

Up Artist As Subject Various Artists Rebecca Campbell Andrew Frieder Kent Anderson Butler Eric Minh Swenson Jane Szabo Nataša Prosenc Stearns Rebecca Campbell: The Potato Eaters Rebecca Campbell is a figurative artist, whose work focuses on themes associated with human existence in contemporary society. Embracing both realism and abstraction, Campbell makes paintings, drawings and sculptures that frequently revolve around the day-to-day lives of average people, to whom she lends a heroic quality. Campbell’s new series of work, entitled The Potato Eaters , examine aspects of family and cultural history, memory, documentation and nostalgia. The title is taken from Vincent van Gogh's 1885 masterpiece that portrays Dutch peasants gathered at a meager meal. As in van Gogh’s celebrated work that addresses themes of noble human existence and connection to the land, Campbell references her family history and relatives who lived in Idaho during the early and mid-twentieth century. The series includes paintings that convey disappearing rural and sub-urban landscapes, as well as figurative works inspired by old black and white photographs. In addition, Campbell both honors and reflects upon oft-ignored domestic activities, such as canning and cleaning, through several sculpture installations. Campbell earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Oregon in 1994, and Master of Fine Arts in painting and drawing from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2001. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at the Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona; the Cornell Fine Arts Museum, Winter Park, Florida; the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York; The Portland Art Museum, Oregon; the Central Utah Arts Center and Brigham Young University, Utah; the UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, and L.A. Louver, Venice, CA, among others. Campbell has taught at Art Center College of Design, Claremont Graduate University and Vermont College of Fine Art, and is currently assistant professor at California State University, Fullerton. Rebecca Campbell lives and works in Los Angeles. Andrew Frieder: Waiting for Divine Inspiration On the western edge of the Mojave Desert, Lancaster is not a town known for its art scene, but it is where Andrew Frieder spent his most productive years as an artist, working day and night for several decades to produce a vast body of work in a variety of mediums. Andrew frequently depicted scenes from classical mythology and the Old Testament scriptures with which he was so conversant: figures wrestling with serpents, communing with skulls and struggling with rocks, as well as hybrid beasts of his own design. A gentle and subtle coloration of soft pastel and muted earth tones distinguishes the work, sometimes scrawled upon with text (“Was it worth it? Vanquishing the serpent: Can it be done?”) and frequently pierced, perforated, sewn, glued and otherwise driven into aesthetic submission, resulting in a strangely harmonious combination of the visceral and meticulous. Andrew had an extraordinary sense of design all his own. He rebuilt and repaired several industrial sewing machines, some mechanically modified to be foot-treadle powered, with which he sewed intricate cotton quilts and constructed his own jaunty hats – ‘chapeaux’, as he called them. He was a licensed barber. A hobbyist cobbler, he made and repaired shoes. An incessant tinkerer who continually re-purposed every manner of objects, he would grind, weld and machine his own customized tools, and myriad objects both sculptural and practical. Andrew had found a measure of peace with whatever impression the world may have taken of him, cutting a unique figure as he rolled his customized cart to source materials such as scrap iron and lumber for his projects, discovered everywhere from alleyways to yard sales, thrift shops and scrapyards. As a teenager, Andrew spoke fluent French and was a nationally ranked tournament fencer, a sport he relinquished due to injuries and as he became more involved in art. A mental breakdown interrupted his art school education and he began to experience the schizophrenia with which he struggled for much of his adult life. Through the chaos and pain of his illness Andrew destroyed his entire body of work three times, as well as a number of finished novels. By the two decades of life preceding his demise, however, he had stabilized and experienced no episodes or hospitalizations, a healing process facilitated in no small part by deep immersion in his art, and only after his death was the full range of his output discovered. Andy admired the work of artists from Vermeer to Basquiat. The museum presented a solo show of his work in 2014. As well as a massive archive of artwork, Andy also left behind many written accounts expressing an acute awareness of