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Western Hotel Museum 557 W Lancaster Blvd, Lancaster, CA 93534 Open Friday and Saturday | 11 AM - 4 PM Closed Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Sundays, and Holidays westernhotel@cityoflancaster.gov (661) 723-6250 Closed Holiday Dates Friday, November 28, 2025 In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, please note that the Western Hotel Museum is regularly closed on Thursdays and will therefore also be closed on Thursday, November 27. Saturday, December 13, 2025 Our team will be onsite at the Magical BLVD. We invite you to visit Lancaster BLVD and join us in celebrating the holiday event. Wednesday, December 24, 2025 - Thursday, December 25, 2025 In observance of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the Western Hotel Museum will be closed. As a reminder, the museum is regularly closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Wednesday, December 31, 2025 - Thursday, January 1, 2026 In observance of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, the Western Hotel Museum will be closed. The museum is regularly closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The Western Hotel Museum is one of the Antelope Valley’s most visible links to our past heritage. We hope that you will enjoy your visit and encounter nostalgic recollections when you see photographs and artifacts that depict the history of the people who built, worked, and lived in early Lancaster. Admission to the museum is free, but we accept and appreciate all donations History Blog Request a Tour Book a Tour Explore the the rich history of Lancaster's Western Hotel Museum, by booking a tour today! Learn More > View The Self Guided Tour Enjoy the Western Hotel Museum at your own pace by following along with the self-guided tour. Learn More > Read about Myrtie Webber Learn more about the woman behind the Western Hotel Museum: Myrtie Webber. Learn More > Visiting one of our museums? Let us help you plan your trip!

Gorgeous Venue & Great Staff "I booked the rooftop terrace and Lantern Room for my dad's 90th birthday. The setting was stunning. It would be perfect for a wedding or any other special event...The MOAH staff was professional, helpful, and communicative throughout the 9 months of planning and also during the party." -R Oberdorf, Weddingwir e "I booked the "Lantern Room" atop the roof of the Lancaster Museum of Art & History. The space is very modern and clean; metal beams cross in front of floor-to-ceiling windows and the space is filled with natural light." -Katherine, Weddingwir e View or Download the Facility Rental Application by clicking here. Rental FAQs Rental Fees Photo: Pixels&Prints Photo: Pixels&Prints Photo: Danielle Bacon Photography Photo: Candace Benjamin Photography Photo: Pixels&Prints Photo: Pixels&Prints

Colorimetry < Return to Exhibitions January 18 - March 16 Ruth Pastine: Attraction 1993 - 2013 Main Gallery Gisela Colon: Glo-Pod Jewel Box John Eden: Roundel Series Second Floor - Staircase Atrium Johannes Girardoni: Chromasonic Field Blue/Green, 2013 Second Floor East Gallery Phillip K Smith III: Lucid Stead: Four Windows and the Doorway Vault Gallery Karl Benjamin Entry Atrium Dion Johnson: Light Sequence - Aquarium' 2013 Education Gallery January 23 - March 13 Innovations 29th Annual All-Media Juried Art Exhibition South Gallery Ruth Pastine Gisela Colon John Eden Karl Benjamin Dion Johnson Phillip K Smith Johannes Girardoni Anita Ray Innovations 29th Annual All-Media Curator's Award Eden Pastine Girardoni Johnson Benjamin Innovations Colon Ruth Pastine: Attraction 1993-2013 In the world of human perception, perhaps no single stimulus evokes a more complex cascade of responses than that of the phenomenon of color. Our perception of the color spectrum is completely dependent upon light and is encountered thousands of times a day in seemingly infinite combinations. Whether in our homes, workplaces, neighborhoods, cities, in film, in art, even in our dreams, these encounters have the ability to trigger emotional, physiological, intellectual, aesthetic and spiritual responses. Creating this phenomenological interplay between color, light and perception is where renowned painter and color theorist Ruth Pastine thrives. Pastine’s oil paintings and pastel works on paper provide a contemplative field in which we may dwell and absorb the intimate relationships she presents between warm colors and cool colors, between light and dark tones, between two-dimensions and the illusion of three-dimensional space. Pastine’s life’s work is dedicated to evolving the visual experience of color and redefining the perceptual field by combining contrasting color systems that challenge our preconceptions and ask us to move beyond the immediate attraction into the optical realm. The work is best experienced in person, which reveals the optical and visceral resonance of the hand painted surfaces. Through her work, color and light are reduced to their most elemental form. Thousands of tiny brush strokes appear visually seamless, producing an image that is both objective and pure and filled with nuance and subtlety that engages the viewer in the present tense of discovery. This journey parallels her painting process of being in the moment, in the here-and-now as she transforms a neutral canvas into a rich field of color. The square, vertical, and horizontal-rectangular framework of the canvas provides a gateway for departure, a means to access the future work, beyond that which seems finite. Ruth Pastine was born and raised in New York City. She received her B.F.A. from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York, NY in painting and art history, and her M.F.A. from Hunter College of the City University of New York in painting, color theory, and critical theory. She received the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts Grant in 1999, and in 2000 in conjunction with The Shifting Foundation matching grant. In 2001 she relocated to Southern California where she currently works and resides. In 2009, she received a public commission from Brookfield Properties and created a site-specific installation titled Limitless , which is comprised of eight large-scale vertical paintings permanently on view in the lobbies of Ernst & Young Plaza in Los Angeles, CA. The Museum of Art & History is pleased to present Pastine’s first museum survey show with exhibition catalog essays by Donald Kuspit and Peter Frank. She has exhibited widely in the United States and Japan, and is included in many public and corporate collections across the nation. Gisela Colon: Glo-Pods The work of Los Angeles-based Gisela Colón has been associated with California Minimalism, specifically the Light & Space and Finish-Fetish movements more broadly referred to as “Perceptualism.” Colón’s sculptures investigate the properties of light in solid form and luminescent color through the use of industrial plastic materials. The Glo-Pods body of work—meticulously created through a proprietary fabrication process of blow-molding and layering acrylic—mark Colon as part of the next generation of southern California artists using light as exploratory media. The light appearing to emanate from the objects is an illusion based on color and form. Colón's use of amorphous, organic, asymmetrical lines and light-reflecting and radiating media make her objects appear to pulsate with light and energy. They simultaneously appear to both actively materialize and dissolve into the surrounding environment, allowing the experience of pure color and form