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LANCASTER - The beauty, history and resources of the Mojave Desert will be celebrated in paintings, photography and other media in "Made in the Mojave." The show opens with a public reception from 4 to 6 p.m. May 13 at the Lancaster Museum of Art and History, 645 West Lancaster Blvd. As part of the "Made in the Mojave" exhibit, the museum and the Lancaster Museum and Public Art Foundation will host the fifth annual Mother's Day Tea from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 13. Guests at the tea will have the opportunity to preview the exhibition with artist Samantha Fields, and watch a special "Wearable Art" fashion show, all while indulging in a champagne reception featuring a multi-course, catered menu, with fresh produce from local farms. Tickets for the Mother's Day Tea can be purchased at www.lmpaf.org for $45. "Made in the Mojave" focuses on the desert landscape interpreted through a variety of media. Featured solo exhibits include artists Samantha Fields; Kim Stringfellow; Carol Es; Catherine Ruane; Aline Mare; Ron Pinkerton; Nicolas Shake; and site-specific installations by Randi Hokett and local artist Marthe Aponte. In addition to the professional artists' presentations, the museum will show the work of R. Rex Parris High School students' Wasteland project on the rooftop terrace. The museum's Green Initiative Wasteland project was led by Los Angeles artist Nicolas Shake, who worked in conjunction with R. Rex Parris High School art instructor Kris Holladay and her students. The Made in the Mojave exhibition will be on display until July 30. The show is currently being installed, so the museum is closed until May 13. The museum is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday. Admission is free. For more details, call (661) 723-6250 or visit www.lancastermoah.org.

Artist David Hockney is both the guiding spirit and social connector behind a smartly engaging exhibition, British Invasion, now on view at MOAH: The Lancaster Museum of Art and History. Featuring the works of 25 British-born artists, the exhibition feels like the work of a cross-cultural autonomous collective. What the artists have in common is simply that they all came to California, perhaps for reasons similar to David Hockney’s. “I was drawn towards California, which I didn’t know,” Hockney once told an interviewer, “because I sensed the place would excite me. No doubt it had a lot to do with sex.” Speaking of sex, America’s embrace of the original British Invasion of the mid-1960s had quite a bit to do with that as well... The British Invasion, a cultural phenomenon that brought British rock across the Atlantic to a generation of music-hungry American teenagers, came to a climax on February 9th, 1964. That evening at 8PM an estimated 73 million Americans gathered in front of their mostly black and white TV sets to watch The Beatlesperform five songs. The group’s sheer magnetism—a blend of Continental sex appeal, youthful insouciance and lyric musicality—was potent enough to make America’s patriarchs nervous. The job Elvis had started by shaking his hips—of teaching American teenagers how to shake loose another layer of Puritanical reserve—was being finished by British musicians. “A lot of people’s fathers had wanted to turn us off,” Paul Mc Cartney later wrote of the Sullivan performance: “They told their kids, ‘Don’t be fooled, they’re wearing wigs.’” Despite their father’s warnings, young Americans went bonkers over The Beatles—soon followed by The Rolling Stones, Herman’s Hermits, The Animalsand The Who—who were the vanguard of a host of “London Swingers” that helped integrate countercultural lifestyles and points of view into the American mainstream. Most Americans were understandably grateful. Continue Reading...

Gerald Clarke Jr., Indian artist, runs about 65 head of cattle on his family's Cahuilla Reservation land near Anza in Riverside County. It's a balancing act, he says, especially during drought years, trying to match the size of the herd with the ability of the land to support it. In these dry years, 65 seems to be a sustainable number. Clarke, 45, recently invested in a hay rake and baler and put up 1,000 bales this summer. There aren't many SoCal Indians left so committed to raising cattle, but Clarke's father was a cattleman, so he's bent on keeping up the family tradition. As a result, Clarke is equally comfortable with a paintbrush in hand, daubing acrylics on canvas, or wielding a pair of wire cutters restringing a barb wire fence. He's a working man. He plants orchards, splits cords of wood to heat his home, holds an annual round-up to brand his cattle, teaches art at Idyllwild Arts Academy, creates award-winning works of art. In 2007, he won the prestigious Eiteljorg Fellowship for Native American Fine Art. He's an Indian cowboy with art on his mind. Gerald Clarke Jr. Ask him what his preferred medium is -- painting, drawing, sculpting, performance art (he's done it all) -- he'll say "the kitchen sink." He's a wild card, always experimenting, always switching it up. Once he made a series of road signs for the Cahuilla Reservation emblazoned with words from the Cahuilla language, words like Nesun e' elquish ("I am sad"), Nextaxmuqa ("I am singing"), Kimul Hakushwe ("The door is open"), Ivawen ("Be strong.") He placed them near his ranch road and at random roadside spots on the reservation. It was his off-beat version of an artsy statement, but he was hoping the signs might lend a little cultural pride to the place. The fate of road signs on a reservation is dicey. Many of them get shot up, a handy target for target practice, and many of Clarke's artwork signs weren't spared. Except one. It was stolen, dug up by its concrete base and trucked off. Clarke was secretly pleased that a local coveted his sign. Even better, he put the word out that he'd like it back, and it anonymously reappeared. That is a reservation rarity. These days, Clarke Jr. lives in his late father's reservation home, with his wife of more than 20 years, Stacy, and their daughters. Emily and Lily. Emily likes to read, and to write. Next year she's hoping to attend the Idyllwild Art Academy where Clarke teaches art and is chairman of the arts department. Learn More