his own work and mental state, as well as rigorous and compassionate essays on history and religion; he cared deeply about political injustice and ruminated on his work as painstakingly as any professional artist. Kent Anderson Butler: Drowning with Land Still in Sight Kent Anderson Butler is a Los Angeles based artist that focuses his work on the spiritual, mental and physical experiences that the body encounters. Anderson Butler works with multiple mediums including video installation, photography and performance. Drowning with Land Still in Sight is a series that communicates pain, pleasure, struggle, redemption and restoration of the body through mixed media, including installation, portrait photography, sculpture, performance and video. Inspired by the religious philosopher Teilhard De Chardin, Anderson Butler exposes his personal religious thinking in terms of life, death, and transcendence through this collection. Through his artwork, he aims to express and stress the importance of the human experience and, in turn, show how we live in our own body. Kent Anderson Butler studied video and film, receiving his Bachelor degree from Biola University and his Master of Fine Arts from California State University, Fullerton. Anderson Butler is the director of visual arts and a professor at Azusa Pacific University, teaching art at both the undergraduate and graduate level, with an emphasis on photography. He has also been involved in a range of exhibits including both solo exhibitions and group exhibitions. His pieces have been displayed both nationally and internationally, being shown at the International Biennial of Contemporary Art in Venezuela, the Cave Gallery in Brooklyn, New York, the Pasadena Museum of California Art, among many others. In 2012, the Kellogg University Art Gallery at Cal Poly Pomona presented an exhibition featuring a decade of work by Anderson Butler. In 2014, Anderson Butler was chosen to be an Artist in Residence at the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts in Rabun Gap, Georgia. Eric Minh Swenson: Art Stars Art Stars , Eric Minh Swenson's latest body of work focuses on celebrating women's influence and impact on the Art World. In collaboration with Coagula Art Journal , Art Stars , is an expansive series of over 200 photographs that build public awareness and celebare female contributions as artists, curators, gallerists, etc. Eric Minh Swenson grew up in San Antonio, Texas and through his father discovered the craft of photography. Swenson captures moments that are spontaneous and impromptu while utilizing color and texture to expand his artistic horizon. He shares that the inspiration comes through architecture, vibrant landmarks, music, and various other art forms, relating to Fauvist techniques. After a move to Hollywood in the 1990’s, Swenson found a passion in cinema and began to produce documentaries and promos for other artists, curators and fine art collectors. His art focuses on celebrating the culture and art of Southern California and how it is always developing just like he is. Swenson was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, but relocated shortly after. Though he never took an art class prior to college, he graduated with a Fine Arts Degree after attending both the University of Texas in San Antonio and Brigham Young University in Utah. Upon receiving his degree, Swenson went on to form a film society, producing over 600 short films as well as producing and directing four feature length narrative films and a documentary. Swenson has also relentlessly photographed art openings across the Southland, ardently bringing the milieu to the public eye while capturing artists, collectors and enthusiasts in situ. In 2001, he moved to the Southern California. Through his emphasis on the documentation of the Los Angeles art scene, Swenson focuses much of his attention on bringing public awareness into the realm of art as a cultural experience. Jane Szabo: Sense of Self and Reconstructing Self Jane Szabo has a passion for the human condition and studies the ways we live today, how we relate to each other, how we feel about our identity as individuals, and how it fits together collectively as a community. Szabo merges everyday fabrications with conceptual photography in a series of self-portraits as a means to interpret the psychological complexity of what it is to be human. In her series Sense of Self, Szabo utilizes in-motion self-portraits against a harlequin pattern wall to convey issues of control over herself as well as the external environment, revealing her own vulnerability. Through the use of elements such as light and movement, she aims to capture a sense of chaos and the internal struggle to maintain order as well as the conflicts that occur in the process. She also creates still life images, using inanimate objects to portray a story which