in space. Colon’s goal is to bring about intriguing perceptual contradictions between visual elements such as: mass/lightness, solidity/delicacy, opacity/ transparency, muscularity/femininity, and intensity/nuance thus allowing for the exploration of the phenomenology of light, color, materiality, and space as we experience it through the human lens of the senses. Colón was born in 1966 in Vancouver, Canada, to a German mother and Puerto Rican father. She was raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico and attended the University of Puerto Rico, graduating magna cum laude in 1987 with a BA in Economics. Colón moved to Los Angeles to pursue graduate studies, receiving a Juris Doctorate degree from Southwestern University School of Law in 1990. She was given a Congressional Scholarship Award by the Harry S. Truman Foundation in recognition of her outstanding academic excellence. She was able to turn to art full-time in 2002, quickly developing a following for her abstract paintings. Colón’s increasing interest in light and space and issues of visual perception brought her to her present series of work and her conscious association with Light-and-Space and Finish-Fetish artists such as Robert Irwin, James Turrell, Craig Kauffman, DeWain Valentine, Helen Pashgian, Larry Bell, Ronald Davis, Mary Corse, and Peter Alexander. Colón has exhibited at national and international venues. In 2014, she will be featured in the survey exhibition “Trans-Angeles” at the Museum Wilhelm-Morgner Haus in Soest, Germany. John Eden: Roundel Series In his Roundel Series , Sculptor John Eden presents multicolored disks that are interpretations of the symbols and colors used to identify military aircrafts’ country of origin. These 'Roundels' were originally inspired by the tricolored Cockade uniform ribbon of the French Revolution and repurposed again during WWI for aerial combatants. Mr. Eden further abstracts these symbols into pure shape and form. Eden started the Roundel Series in the late fall of 2012 and to date has created twenty-nine discs in various sizes, with twenty-five different Roundel designs. Like many of his contemporaries within the Southern California Finish-Fetish movement, he works solo in his studio, attending to every detail with pride and dedication to his craft. His work is grounded in his lifelong fascination with hidden or secret meanings: things that appear to be one thing, but are quite the opposite—in this case beautiful objects with lethal intent. This series explores the idea that “all that glitters is not gold” and the dark side of beauty. Eden’s Roundel Series builds upon the pioneering legacy of Southern California artists who married industrial materials and the Los Angeles car culture with political activism in the early 1960s. Eden credits the feminist artist Judy Chicago and her 1964 Topical Car Hood Series as an inspiration for his Roundel Series . Chicago sprayed acrylic lacquer on Corvair car hoods in precise, bold patterns thereby ushering in a new era of materials and content in Southern California art. John Eden received his Master of Fine Arts in painting from the University of Southern California; Master of Arts in inter-media from California State University of Northridge; and Bachelor of Fine Arts in independent filmmaking from the San Francisco Art Institute. Eden attributes his skills in handling sensitive pigments, high polish surfaces and non-traditional materials largely developed by the California aerospace engineering industry to his advanced training under Jack Brogan in his world renowned fabrication studio. Since the 1960s Jack Brogan has been an important facet of the art scene in Southern California, working closely with artists such as John Eden, De Wain Valentine, Robert Irwin, Larry Bell, Helen Pashgian and John McCracken as a conservator, fabricator, and collaborator. MOAH is proud to continue exhibiting this legacy of artists and the fabricators who have helped pioneer the Light and Space and Finish-Fetish movements, all unique to Southern California. Eden shows widely in California and has published in The Los Angeles Times, Art Review and The San Diego Union Tribune. He lives and works in Los Angeles. Johannes Girardoni: Chromasonic Field Blue/Green, 2013 Johannes Girardoni is an American-based sculptor and installation artist. Girardoni is known for work that blurs the line between virtual and material content. Dispersed throughout a gallery filled with natural light, Chromasonic Field-Blue/Green is a series of semi-translucent blue cast resin beams. White LED’s illuminate them from within, projecting artificial light as well as allowing the surrounding natural light to pass through. The installation is outfitted with sensors calibrated to measure the specific color frequency emanating from the resin as well as the ambient light. The sensors drive a tone generator, which converts the light information to sound, essentially making light audible. These sensors also register the presence of the viewer moving through the space, which further modulates the sound. The boundaries between natural and digital phenomena are blurred in a field of luminous sound. Johannes Girardoni's work has been widely shown at museums and galleries in the US, Europe and Asia. In 2011, Girardoni's light and sound installation The (Dis)appearance of Everything was included in the 54th Venice Biennale, Italy. Selected other exhibitions include Personal Structures at the Ludwig Museum, Germany, 30 Years of Contemporary Art at the California Center for Contemporary Art and Creative Migration at The Austrian Cultural Forum, New York. His works are represented in public and private collections, such as the Harvard Art Museum, The Progressive Collection and The Margulies Collection. Girardoni has been the subject of features and reviews both nationally and internationally including: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, ArtNews, Art in America and Sculpture. In 2013, Girardoni completed a major in-situ permanent work, Metaspace 1 (The Infinite Room) , a light and sound sculpture conceived as part of architecture in collaboration with Smithsonian/Cooper Hewitt National Design Award winner Tom Kundig of Olson Kundig Architects. Girardoni’s Metaspace V2 , a groundbreaking interactive sculpture project that brings together art, technology, and science was first presented at the exhibition Off and On at Nye+Brown in Los Angeles. Phillip K. Smith: Lucid Stead: Four Windows and the Doorway Drawing inspiration from the optic sensation of California’s Light and Space movement, Phillip K. Smith III creates deceptively simple objects that seem to breathe and move as they are observed and experienced. This exhibition showcases one aspect of Smith’s Lucid Stead, 2013 an entirely site specific installation that incorporated LED lighting with mirrored panels on a 70 year old homesteading shack in the Mojave desert. Smith’s design of Lucid Stead was deeply influenced by his relationship to the desert, where he lives and works, and the inherent qualities unique to the Mojave: the quiet, expansive space, the reduced pace of change, and the uninterrupted color fields that occur as day shifts to night over the horizon. Using these ephemeral qualities as material and medium through the reflection of light and mirrors mounted on the homestead, Smith was able to place the building in direct conversation with the surrounding landscape. The four windows and doorway were outfitted with LED panels that slowly drenched the viewer in color. The desert context disappeared as day