Lancaster, CA. September 14, 2016 — Lancaster’s Museum of Art and History (MOAH) and MOAH:Cedar are pleased to announce their newest exhibition, Chie Hitotsuyama: To Hear Your Footsteps, opening on Sunday, October 2 with a public reception from 4 to 6 p.m. This multi-dimensional exhibition features 19 sculptures throughout the Museum’s galleries. Hitotsuyama, MOAH:CEDAR’s second artist-in-residence, will launch a workshop series on Saturday, October 8 with Chie Hitotsuyama: An Introduction. Additional workshops will be held through November 5. To Hear Your Footsteps will be on exhibit from October 2, 2016 to January 7, 2017 at MOAH:Cedar. To Hear Your Footsteps is the first American exhibition of the sculptural work of renowned Japanese artist Chie Hitotsuyama, created using recycled newspaper shaped into remarkable life-size animals and marine life. Born in Shizuoka, Japan, Hitotsuyama’s career began as an illustrator; however, childhood memories of her family’s historic paper factory led her to find joy in utilizing unwanted paper as her medium. She explains, “My grandfather owned and operated a paper mill. So, it was quite natural that I came to work with paper as my material of choice. For my work, I primarily use old discarded newspapers - ones that have become unwanted and no longer have a purpose to the original owner. I then make paper strings out of the old newspapers, just as the old wooden thawing machines did in my grandfather's factory, but instead, this time I use my hands.” Learn More During her residency, Hitotsuyama will create a new series focusing on the native wildlife of Southern California. This new sculptural work is being made possible in large part by the generous support of the Los Angeles Times, which has donated over 1000 pounds of newsprint for the series. MOAH:Cedar, located at 44857 Cedar Avenue, is open from 2 to 8 p.m., Thursday through Sunday. For more information, visit www.lancastermoah.org or call (661) 723-6250.

The Lancaster Museum of Art and History, in collaboration with Los Angeles’ Thinkspace Gallery opened The New Vanguard which featured works by over 55 artists from the New Contemporary Movement. The exhibition presented one of the largest cross-sections of artists working within the movement’s diverse vernaculars, ever shown within a museological context in California to date. Click Here to take a look at all the pieces with a series of images from Birdman and keep your eyes peeled on StreetArtNews for more updates.