invites viewers to draw their own interpretation of meaning, generally relating to feelings of alienation and loneliness. She explores issues of identity through the juxtaposition of fashion, sculpture, installation and photography, seeking to highlight the necessary balance between one’s self and the outside world in her series Reconstructing Self. Szabo has a background as a painter and installation artist with some experience in creating custom props and scenery, which continues to contribute to her artistic style. Jane Szabo is a Los Angeles based photographer known for her award winning fine art photography. Her work has been published and reviewed in The Huffington Post and the Los Angeles Times. Szabo’s photography has been displayed in multiple exhibitions at institutions such as: Oceanside Museum of Art, the Griffin Museum of Photography, Colorado Center for Photographic Arts, PhotoSpiva, San Diego Art Institute, The Los Angeles Center for Photography, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art and Gallery 825 in Los Angeles. In 2014 her work Sense of Self was featured as a solo exhibition at the Los Angeles Center for Digital Art. In 2016, her work Sense of Self and Reconstructing Self were shown as a combined set in Arizona under the title Investigating Self. Nataša Prosenc Stearns: Night Spring Local California artist, Nataša Prosenc Stearns works with film, video art, installations and prints to explore the human body in juxtaposition with the natural and technological worlds. Stearns delivers gravitating pieces that reveal her passion and desire for undiscovered potential of the human body. Working with the effects of anxiety and angst with a bodiless cyber-space, Stearns’ focus on the human body is pushed deeper as she continues to find more complex meaning relating technology to physical life. As her style progressed, she has gradually started to engage her own body, discovering new ideas for her growing passion. Night Spring , featured at the 2015 Venice Biennale, consists of an HD single-channel video with a series of digital prints. The video is composed of a geyser that eventually erodes due to natural effects revealing a human form. She combines organic forms with inorganic ones that are both subjects of transformation, while also putting on display their simultaneous abstractions. Nataša Prosenc Stearns was born in Slovenia and began her studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Slovenia. She moved to California as a Fulbright scholar to pursue her Master of Fine Arts from California Institute of the Arts. Since completing her education, she has been the recipient of the Soros Grant and the Durfee Foundation Grant, among others. Stearns has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions, as well as film screenings and lectures. Her work has been shown internationally at the ARCO Fair in Spain, the Douloun Museum of Art in Shanghai, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in Israel and numerous venues in the United States. Stearns currently resides in Southern California, where she continues to work. May 7 - July 24, 2016 Back to list

Sarah Valdez Ocampo < Back Fighting Against Weakness (A slightly dying) Zebra Haworthia By Sarah Valdez Ocampo Somewhere I can no longer remember, the warm breeze, the warm sun, and the feeling of being wanted and not forgotten. A disappointment is what I’ve realized I have become. Never the glowing green color desired but the dull, miserable brown. Weakness, though my rough texture is still intact, the want and need to break and fall apart will remain inside—momentary things such as the sun, a warm glowing light that brings me a moment of happiness. The desert or so-called home has brought many emotions, never quite sad but never fully happy, a hint of anger suppressed enough to the point where it becomes numb for a second before feeling the weakness hit once again. I am not fully myself, I resemble others, yet I am entirely alone. A single stem that has been separated and taken. However, I have not realized if my growth has stopped due to not being cared for or if I am just born this way—another singular disappointment. There are moments when I feel cared for, even if it’s just water being poured into my uncomfortable and dry soil or being brought inside to feel the heat and joy of others. When I have been placed back outside, I weakly sense the bipolar weather of this peculiar area. One moment it is hot, and the sun shines so brightly that I think it could be a fantastic day, but that feeling rapidly comes crashing down when the clouds cover up the warm light, and the coldness begins to strike, making me once again discouraged. The summer is what I long for, though I am not sure I can make it till then. I long for the heat that reminds me of home, a lapse of memory. I need the warm breeze and the attention I will receive as soon as I’ve been noticed. I want to regain my bright green color, I want to remain happy, and I want to feel loved and wanted. Sometimes it’s okay not to feel okay. Previous Next