transformed into night and the colored panels appeared to float into the black sky. Smith happily pulled these light panels away from their desert home and into the MOAH to enable him to strictly focus the eye on pure color. His usual mode of working with light is from the inside-out, meaning he imbues his objects with light from within. Now, the interaction of color occurs as colors reflect and mingle on the gallery walls, washing the gallery in shifting changing light and color. Lucid Stead: Four Windows and the Doorway provides a direct path to the human sensory system, and the installation itself takes on human physicality, as if the color is breathing light into the participant. Smith is concerned with time and the ephemeral nature of life. In the past was Lucid Stead. In the present is: Lucid Stead: Four Windows and the Doorway, a bridge to the future where Smith will take re-site a monumental installation into the landscape, where the Southern California desert and the purity of his solar powered light panels interact seamlessly. Phillip K. Smith III received his Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design. From his Indio, California studio he continues to push the boundaries and confront the ideas of modernist design. Drawing inspiration form the rigidity of the Bauhaus movement in its pure shapes, colors and forms, with the reductive geometries of minimalism and the optic sensation of light and color, Smith III attempts to resolve the complex challenge of finding a natural state of life and spirit within these ideological constrictions. Commissioned to create more than a dozen monumental public art works in the last 5 years in Kansas City, Nashville, Oklahoma City, Arlington, VA, Phoenix and several sites in California, Smith has enjoyed rapid success with a 2008 feature in the Art in America Annual Review. In addition to these larger scaled works, Smith continues to work on an ever-growing list of smaller scaled works for private collections. Karl Benjamin (December 29, 1925 – July 26, 2012) Born in Chicago, Karl Benjamin began his undergraduate studies at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois in 1943. Interrupted by service in the US Navy during WWII, Benjamin resumed his studies at Southern California's University of Redlands in 1946. Graduating in 1949 with a BA degree in English literature, history and philosophy, Benjamin began his career as a teacher with no intention of becoming an artist. However, his relocation to Claremont California in 1952, shortly after he had begun "playing" with paint in 1951, galvanized his career path. Though he continued to teach in public schools and, later to great acclaim, for Pomona College, the artist's work blossomed amid the lively art, design and architecture scene in Los Angeles in the mid twentieth Century. Numerous gallery showings of his work during the 1950s culminated in 1959 with his inclusion in Los Angeles County Museum of Art's ground-breaking exhibition "Four Abstract Classicists: Karl Benjamin, Lorser Feitelson, Frederick Hammersley and John McLaughlin." The exhibition garnered national attention along with the creation of a moniker for Benjamin's meticulously orchestrated color and form: Hard Edge Painting. Subsequently Benjamin's work was included in the exhibit Purist Painting traveling to Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse and the Columbus Museum of Art. The Whitney Museum included his work in Geometric Abstraction in America. Museum of Modern Art (NY) also featured the artist in their watershed exhibit The Responsive Eye. Benjamin was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts Grant for Visual Arts in 1983 and 1989. His work has been featured in numerous exhibitions and is included in the public collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Museum of Modern Art, Israel; Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA; Seattle Art Museum, WA; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, NY among others. Benjamin taught for many years at Pomona Valley institutions and was named Professor Emeritus at Pomona College. Dion Johnson: Light Sequence – Aquarium, 2013 Dion Johnson is activating the Education Gallery with an animated video projection of slowly evolving abstract fields of color, stripes and architectural forms. This is a site specific work of art that Dion has created exclusively for MOAH. Mr. Johnson imagines the projection as a moving painting that draws inspiration from how he senses and experiences the environment. From observing shadows stretching across his living room floor, watching the curvature of the freeway interchange while driving to his studio, and seeing the Southern California light filtering through urban structures, Light Sequence – Aquarium holds a full range of associations and perceptual cues that percolate as the video animation unfolds. Dion Johnson received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ohio State University and his Master of Fine Arts from Claremont Graduate University. He exhibits nationally with solo shows in museums and galleries across California, New York, Florida, Ohio and Texas. He lives and works in Los Angeles. Innovations 29th Annual All-Media Juried Art Exhibition Highlighted in the 29th Annual All Media Exhibit are 107 pieces created by 73 talented High Desert Artists. The entries were judged by Southern California artist Ray Turner, an American artist known primarily for his portrait and landscape painting and award winning sculptor Sarah Perry who currently resides in Tehachapi. All work in this exhibition was produced in the past three years and has not previously been shown at the Museum of Art & History. All forms of artistic media, including, but not limited to, painting, photography, and mixed-media were welcomed. The award winners were chosen by the esteemed judges with aditional awards given by community members and City leaders. Best of Exhibition • 1st (Best of) Christine Kline - Origins • 2nd (Best of) Stevie Love - Paint Thing 2 • 3rd (Best of) Antoinette de Paiva - Afterthought Series #5 Minors: • 1st Place Hanna Creech (age 13) - The Peacock • 2nd Place Elizabeth Engeda (age 10) - Northern Cardinal • 3rd Place Jack Kozlovsky (age 7) - Jack's Magic Dragon Beryl Amspoker Award • Tina Dorff - Portrait of the Young Countess Deirdra Rose Lakes and Valleys Art Guild Award • Sal Vasquez - Harris Vineyards Harvesters Dean Webb Memorial Photography Award, Presented by the Lancaster Photography Association • Betsy Batish - Unhitched Mayor’s Award • Tina Dille – E.B. City Manager’s Award • Michael Evans – Steampunk Top Hat Director’s Award • Regis R. Gagnon – Cotton Belt on the Outskirts Curator’s Award • Anita Ray – Loose Ends Honorable Mentions: • Nay Schuder – Crackin’ Up #1 • Michael Evans – Steampunk Media Player •Antoinette de Paiva - Afterthought Series #7 • Thaddeus Grzelak - Plein Air - Old Gold Mine • Frank Dixon - The Machine Age • Dennis Borak - Field of Sun Flowers • Dennis Borak - Artist Considering a Painting • Susan Cunningham - Dreaming of Zion • Nancy Scherich - Bitter Sweet • Hossen Mofarrah - Particles in the Air • Ralph Richeson - The Circus Came to Town • Christine Kline - Drowning Man • Jarnold - Meat Head • Tina Dorff - Deirdra & Jacques • Dennis Adams – Old Barn • Cynthia F. McConnell - Voids • Karyl Newman - Inter-Airspace Velvet • Stevie Love - Paint Thing 3 • Bruce McAllister - Sarah Says (As Neptune Swims) • Katherine Shannon - Kidding Around Smith View or Download the Colorimetry Exhibition Catalog by clicking on the cover image or here.