LANCASTER - A splash of color was given to Lancaster Boulevard this week as street artists from as far as Australia, local artists and even R. Rex Parris High School students gathered to vivify blank walls. A dozen murals on the exteriors of buildings along Lancaster Boulevard and nearby streets will be finished during a festival from 4 to 8 p.m. today. "It's a cool little town; it really is," said Texas resident Heath Speakman, who owns SprATX, a group that helps connect street artists with projects, and who was involved in organizing the mural effort. "I haven't been in a small town since I was a kid. Everywhere else has been big city and then I see this and it reminds me of growing up. It's really nice; people are super cool." The goal is to not only beautify buildings, but to build connections and to help youngsters who may be using graffiti as an outlet to use their skills in a more positive way, Speakman said. "One of the oldest graffiti writers out of Austin ... he will tell all the kids that come up to him, 'Man, don't go write on people's buildings' and stuff like that. That's not what's it's about. Find a company or a business that will say 'Hey, here's a wall, you can do this wall in a nice way,'" he said. "We just collect groups of people that are like-minded that want to do it in a manner that helps them in their art career. It's a big portfolio for a lot of these artists," he said. That's why local and international artists are participating. "Internationals inspire the locals to keep it in that mind-set that 'you are doing this to further your career,' don't do it just to deface," he said. Among the international artists is David Hooke, whose professional name is MEGGS. He flew in from Australia and on Friday was painting an antelope skull and poppies on a wall north of Lancaster Boulevard. Hooke said the painting signified the depletion of resources as well as the antelope for which the Antelope Valley was named. "The antelope it was named after, was actually hunted to almost the point of extinction. That kind of inspired me to paint something where it's along the lines of ... an environmentalist undertone, nature references, nature versus man," he said. The mural painting is named "POW! WOW! Antelope Valley," which comes from an annual Hawaiian street art festival called POW! WOW! - whose name is inspired by comic book art - and which has prompted similar art festivals around the world. "I visited POW! WOW! in Hawaii at the original site in Kaka' ako and it has a similar vibe to what we are trying to do here in Lancaster and that's educate young people through art and music," Lancaster Museum of Art and History curator Andi Campognone said Friday. "I think one of the important things that we have to remember about this is this is a community event. One hundred percent of the expense on this project came from the community." Approximately $12,000 was spent on the murals through the Lancaster Museum and Public Art Foundation, which was a bargain compared to what could normally have been spent, she said. But local businesses and residents have played an important part in making the event possible, Campognone said. "In addition to sponsoring a wall by actually paying for expenses, they have been feeding our artists for free," she said. "There was paint that ran out so someone took the artist to Home Depot and bought all the paint. We were surprised because we thought we raised enough money to cover the projects, which we did. The BLVD Association paid our artists a stipend. Destination Lancaster took care of all of their hotel rooms, so we thought 'OK we have that all covered,' but then the unforeseen pops up and the community just stepped up like that." Lancaster City Manager Mark Bozigian said he commended everyone who came together to make the event possible and was happy to see people express their creativity. "Andi has done an amazing job, her and her team. It's a team effort, they have done an amazing job elevating the arts in the Antelope Valley," Bozigian said. R. Rex Parris High School teacher and artist Kris Holladay brought students to help paint a mural of Joshua trees on a wall of the Aven's furniture store in the 44800 block of 10th Street West. "We got a crew to scrub the wall with just the right soap. Then we had a parent volunteer spray the entire wall with a sky blue, which helped us prep," Holladay said. "When it was time to do the mural, it's like every day, the Lord provided little miracles along the way. The student's parent sprayed the wall, he didn't charge us any money, just a gift." Santa Ana resident Julio Hernandez said he and friends Crisselle Mendiola and Megan Khounani - who have volunteered at the POW! WOW! Long Beach event - came to Lancaster to help artists with anything they might need. "The community is very different obviously in downtown Long Beach. It's really laid back here but at the same time everyone is doing something. You see people active, it's an active community. It's very tranquil," Hernandez said. Today's festival - called "POW! WOW! Block Party!" - at Lancaster Boulevard and Ehrlich (Elm) Avenue will include performances by local bands Vultures of Vinyl, How Scandinavian, DROSS and Devil McCoy, as well as a car show of American-made vehicles and refreshments from Zodiac Grill Food Truck and BEX Beer Garden. At the same time, the Lancaster Museum of Art and History's newest show, called "Made in America" opens with a public reception from 4 to 8 p.m. today. It runs through Oct. 30. The exhibit emphasizes common themes of American innovation and culture, including baseball and sports memorabilia, quilting, sweet treats, Native American tradition, engineering and popular media in installations, photography, painting and mixed media. To share your opinion on this article or any other article, write a letter to the editor and email it to editor@avpress.com or mail it to Letters to Editor, PO Box 4050, Palmdale CA 93590-4050. clopez@avpress.com

LANCASTER - A dozen murals are going up on buildings around downtown, created by nine professional "street" artists and three local artists, one of them an R. Rex Parris High School teacher assisted by local students. Lancaster Museum of Art and History staffers coordinated the murals with a Hawaii-based artists network called POW! WOW! - whose name is inspired by comic book art. The painting will culminate with a festival from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, when the public can watch the artists finish their work. Museum staffers said the festival is intended to be the first of many events designed to inspire artistic growth and inspiration among Valley residents. A city spokeswoman on Wednesday was unable to provide a cost estimate for the murals, which are all within walking distance of the Museum of Art and History at 665 West Lancaster Blvd. Saturday's festival - called "POW! WOW! Block Party!" - at Lancaster Boulevard and Ehrlich (Elm) Avenue will include performances by local bands Vultures of Vinyl, How Scandinavian, DROSS and Devil McCoy, as well as a car show of American-made vehicles and refreshments from Zodiac Grill Food Truck and BEX Beer Garden. On Friday, a VIP party will including a private preview of "Made in America," the museum's new show, and the opportunity to mingle with POW! WOW! Antelope Valley's artists. Friday's party runs from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Museum of Art and History and costs $45 a person. The "street" artists, who MOAH officials said are internationally known, are Amandalynn, Andrew Schoultz, Bumblebeelovesyou, David Flores, Lady Echo, Mando Marie, Mark Dean Veca, MEGGS and Yoskay Yamamoto. Murals are also being created by three local artists: R. Rex Parris High School teacher Kris Holladay, Julius Eastman and Michael Jones. Local students will help Holladay complete her mural. "Made in America" opens with a public reception from 4 to 8 p.m. Aug. 13 at the museum and runs through Oct. 30. This exhibit emphasizes common themes of American innovation and culture, including baseball and sports memorabilia, quilting, sweet treats, Native American tradition, engineering and popular media in installations, photography, painting and mixed media by artists Daniel Albrigo, Alex Yanes, Jae Yong Kim and Gerald Clarke. In addition, the museum will display "The New Vanguard," featuring works by more than 55 artists from the New Contemporary Movement. To share your opinion on this article or any other article, write a letter to the editor and email it to editor@avpress.com or mail it to Letters to Editor, PO Box 4050, Palmdale, CA 93590-4050.