< Return to Exhibitions Spring 2013 Gary Lang: Whim Wham Jorg Dubin: My Facebook Friends Guillermo Bert: The Bar Code Series Susan Sironi: Altered Books Gary Lang Shepard Fairey These Sunsets Are To Die For Thomas McGovern Jorg Dubin Guillermo Bert The Barcode Series Danial Nord Youtopia Susan Sironi Altered Books Learn More March 16 - May 5, 2013 Thomas McGovern: Sign Language, Notes from the High Desert Danial Nord: Youtopia March 16 - April 29, 2013 March 16 - May 11, 2013 Signs and Symbols: From Street Art to High Art Dubin Signs Bert Nord McGovern Lang Signs and Symbols: From Street Art to High Art Signs and Symbols: From Street Art to High Art showcases internationally renowned and groundbreaking works by: Keith Haring, Banksy, Barry McGee, Heretic, Cryptik, David P. Flores, Shepard Fairey, Robbie Conal and MearOne. Now a global practice, the artists in this exhibition span a geographic range from Los Angeles to New York and London and pioneered the street art movement by using the urban matrix as their canvas. They continue to create guerilla works of art using stickers, murals, paint, templates, wheat paste, and video projections to transform the dialogue about where art may or may not be placed and sanctioned. Collectively, the artists are master editors, using only the most relevant signs, symbols and materials to achieve the greatest visual impact in a short period of time. They question the commercialization of art by changing the materials they employ and selecting alternative places in which their works appear. The term street art is used to distinguish between two opposites: government and corporate sponsored public art works and the unsanctioned tagging of territorial graffiti. The practice is a form of visual activism by artists who often feel disenfranchised by the codification and standards of art-making in the public realm. Disenfranchisement is a strong motivator and the street artists represented here have revolutionized the way public space is utilized to convey socio-political messages to everyday people who may not frequent museums and galleries. The artwork is eventually taken out of its local context by commercial galleries and museums, the very institutions many artists intend to avoid. Other street artists welcome the influx of their work in the commercial realm, embracing it as an opportunity for their messages to reach larger audiences. Over the last decade, the street art movement gained considerable notoriety with the public through widespread acclaim for the element of surprise. As a new work of art appeared on the street overnight, neighbors and communities either relished or fought against the phenomena, generating a vibrant social currency that fuels the artists. Most street artists are working for the people and are driven by the effect of mobilizing the community into action. Gary Lang: Whim Wham The Lancaster Museum of Art and History presents Gary Lang: Whim Wham an intimate selection of Lang’s acclaimed circle paintings accompanied by his never before seen word paintings. The two bodies of work may at first appear unrelated, yet they are inextricably linked by a union of opposites and similarities—both through the process in which they are created and in Lang’s quest for reconciling the space between beauty and pain in contemporary times. Lang began working on his minimalist circle paintings in the 1980’s and quickly became internationally renowned for his ability to engender a physical connection to the sublime through his radiating color combinations. When viewed from a distance, his paintings propel the viewer into an unrelenting optical experience that transcends everyday concerns. The colors blend and shift, deepen and soften, and awaken and pulsate in conversation with one another, taking the viewer on a phenomenological joy ride. As one moves closer to the work, the artist’s hand—and his remarkable affection for the materiality of paint—is revealed. In the 1970’s, prior to the birth of his circle paintings, Lang had sustained a quiet practice of writing text on paper and painting words in books that he positioned on his paint mixing tables. He eventually began making word paintings in concert with his large canvasses. On the surface, the word paintings function as an immediate repository for the excess pigment left over from his monumental canvasses: he simply moves from the canvas to the paper to “clean” the brush. Lang’s improvisational cleansing process ultimately yields words and phrases that expose his deeply poetic response to the concepts of truth, religion, power and tragedy. Lang has methodically practiced this private ritual since the bombing