< Back Reforged Identities Jewel Box Gina Herrera Driven by a deep commitment to environmental justice, artist Gina Herrera infuses her work with spiritual and aesthetic rituals that pay homage to Mother Earth. Using repurposed and salvaged materials — including military insignia and everyday domestic objects — she crafts assemblage sculptures that juxtapose organic, human-like forms, industrial materials, and mystical elements. Shaped by her Native American heritage, military service, and eco-conscious perspective, Herrera’s diverse experiences come together in a practice that is both thought-provoking and deeply connected to the world around her. Sculptures such as The Mighty Grasshopper, 2024, exemplify Herrera’s distinctive artistic practice and technique. Like many of her works, it is comprised of found objects, plasma-cut and powder coated metal, and ceramic molds taken from her own body. The piece reflects the diverse influences and her own personal exploration of identity and beliefs, encouraging contemplation, and deep social and spiritual engagement. Previous Next

Volunteer at MOAH Tour with Robert Education Tour Museum Overlook 1/9 VOLUNTEER IN TEREST FORM The Lancaster Museum of Art and History (MOAH), MOAH:CEDAR, Elyze Clifford Interpretive Center (ECIC), and the Western Hotel Museum (WHM) are now accepting volunteer applications! Our volunteers are passionate about art and history, making valuable contributions to the museum at all levels. As a volunteer you will have an integral role, working directly with staff and supporting various operations. Throughout your time with us, you will be able to grow and be a part of an invested team. If you are interested in volunteering and support our mission statement, fill out the Volunteer Interest F orm as provided here . For the department interest section, be sure to add MOAH. Volunteers will be able to: Become an expert on each of our exhibitions and engage MOAH’s visitors as a docent by sharing your knowledge with our diverse audiences. Assist with gallery security and enforcing policies throughout the gallery space. Foster direct relationships with our community of patrons, artists, residents, and staff members. Assist with different departments including our Guest Services, Collections, and Education at our various locations. Support the Education Team with tours for audiences of all ages. Connect with a team of volunteers and enjoy our museum benefits. Benefits! Museum volunteers also enjoy personal benefits, such as special invitations to museum and volunteer events, a 20% discount on select purchases in the Vault Museum Store, and participation in educational workshops! Ideal Qualifications: Ideal volunteers should maintain a courteous and positive attitude, dedicated to upholding guest relations with all visitors, staff, and artists. Volunteers should have a keen interest and knowledge in current exhibition materials, express excitement w hen interacting with diverse groups of all ages, including children to seniors. Ideal volunteers should be punctual and able to remain calm in difficult or stressful situations. They should also be comfortable with public speaking and participating in different training avenues, such as public programming and educational events. Volunteers who can communicate in multiple languages (especially Spanish, American Sign Language and Standard Mandarin) or have CPR training are highly desirable. Volunteer Shifts: Volunteers will be scheduled for their shift based on their personal availability during museum hours. Standard shifts are typically 4 hours in length, up to twice a week. The Museum of Art and Histor y (MOAH) is open on Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11 AM – 4 PM. On Thursday and Fridays, we are open from 11 AM – 8 PM . If you are unable to volunteer for our standards shifts, the museum may be able to accommodate your availability. How to Apply: If you are interested in volunteering, fill out the Volunteer Interest Form through the City of Lancaster, as provided here . For the department interest section, be sure to add MOAH. Paper applications are also available at the Lancaster Museum of Art & History’s reception desk and can be picked-up and dropped off during our regular operating hours. Applicants will receive an email to schedule them for a short interview at the museum, then notified thereafter. Volunteer Requirements: Volunteers will be subject to a LiveScan background check through Human Resources at Lancaster City Hall. Volunteers will be required to submit a PPD Skin Test (TB) clearance before starting the volunteer role. If you already possess a report administered by your own doctor, it must be dated within the last six months. Human Resources will confirm the location for testing, and the results should be given to HR offi ce at Lancaster City Hall (44933 Fern Ave, Lancaster, CA 93534). We are currently only accepting applications for volunteers who are over the age of 18. Volunteer Orientation: Once your volunteer application has been processed and you are selected as a volunteer, you will be scheduled to attend a volunteer orientation! During orientation, volunteers will be given a specialized tour of the facility and information packet, learn how to docent, and meet other volunteers. You will also learn about what makes a great museum tour, along with techniques to engage your audience and the fundamentals of storytelling! Thank you for your interest and we look forward to meeting you!

Up Woodland Creatures Robin Raznick Join us for an extraordinary artist residency at the Prime Desert Woodland Preserve, featuring renowned artist and naturalist, Robin Raznick. With her captivating Woodland Creatures Workshop series, you'll embark on a creative journey through the heart of nature. Mark your calendars for these engaging sessions: 1. October 7th, 10:00 AM - 1:30 PM Woodland Desert Tortoise Education and Portraits: Sketchbooks and More! Explore the fascinating world of desert tortoises while capturing their essence in your sketchbook. Dive into the enchanting details of these remarkable creatures. 2. November 4th, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM Woodland Birdwalk: Bring Your Sketchbook from Workshop I and Create Watercolor and Mixed Media Bird Portraits Immerse yourself in the world of avian wonders during a guided birdwalk. Use your sketches from the first workshop as a foundation to create vibrant watercolor and mixed media bird portraits. 3. December 2nd (Times to be Announced) Woodland Insects and Creepy Crawlies: Bring Your Sketchbooks and Create Some 3D/ Sculptural Paintings Delve into the microcosm of woodland insects and creepy crawlies as you transform your sketches into three-dimensional, sculptural paintings. Stay tuned for exact session times. 4. New Date January 27th, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM Desert Creatures Soft Sculpture: Mixed Material Beanbag Sculptures Discover the art of crafting mixed-material beanbag sculptures inspired by the desert's unique creatures. Let your creativity take shape in this hands-on, soft sculpture workshop. These workshops offer a rare opportunity to blend artistry and nature, enhancing your connection to the environment. Embrace the chance to learn, create, and be inspired by the diverse creatures of the Prime Desert Woodland Preserve. October 7, 2023 - January 27, 2024 Back to list