Rising up from the Challenger disaster in Florida 30 years ago is a monument in the heart of California aerospace country. The 20 ft. rocket will never leave earth. It has a permanent home in the desert. Its job is to commemorate its namesake, the Space Shuttle Challenger. “We wanted something that told the story for this neighborhood and tells what is important about what we do in this community and specifically, with the Shuttle being built here [in the Antelope Valley]," sais Andi Campognone, Curator of the Lancaster Museum of Art & History. Though Challenger successfully completed previous missions, its service to America’s space program ended on January 28, 1986. Just 73 seconds into the mission, a booster failure caused an explosion resulting in the loss of seven astronauts. Now, the monument, “Astral Challenger” will permanently honor that flight. Shana Mabari is the artist. Read the Rest By Barbara Sharp Photo Credit: Eric Staudenmeir

The Lancaster Museum of Art and History, in collaboration with Los Angeles’ Thinkspace Gallery, is pleased to present The New Vanguard, featuring works by over 55 artists from the New Contemporary Movement. The exhibition will present one of the largest cross-sections of artists working within the movement’s diverse vernaculars, ever shown within a museological context in California to date. An ambitious compilation, The New Vanguard will bring together some of the most relevant and dynamic artists currently practicing from all over the world. The exhibition, opening August 13, will take place in tandem with this year's installment of POW! WOW! Antelope Valley. Read the rest.

Produced by Eric Minh Swenson, these two videos encompass an overview of the entire Artist as Subject exhibition, as well as a spotlight video on his own show in the exhibition, Art Stars. Art Stars covers over 160 images of art world luminaries that Eric Minh Swenson has taken over the years. The largest issue of Coagula ever in its 24 year history. Artists, writers, curators, dealers, publicists, museum directors. Could be the largest art world survey taken in a short amount of time. Eric Minh Swenson grew up in San Antonio, Texas 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. Eric 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. The videos can be found at https://vimeo.com/f64productions

Through the Antelope Valley Art Outpost, the Regarding Us project developed, giving insight to the arts and cultural environment in the Antelope Valley. Written by our MOAH:CEDAR curator, Robert Benitez, read the article featured on KCET's Artbound. "It is a vital time for the greater Antelope Valley. New economic opportunities stemming from the region’s flourishing technology and environmental sustainability sectors are coinciding with noticeable cultural changes. To support these shifts, MOAH is spearheading the development of a five-year Cultural Master Plan, including an arts-in-public-places policy. Not only are artists an essential part of our community, but they will bring a vital perspective and critical lens to the planning process. Together, we will grow with, from and through these cultural interactions, and our communities will directly reflect that growth. The "Regarding Us Chain Letter Project" and the Cultural Master Plan are tied to our unique identity, engaging people from our community and allowing them to experience the local richness of the arts firsthand." Read the rest here.

Read up on Rebecca Campbell's work which will be exhbited at MOAH as part of our summer showcase, Artist As Subject that opens May 7. "Rebecca Campbell at just 44 is already established as one of the most intriguing and accomplished artists of her generation and a brightly burning star of the Los Angeles painting firmament. What is particularly fascinating about her popularity (among curators, critics, collectors, and most especially other painters) is that she arrived at it while practicing an almost counter-revolutionary dedication to craftsmanship, technique, and facility in the historically conventional genre of representational, narrative, and [gasp] deeply personal figurative painting, at a time when academic thought heavily favored conceptual, abstract modes of art making. But if the region-wide Rebecca Campbell exhibition juggernaut that has been her 2016 so far is any indication, it may finally be time to pronounce that particular mountain conquered." Read the rest.