of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Just days before 9 -11, Lang moved his family from their New York City loft—where the World Trade Center towers were visible from the kitchen window—to Southern California, where Lang was born. Lang expresses that this event turned him toward words “in an effort to understand how they are used, abused, and manipulated by agenda and temper as well as to serve the heart.” He has equally found that he associates the words "real" and "true” with the momentary quality of painting in the here and now. Exhibited together for the first time, Gary Lang: Whim Wham invites the viewer to witness the fruits of Lang’s private ritual, sparking an adventure among color-saturated objects that assist us in transcending the everyday to traversing the intellectual pursuit of words, asking of us to reconcile the beauty and mystery of life with the tragedy of the human condition. Jorg Dubin: My Facebook Friends Jorg Dubin: My Facebook Friends is a contemporary exploration of identity through the fragmented lens of social media. Dubin’s portraits are painted directly from his Facebook friends’ profile pictures, many of whom the artist has never met or whom mostly remain unknown to him. The power of the work emerges from the identity fragmentation that occurs in the virtual world, and is strengthened by the clues into the visage of social media that Dubin provides the viewer. By turning unknown virtual “friends” into his painted subjects, he delivers small treasures from which to begin questioning the motives of identity in the digital age. Dubin, a skilled painter, departed from his classical, representational training and has become well regarded for his expressive explorations of the human condition. His large figurative paintings depict the fragility of human physicality: many of his subjects have undergone physical harm through illness or misfortune or simply through the choices made in life. Dubin explores these realities by blanketing his subjects in oily, acerbic painterly color and roots them in surreal and often grotesque scenes. These larger works are generous visual narratives, whereas his small Facebook oil sketches convey only fragments such as an eye, nose or mouth. These singular sketches ask of us to fill in the gaps, prompting one to contemplate the concept of superficiality through the accumulation of friends. The installation as a whole creates an entirely new friend: one that questions our desire to be needed, to be seen, to be heard and investigates how social media has changed human interaction and communication. Dubin lives and works in Laguna Beach, California. He studied at the Art Institute of Southern California and is a lecturer at Laguna College of Art and Design. Dubin shows extensively in the region, with several solo and group shows at Robert Berman Gallery, Santa Monica, CA; Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach; Guggenheim Gallery, Chapman University, Orange, CA; and Blue Gallery, Kansas City, MO among many others. His work is widely published in art journals and magazines including: ArtScene Magazine, Artillery Magazine, Orange County Register, Coast Magazine, Sacramento Bee and Riviera Magazine. Guillermo Bert: The Bar Code Series Chilean artist Guillermo Bert has long been fascinated with the concept of encrypting messages, language and ideas beneath the “skin” of his artwork. He embeds this concept by incorporating contemporary bar codes with Inca, Maya, and Mapuche religious icons, each rendered in gold, thereby creating hybrid relics and proposing a new mythology. His panels are engraved and carved, much like the stonework of ancient civilizations. This process of engraving and encoding allows Bert to question the price of core values such as democracy and justice, while blurring the lines between culture and commodities. Using the bar code—the quintessential symbol of consumerism and branding as a form of contemporary conquest—Bert provides a critical comment on the effects of globalization and the western consumerist model. Bert lives and works in Los Angeles and shows extensively in the United States and South America, including the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach CA, the San Diego Museum of Art in San Diego CA, the Fowler Museum at UCLA, the Museum of Tolerance and the Architectural Design Museum both in Los Angeles, and the Pasadena Museum of California Art. He is the recipient of many awards and grants and has been commissioned to create a number of public art works. Susan Sironi: Altered Books Los Angeles based artist Susan Sironi received her BFA from California State University, Long Beach and studied color still photography at Orange Coast College. Her early work in urban photography and assemblage lead to her collecting vintage materials with a focus on vintage books. Since 2003 she has used vintage books to