Mission Statement As a community resource leader in the Greater Antelope Valley, the Lancaster Museum and Public Art Foundation fosters the diversity and richness of the region through collaborative support of programs celebrating arts, culture , and history. Learn more President Vice President/Treasurer Secretary Directors Directors Emeritus Administrative Assistant Nicole Christensen Michelle Shaver Donna Hill Andi Campognone Kara Avery De'Chane Yusef Leo Stallworth Steven Eglash Jocelyn Sanchez For more information on the Lancaster Museum & Public Art Foundation: Visit us online: LMPAF.org E-mail: LMPAF@cityoflancasterca.org Click to make a donation to the Lancaster Museum & Public Art Foundation: Support MOAH

Upcoming Exhibiitons Get to know the upcoming exhibitions coming soon at MOAH! Metaphor January 31 - April 19, 2026 Artists: Nathan Huff, Sharon Kagan, Bachrun LoMele, Vojislav Radovanović, Francis Robateau, Brian Singer, and Diane Willliams Opening Reception: Saturday, January 31 More information coming soon Untitled Eva Aguila May 16 - August 30, 2026 Opening Reception: Saturday, May 16 More information coming soon The Cracked Velevts Eugene Rodriguez May 16 - August 30, 2026 Opening Reception: Saturday, May 16 More information coming soon IMAGE CREDIT: Eugene Rodriguez Sr. Rodriguez ,los campos te están llamando (Mr. Rodríguez, the fields are caling you), 2023 Courtesy of Eugene Rodriguez Masks Edwin Vasquez May 16 - August 30, 2026 Opening Reception: Saturday, May 16 More information coming soon Untitled Marcus Zuniga May 16 - August 30, 2026 Opening Reception: Saturday, May 16 More information coming soon Emanations May 16 - August 30, 2026 View works from MOAH's Collection. Opening Reception: Saturday, May 16 More information coming soon

The Frostig Collection < Return to Exhibitions October 29, 2013 - January 5, 2014 Frostig at Large: The Artists of The Frostig Collection Main Gallery & South Gallery Second Floor Lou Swenson: Moving West Wells Fargo Gallery Bradford J. Salamon: Objectified East Gallery Legacy: The Artists of the Open Studio Vault Gallery Christoff Van Kooning: Invertibles Third Floor Galleries Guy Dill From The Frostig Collection Lou Swenson Moving West Bradford J. Salamon Crosley Radio Renato De Guia Timothy Christoff Van Kooning Invertibles Collection Frostig at Large: The Artists of The Frostig Collection The Frostig Collection is comprised of an expansive array of artwork by many of today's most compelling and well-known artists. The artists represented in the exhibition live and work in Los Angeles and have substantially contributed to the international reputation of arts in the region through their innovative use of concepts and materials, some of which were developed by the aerospace industry here in the Antelope Valley. The Frostig Collection was created as a fundraising enterprise to support the Frostig Center and School, both global leaders in research and education of students with learning disabilities. Located in Pasadena, California, The Frostig Center is one of the few privately-funded non-profit organizations in the United States which is exclusively dedicated to investigating the causes and treatments of learning disabilities such as dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia along with ADHD, ADD, Asperger’s and high-functioning autism. Founded in 1951 by Marianne Frostig, Ph.D., a leader in education for children with learning disabilities, The Center has significantly changed the way children with learning disabilities are taught, which has resulted in helping them achieve satisfying and productive lives. Frostig School parents created The Frostig Collection to expand the work of The Center and bring a much-needed social skills program to fruition, thereby further supporting the emotional health of the students. By donating their work, the distinguished artists of The Frostig Collection have significantly contributed to the development and advancement of specialized resources for children with learning disabilities, improving the lives of the students, their teachers and their families. These pioneering artists include: Lita Albuquerque, Charles Arnoldi, Gary Baseman, Larry Bell, Lynda Benglis, David Buckingham, Chris Burden, Guy Dill, Robert Graham, Frank Gehry, Brad Howe, Eric Johnson, Matt Johnson, Michael Kalish, Michael C. McMillen, Ed Moses, Gwynn Murrill, R. Kenton Nelson, Chris Piazza, Sarah Perry, Ken Price, Nancy Rubins, Alison Saar and Ray Turner. Lou Swenson: Moving West Lou Swenson has been making art for 50 years. His passion for photography began when his mother presented him with a Kodak Pony 135 camera the day he was deployed to serve on the frontlines of the Korean War. At every opportunity when not engaged in battle, he used this gift to capture images of his comrades and to calm the effects of active duty in a foreign land. A great loss to the art world and the visual history of the time, this transparency collection was lost during an overseas shipment, making images from this time impossible to reproduce and share with the world. His early creative inspiration came from Depression Era Life Magazine and war photographers such as Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Eugene Smith and Henri Cartier-Bresson. As Swenson moved west, he was taken with the groundbreaking work of Ansel Adams and the pioneering California coastal photographers of the time. After completing his military career, Swenson became a commercial photographer and studio owner in San Antonio, Texas. During that time, he earned a Master of Photography degree, built an extensive list of clients and won many awards at print competitions. Mastering the technical aspects of his craft and enjoying eleven years of successful commercial photography, Swenson shifted gears and returned to his roots in Colorado, where he established himself in the fine art of black and white photography. Drawn to the geographical and cultural diversity of the Four Corners region, he settled in Dolores, Colorado where he currently resides. The region has been his creative home for the past 29 years: traversing the back roads of the west, documenting treasures of open spaces, remnants of rural life and the marks of time on a rapidly changing society. Swenson’s expertise in maximizing tonal variations, textures and shadow patterns across the landscapes and architecture of the west lies in photographing and printing black and white silver halide negatives in his home darkroom, a practice he continues as long as film, paper and chemicals are available. Like the landscape painters and photographers who traveled west with the tenets of Manifest Destiny and on the trails blazed by Lewis and Clark, Swenson utilized large format cameras to capture the inherent qualities of light, form and drama in the region. He began shooting with a 5 x 7 inch camera body then weaned himself down to a medium format 6 x 9 cm in order to reduce the cumbersome weight of these models while maintaining perspective control and maximizing tonal values, all of which are germane to representing the light and essence of the west. Swenson is a master in the art of composition, utilizing the basic principles of design and the rule of thirds to position his subjects within the frame. Swenson’s ability is apparent in how he captures the shift of a cloud in an expansive landscape, the depth of a shadow wrapping around a hand built pueblo or the intangible interior light of a dusty room in a forgotten ghost town. He is particularly fascinated with the change of seasons, when leaves begin to drop and reveal the underlying structure of trees and the inherent mood of a landscape. He notes: “when the snow begins to fall it creates a new and dynamic relationship between light and dark, texture and form, horizon and sky.” His works are sensuous and striking homages to the beauty of the region, where artists are still drawn to study and experience the dramatic landscapes and cultural heritage found in this quiet part of the world. Bradford J. Salamon: Objectified Objectify: verb (objectifies, objectifying, objectified) 1.To express (something abstract) in a concrete form: good poetry objectifies feeling. 2. To degrade to the status of a mere object: a deeply sexist attitude that objectifies women. Bradford J. Salamon is widely regarded for his portraits of artists, writers and musicians who he invites into his studio to sit in his iconic orange chair, often for hours, as he observes and documents the intricacy of their humanity. His approach allows the artistic process to unfold as an unpredictable journey into the subject’s personality, where the painting unlocks a visual narrative unique to the time of the sitter’s life. The person becomes part of the art making process: as they bring to the chair their life stories of professional achievements and personal hardships, their bodies begin to sink into the chair, and over time their faces often collapse into fatigue. The pain of sitting for hours unoccupied by a task other than being there for the artist becomes apparent. For Salamon, this process captures the entire evolving narrative of the person and activates the canvas with the human condition. His process counteracts the tendency to objectify the model—as many portrait artists have done throughout the history of art—while also representing an abstraction of his model. Salamon sees portraiture as an opening into life experiences he may never otherwise have had the opportunity to observe and notes that the process of painting people for extended periods of time provides a way of communicating and interacting with them on an entirely different level. He brings this humanizing approach to painting objects as well; objects such as rotary dial phones, vintage machinery, and toys. These portraits serve as a reminder of the power of invention and the purpose and aesthetic considerations that initially guided the object’s design. He notes: “I will paint people forever, as they are always important to me. But my fascination with inanimate objects and the stories they tell bring me back to a different time when it makes me move into the mindset of a designer or inventor who thought with 1920 references. Old glass bottles, iconography, out-of-date sewing machines, their shapes and how they work stimulate me to see the world with fresh perceptions.” Exploring the poetics of these vintage objects is a welcome challenge for the artist. Representing multiple surfaces as they interface with one another is no simple task for a painter: capturing the luminosity of glass against metal; the texture of time-worn wood overlaid with fading chrome; and the contrast of fabric and mesh with plastics all have their own character and qualities. The artist has plentiful objects from which to choose, especially due to the speed at which objects become obsolete, a phenomenon that intrigues the artist and keeps him inspired to paint on a daily basis. Bradford J. Salamon has recreated his private studio at MOAH with the orange chair at the center of the installation. His studio—itself a series of objects from the artist’s life—is situated here as a place in which you may interact with him and become familiar with his process; a process that is unfolding in real time, as an unpredictable journey into the artist’s mind and method. While Mr. Salamon is not painting in the Museum, he consistently works in Los Angeles on painting commissions. He studied at The Art Institute of Southern California, Laguna Beach and trained extensively in Europe. His work has been shown and collected internationally. Legacy: The Artists of the Open Studio The Open Studio class began in January 2013 at the Museum of Art & History (MOAH) as a forum for the art community to draw and paint from a live model. The practice of life drawing provides a greater challenge in comparison to drawing from photographs. With the presence of a live model, often draped in multi-colored fabric and placed under focused lighting, artists are offered a variety of shapes and forms from which to sharpen their observation skills and articulate details of the human figure. Open Studio takes place in the Hernando and Fran Marroquin Family Classroom and is led by local artist Renato de Guia. The success of Open Studio is found in Mr. de Guia’s accessible approach to cultivating the existing skill set of his students. He provides a safe place for experimentation as he looks for clues in the students’ work, then suggests practicing techniques in rendering, line quality and creating the illusion of volume. His students range in age from 17 to 74 with beginning to advanced skills. Novice students have the opportunity to observe and practice the techniques of some of the Antelope Valley’s finest and most established artists, providing a place for camaraderie and artistic growth among like-minded citizens. Born in Manila, Philippines, Mr. de Guia’s early interest in drawing was ignited by the comic books that his aunt would send him as a child. He was taken by the style and technique of the comic artists, particularly Neil Adams, whose articulation of human anatomy was accurate and dynamic due to his training in life drawing. As a youngster, Mr. de Guia was constantly drawing, even during hospitalizations for a rare bone disease. He went on to earn his B.S. in Architecture from Kent State University, Ohio, another opportunity pursued to refine and utilize his drawing skills, all of which he applies to his teaching. Mr. de Guia has been practicing architecture and teaching art in the Antelope Valley for many years and was deeply involved with Allied Arts at Cedar Center. He is equally passionate about volunteering and contributing to the expansion of MOAH’s adult art education program. Renato de Guia’s artwork is accompanied by student work from Ulrica Bell, Betty Ermey, Geoffrey E. Levitt, Joanne McCubrey, Albert Miller, Julie Schuder, Nay Schuder and Adeline Wysong. Christoff Van Kooning: Invertibles Through his multi-dimensional sculpture series, Invertibles, Christoff Van Kooning sees his work as a poem of materials and a language of shapes and forms. With the use of many different materials, from stone and metal to Styrofoam and gold leaf, Van Kooning explores the space between positive and negative shapes and the visual interplay that is created when a series of shapes are cut from a large volume of material. His Invertibles are puzzle-like and playful compositions of interlocking and movable geometric shapes that reveal both the original source material and the skill of the sculptor. His objective is to release a lively series of shapes from the original material through a process of discovery. Although his work preserves the hard edges of his materials, his positive and negative shapes recall the minimalist sculptures of Henry Moore (1898 –1986) and Barbara Hepworth (1903 – 1975). Christoff Van Kooning lives and works in Los Angeles. He studied classical sculpting methods in Italy before returning to the United States to work with David Hickey at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He continues to focus on minimalist art and testing the power of juxtaposing line and mass/volume in his work. His awareness of the qualities of repetition, duality and symmetry are easily recognizable in this installation of new work. Frostig Swenson Salamon Legacy Kooning View or Download the Frostig Collection Exhibition Catalog by clicking on the cover image or here.