express the inconsistencies and frustrations of a world that clings to past conventions while striving for future ideals. Her first altered books were text only and were meticulously cut page-by-page. The advent of the Internet provided Sironi with the ability to acquire multiple copies of books while scanning technology allowed for the precise cutting of entire books. This blending of old and new technologies is central to Sironi’s approach: each book promotes an alternative reading of the accepted norms and conventions of the past. By altering the information the viewer sees, Sironi transforms the books into new visual and conceptual forms while retaining clues from their former identity and history. Exhibiting primarily in Los Angeles, Sironi's work has also been shown at the Laguna Museum of Art and the Carpenter Center at Harvard University, MA. She is represented by Offramp Gallery in Pasadena. Thomas McGovern: Sign Language, Notes from the High Desert Sign Language, Notes from the High Desert showcases the distinguished work of Southern California photographer Thomas McGovern. McGovern’s new work was made specifically for and about the Antelope Valley and is part of a larger documentary project called Vital Signs. The Vital Signs series documents hand-painted signs and murals throughout the Inland Empire region of Southern California, starting with the City of San Bernardino. The great Mexican muralist tradition has an obvious influence in the region, but these signs and murals also suggest the economics of a recovering city where immigrants and established locals alike set up shop and try to provide for themselves and their communities. For his Sign Language, Notes from the High Desert project, McGovern expanded his range to include the Antelope Valley, a place recovering from similar economic pressures as San Bernardino and other rural communities throughout the country. With the Antelope Valley’s close proximity to Los Angeles and the proliferation of high definition billboards lining the ubiquitous eight-lane highways in our region, McGovern turned his lens toward the hand painted signs, murals and advertisements that punctuate our rural, two-lane highway landscape. McGovern provides a window into the minutia that is often taken for granted among the larger mass of “freeway culture” in the area. The photographs piece together fragments of the Antelope Valley’s vernacular style of architecture with the hand painted signs that are being replaced by homogenous strip malls and master planned communities. Many of the signs are deteriorating or were painted in a by-gone era, indicating how the valley is changing over time. Thomas McGovern is Professor of Art at California State University San Bernardino. He exhibits widely in California, New York and Germany and is represented in distinguished collections such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Brooklyn Museum of Art; Baltimore Museum of Art; Library of Congress; Museum Fur Photographie; Museum of the City of New York and The New Museum, New York among others. Danial Nord: Youtopia Danial Nord is an interdisciplinary artist who reinterprets the familiar language and trappings of mass communication. Nord’s installations draw from his accomplishments as an award winning designer-animator in the entertainment industry, as an internationally-based fashion designer, and as a scenic and prop artist for film, television and theater. Nord’s humorous new digital video Youtopia pokes fun at electronic communication and how automated search engines control the information we obtain. The video is based on an email he received with a link to a New York Times article titled: Guggenheim and YouTube Seek Budding Video Artists. Nord created virtual assistants to investigate the article. As the automated inquiries progress over time, they are eventually skewed by database hierarchies and software glitches, which produce amusing, convoluted associations and misguided conclusions. Youtopia underscores the current state of affairs in our quick-to-click culture. Nord earned his BFA from Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia and Rome, Italy. He continued with postgraduate studies in communication technologies and media at the School of Visual Arts and the NYU Center for Digital Multimedia in New York. Nord has exhibited his work in the US and abroad at World Expo 2010, Shanghai, China, Stadsmuseum Ghent, Belgium, and in New York at Freight + Volume and ISE Cultural Foundation. Nord lives, works and exhibits widely in Los Angeles including at California Museum of Photography, Fringe Exhibitions, HAUS, Pacific Design Center, and the City of L.A. Municipal Art Gallery. His work has been covered by the LA Times, LA Weekly, Artweek, Afterimage, and NPR. Sironi View or Download the Spring 2013 Exhibition Catalog by clicking on the cover image or here.

Bloom 2013 < Return to Exhibitions May 11 - June 29 SuperCallaFragileMysticEcstasyDioecious: Cole Case, Amir H. Fallah, Penelope Gottlieb and Roland Reiss Sharon Suhovy: Ambrosia Elena Manferdini Jennifer Vanderpool/ Patrick Melroy: Astro Flowers Kathleen Elliot: Living Flame Janice Tieken: Orchid Requiem Susan Sironi: Nothing Domestic Rebecca Niederlander: We are Stardust, We are Golden. And We Have to Find our Way Back to the Garden Penelope Gottlieb Susan Sironi Kathleen Elliot Rebecca Niederlander Janice Tieken Learn More Case Niederlander Vanderpool Manferdini Elliot Tieken Suhovy SuperCallaFragileMysticEcstasyDioecious: Cole Case, Amir H. Fallah, Penelope Gottlieb and Roland Reiss SuperCallaFragileMysticEcstasyDioecious highlights the work of four Los Angeles artists who synthesize artistic and ecological concerns through the painting of flowers. Cole Case, Amir H. Fallah, Penelope Gottlieb and Roland Reiss bring disparate painting approaches and varying cultural associations together as an artistic response to the world’s concentrically dizzying spin. “Whereas older traditions of botanical art and still life painting involved calm, studio-bound reflections of natural beauty and visual order, a new paradigm seems appropriate in the more fragile condition of the world in the early 21st century. We’re in a state of accelerated change, possibly teetering on some sort of apocalyptic brink.” -Penelope Gottlieb Sharon Suhovy: Ambrosia Sharon Suhovy sculpts sumptuous three dimensional paintings with cake-frosting utensils. Her sculptures may reflect structures that are familiar in historical architecture and almost always include the use of classic flowers like the rose as a metaphor for beauty. Elena Manferdini Elena Manferdini’s site specific installation is a new addition to the MOAH permanent collection. This acquisition was made possible with funds from the Lancaster Museum and Public Art Foundation. Jennifer Vanderpool/ Patrick Melroy: Astro Flowers This site specific installation recontextualizes the historic propaganda of the Cold War Space Race, imaging an alternative history that subverts patriarchal, nationalistic imagery with botanical iconography – the rocket ship for the flower. Thematically, the work acknowledges Lancaster’s role in space technology, while in a tongue and cheek manner suggesting the beautification of space is as worthy a goal as manifest destiny of unknown galaxies and global dominance. Kathleen Elliot: Living Flame Kathleen Elliot lives in two worlds: the “real” one of luscious flora, fruits and vegetables and in her own Garden of Eden. Her works in glass exhibited at MOAH arose from a great love of plants, their life cycles, the beauty of all of their parts – leaves, seed pods, flowers, bark, etc – and the spiritual connection she feels when she is in nature. Janice Tieken: Orchid Requiem California photographer Janice Tieken’s series Orchid Requiem focuses on the beauty of orchids and other flora after their life cycle is finished. This body of work won the International Silver Prize for Art and Science of Color. Susan Sironi: Nothing Domestic Susan Sironi’s altered garden books are fantastical botanical dioramas. Leftover cuttings from the altered books form the basis for Sironi's "Garden Collage" series of mixed-media wall work. Romantic looking floral bouquets are overlaid with Sironi's handwritten stream of consciousness texts which are modified -- leaving us to ponder the poetic content. Rebecca Niederlander: We are Stardust, We are Golden. And We Have to Find our Way Back to the Garden As an artist, Rebecca Niederlander’s practice is founded in the relationship of the individual to the larger whole. Her art contains an aesthetics of multiples, a commitment to the singular element and how it fits into a larger balanced context of many. Her works invite the viewer to participate on an active level by creating pieces of their own within the installation that add to the whole of Niederlander’s work. Rebecca Niederlander is the Community Engagement Artist working in conjunction with sculptor Brad Howe on the new Los Angeles County Multi Ambulatory Care Center scheduled to open in Lancaster in 2014. Sironi View or Download the Bloom 2013 Exhibition Catalog by clicking on the cover image or here.