Jillian Stebbins < Back A Pine Tree Doesn’t Know English By Jillian Stebbins It feels like a windy night. One of the nights that make you forget about the people behind the names. It feels like dancing, the kind of dancing that little kids do when they can’t keep their hands quiet. What I know about that is about as much as I know about trains, or stamps, or how to tell a human being I have my own little feelings. One of them is so nice. My feeling, that is. It feels like rain in my limbs and those dumb sparklers from the 4th of July are spinning like there was a brick wall older than my mother right behind. But it’s so calm. I think maybe it’ll be okay if I can be there. I don’t always know if I’m sick or just thirsty. It was dark, for a while, and I was sick. I’ll look back and think it was silly turning green. But it was silly, and that was the point. I was sick and then I was calm and then I could be green. Reminds me of a strawberry I met once. I’d like to be a strawberry, but I’m scared I’ll lose the green. Or get sick again. But I think maybe I’m just meant to be small forever because I get sick cyclically. That’s okay, I think. I used to be terrified of staying small, but I think that maybe I’d like it. If I could just figure out when to take a drink, I think I could live in a forest somewhere and learn to live without the music. There are three of us. I think I like being in threes. Or at least I have been a lot. It’s been at least three groups of three now, and so many stories. Maybe it’s okay to not know anything. I don’t know myself, or at least I didn’t for a long time. So stuck in being one of three. As within, so without. I have always been able to do a backbend, but I don’t think it’s innate knowledge at all because I don’t have it. Once, I met someone whose words made me think of orange and pink on a canvas and places I’ll never get to see. I wasn’t a zombie at the time. I heard a story, several years ago now, and I can’t distinguish it from any other story. It had a beginning, a middle, and an end. Maybe with enough luck it’ll end up like raspberry or mistletoe. With cashmere there too. It feels like a story or two, like alliteration and the ghosts of Christmas past. I believe in dragons. I believe in dragons because if they didn’t exist, where would hummingbirds come from? I don’t like mushrooms. Every time I think about roots, I think about mushrooms. I wish they weren’t so pretty sometimes, but they make me flinch when I look at them. I miss my grandmother. I think my grandmother knew dragons, because she talked to hummingbirds and she talked to herbs like they knew the recipe for chocolate soda. I’m going to miss my grandmother. I don’t think angels come in visions, I think maybe we all just need to take a breath and let the angels alone. It feels like racing the sunrise. It feels like blurry summer nights and one time I married a boy in Paris. It feels like wanting to uproot myself just to see Vienna sooner. It’s all over, like no matter how cold the world is, there’s always a molecule that left me and tried to make the world a little warmer, and the world heard me and gave me summer. I’ve never seen a summer without Jim. At least in the winter, it doesn’t feel like splinters. It feels like once I knew a group of lemons and a lemon boy and I could always count on red. Yeah, I still have the windy nights, but prayers sound different when the hummingbirds don’t come say hi anymore. Previous Next

< Back Jim Richard Featured Structure Artist Through a myriad of paintings, drawings, and collages, contemporary artist Jim Richard construes interior and exterior depictions of Modern architecture. Since the late 1970s, Richard has created a profusion of modernist interiors loaded with art and kitsch objects that settle into multi-hued graphic fields. Richard manipulates interior aesthetics from the 1960s and 70s warping the display of art influenced by the modernist idea of a utopian society. The adornment of objects within Richard’s collages is strategically curated from a selection of 1960s and 70s home decor magazines and furniture advertisements. Visually, his work fuses elements of photorealism, hard-edge painting, and collage, resulting in a 2-D abstract style imbued with an array of rich colors and patterns. Richard’s body of work has a persistent focus on the recontextualization of Modernist art and design. Absent occupants, the clash of decorative objects and imagery against the busy patterns of Jim Richard’s collages evoke the presence of an art collector. The claustrophobic slew of sleek furniture and ornamental ephemera is Richard’s satirical yet humorous commentary on the ambitious goals of Modernism and Modernist art. At this point in time, many artists were striving for pure originality, seeking to advance their art practice beyond acceptable forms of "high art.” By structuring the composition of his collages around curated art-objects Richard’s architectural frameworks act and feel like a mausoleum putting outdated aesthetics and politics to rest. Originally born in Port Arthur, Texas, Richard currently lives and works in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is represented by the Arthur Roger Gallery in New Orleans and Inman Gallery in Houston. Richard received his Bachelor of Science from Lamar State College of Technology and his Master of Fine Art from the University of Colorado. Richard's work has been exhibited in New York at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Drawing Center, Oliver Kamm Gallery, and Jeff Bailey Gallery. For several years, he taught painting, served as a Graduate Coordinator, and was in charge of the Visiting Artists Program at the University of New Orleans served as Graduate Coordinator. Richard's paintings can be found in the collections of the Guggenheim Museum, The New Orleans Museum of Art, and the Houston Museum of Fine Art. Previous Next

Up Activation Various Artists The Lancaster Museum of Art and History is opening its latest exhibition season, Activation , a series of solo exhibitions from artists Mark Steven Greenfield, April Bey, Paul Stephen Benjamin, Carla Jay Harris, and Keith Collins. The opening reception for Activation will be held on Saturday, January 22, 2022 from 4 to 6 p.m., in tandem with What Would You Say? Activist Graphics from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the second exhibition in its Local Access series. The exhibitions will remain on view until April 16, 2022. April Bey The Opulent Blerd Raised in The Bahamas, Los Angeles-based artist April Bey provides reflective and social critique of American and Bahamian cultures. Her artworks are often weaponized with concepts of Afrofuturism, a genre of speculative fiction regarding the future and significance of peoples and cultures within the African Diaspora. Pop culture, racial construct, and feminism are some of the many topics that Bey discusses. Research, material, and processes are crucial contributors to Bey’s work, she often travels on a national and international scale, allowing her to gather experience, material, and cultural information directly from the source. Using an Afrofuturist lens, Bey repurposes familiar brands, phrases, and portraits to create what she refers to as her “rule-based” and “process based” artworks. Across graphic design, installations, paintings, prints, collages, videos, and handmade artist books, she creates visual commentary on the world’s rapidly increasing set of issues. Bey considers her work a physical representation of “power dynamics destroyed and radically alien views.” Her utilization of witty humor, along with her close attention to texture and color are visually striking, purposefully drawing viewers to decipher the message before them. April Bey is both a practicing contemporary artist and art educator. She is currently a tenured professor at Glendale College and is well known for teaching a controversial course, Pretty Hurts, at the Art Center College of Design. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing in 2009 from Ball State University and her Master of Fine Arts in Painting in 2014 at California State University, Northridge in Los Angeles. Bey is in the permanent collection of the California African American Museum, the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, and Baha Mar in Nassau, Bahamas. She has exhibited internationally in biennials NE7, NE8, and NE9 in The Bahamas, and in Italy, Spain, and Ghana. Carla Jay Harris A Season in the Wilderness Born in Indiana while her father was stationed at Fort Benjamin, Carla Jay Harris spent most of her childhood in flux, moving every two or three years in and out of the United States. “My nomadic childhood is what, in part, has attracted me to photography. The camera is a way for me to attach permanence,” she says. “A Season in the Wilderness” is the most recent development of “Celestial Bodies”, an ongoing series by Harris, which stems from her experiences as a ‘third-culture kid’ — feeling othered by race, culture, language, and nationality. “Throughout history, mythology has served humankind’s need to understand its surroundings... Through myth-making, I have been able to tap into a sense of belonging that extends from a connection to universal cultural concerns and narratives,” Harris says. Carla Jay Harris trained as a photographer and cinematographer, working in the commercial art field in New York for nearly ten years before committing herself to a contemporary art practice in 2011. In 2013, she moved to Southern California to earn her Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of California, Los Angeles, and has stayed in the area ever since. Over the last decade, Carla Jay Harris’ artistic practice has evolved to include installation, collage, and drawing in addition to photographic methods. Harris has exhibited extensively in California and on the East Coast, participating in solo, two-person, and group exhibitions. She has received numerous awards, grants, residencies, and fellowships, and her work can be found in the collections of the California African American Museum in Los Angeles, the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, and the Lancaster Museum of Art and History, among others. Keith Collins Ali Keith Collins is an American visual artist and designer who specializes in large-scale tapestries, performance and luxury automotive floor mats, oil paintings, and industrial assemblage sculptures. His work has adorned the walls of galleries and homes alike, blending the domestic and the commercial space. Inspired by instances of quilt making with his aunt, Collins has been interested in the re-use of material. “I went down to several carpet stores, jumped into their bins and risked the coffee grounds and stray dogs to go for the prize of these colored pieces.” This idea of recycling has morphed from utilizing discarded carpet scraps to intentionally using fragments of carpets to create his famous tapestries today. While self-taught, Collins has proved to be a master of his craft. The quality and caliber of his work is second to none and has garnered universal respect. His status however, did not come into fruition overnight. Recalling his early days, Collins notes the time where he sold his car, a 1958 Porsche, during his freshman year in college in order to purchase the remaining supply of carpet scraps from a closing store. Although teased by his friends, Keith stuck to the decision that would eventually fuel his career. Mark Steven Greenfield A Survey, 2001-2021 Mark Steven Greenfield is a native Angeleno. Born into a military family, he spent his early years in Taiwan and Germany, returning to Los Angeles at the age of 10. Entering into an American adolescence after being abroad gave Greenfield a unique look at the negative stereotyping of African Americans like himself, sparking his interest in the complexities of the Black experience both historically and in contemporary society. Greenfield’s creative process is based on research that delves into topics of Black genealogy, heritage, and cultural representation. His artwork is anchored in aspects of Black history that have been buried, forgotten, or omitted. Mark Steven Greenfield studied at what is now the Otis College of Art and Design and went on to receive a Bachelor’s degree in Education from California State University, Long Beach in 1973. To support his artistic practice, he held various positions as a visual display artist, park director, graphic design instructor, and police sketch artist before returning to school to earn his Master of Fine Arts degree in painting and drawing from California State University, Los Angeles in 1987. Since then, Greenfield has been a significant figure in the Los Angeles arts scene, serving as arts administrator for the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, director of the Watts Towers Arts Center and the Towers of Simon Rodia, director of the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, and as a board member for the Downtown Arts Development Association, the Korean Museum, and The Armory Center for the Arts — to name a few. Greenfield has been teaching painting and design courses at Los Angeles City College since 1997. Paul Stephen Benjamin Oh Say “If the color black had a sound, what would it be?” This is one of many questions that conceptual artist Paul Stephen Benjamin explores in his multidisciplinary art practice. Through sights, sounds, and material, Benjamin explores the color black as a way to introduce and discuss different social perspectives. While visually understated, his work serves as an introduction to a broader and multifaceted conversation about race and identity. Benjamin states, “I work hard to make sure my work is not in your face,” noting that this aesthetic subtlety lends itself to a more critical and analytical approach to viewing his work. Oh Say (Remix) is a video installation that presents a compilation of various African American artists and their performances of The Star-Spangled Banner Featured artists include Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, and Beyoncé, with performances that range from music festivals to sporting events. The performers are arranged in conjunction with imagery of the American flag and the faces of American presidents. The work blends past and present histories, bringing these timelines into the context of today. Oh Say (Remix) examines the complexities and nuances of racial identity in America, allowing Paul Stephen Benjamin’s depiction of blackness to present itself introspectively. There is a visual and sonic power that is carried throughout the duration of Oh Say (Remix) . Each scene is dense with visual information, rendered in black and white. The auditory factor of the work grounds its narrative through the repetition and rhythmic pacing of each audio track. Each track builds and builds until it creates a haunting symphony of sound. These elements act as a compression of time and space, allowing multiple histories to speak simultaneously. Sergio Hernandez Chicano Time Capsule, Nelli Quitoani For forty years, the late Chicano artist and cartoonist Sergio Hernandez has echoed important cultural topics and socio-political issues of the Chicano community. Early on, Hernandez began working for Con Safos Magazine , the first Chicano literary magazine. Upon being recruited by Con Safos member and artist Tony Gomez, Hernandez began to align his practice with themes related to the emerging Chicano Movement or “El Movimiento”. The Chicano Movement was and still is geared toward advocating for “social and political empowerment through “chicanismo”, the idea of taking pride in one’s Mexican-American heritage, or cultural nationalism.” Across painting, cartoons, and murals, Hernandez satires socio-political happenings and provides an intimate perspective of the Chicano community. Influenced by Chicano culture, iconography, and artists alike, Hernandez’s work became a beacon calling for action and attention to the harsh realities faced by the Chicano community. The artworks in this exhibition are a small yet compelling collection of Hernandez’s contribution to the Chicano art and power movements. The panel of comic strips on display belong to the Arnie and Porfi comic series. Struggling with the duality of his identity as a Mexican- American, Hernandez often battled with his internal desire to adhere to conservative family-views and his newly found chicanismo. Hernandez expressed this conflict through satire and comedic relief through the Arnie and Porfi comics, visualizing the dystopian world. In other words, through art and humor Hernandez exposes the political oddities and disproportionate disparity experienced by Mexican- Americans. Sergio Hernandez (1948-2021) was born and raised in Los Angeles, California in the South Central area known as the Florence/Firestone District. He received his Bachelor Degree in Chicano Studies from San Fernando Valley State College, which is now known as the California State University, Northridge. January 22 - April 16, 2022 Back to list