THE NEW VANGUARD II – Sour Harvest

Artist Talks with Brooks Salzwedel and Seth Armstrong Sunday December 16th at Lancaster MOAH

Join The New Vanguard II featured artists Brooks Salzwedel and Seth Armstrong this weekend, Sunday, December 16th for talks with these at Lancaster MOAH.

Brooks Salzwedel’s artist talk will take place at 1 pm followed by Seth Armstrong’s talk at 2 pm. The New Vanguard II will be on view until December 30th and this is a great opportunity to view the exhibition and learn about the works of these talented artists.

Brooks Salzwedel

Born in Long Beach, Salzwedel creates translucent landscapes that shift in and out of solid and ethereal states. Like fluid worlds suspended in a cycle of perpetual haunting, the imagery often feels loosely real but undeniably hallucinated and invoked. His works play with the depiction of these unhinged natural and hyperbolically unnatural physical states, combining sparse terrains with fictional mountain ranges and shadowy, diaphanous atmospheres. His mixed-media drawing-based works are created using a combination of graphite, mylar and resin, tape, colored pencil, and ink.

Seth Armstrong

Los Angeles-based painter Seth Armstrong creates paintings that seize time, near-cinematic moments of suspended or implied action. Some offer vast views, and others contracted intimacy, moving freely in and out of public and private spaces to create ambiguous vantage points. Known for paintings that self-consciously capture the act of looking – whether as a voyeur in trespass or a participant in the landscape – Armstrong captures the simultaneity of the city as a place of endless, contingent narratives, jarring interruptions, and suspenseful pauses.

In Lil’ Baja’s Last Ride, Armstrong combines his patented interest in the grittier recesses of urban life with his penchant for humor and a good inside joke, dedicating the exhibition’s title to his recently retired car, the unsuspecting casualty of a freak fire in the MOAH’s parking lot.

Exhibition on view October 20 through December 30 at:
Lancaster Museum of Art and History
665 W. Lancaster Blvd.
Lancaster, California 93534
www.LancasterMOAH.org

Interview with Craig ‘Skibs’ Barker for his Installation “Suzy Is A Surf Rocker” at The New Vanguard II

Can you explain your creative approach when developing your installation/solo for the New Vanguard II?

In developing my first solo museum installation, “Suzy Is A Surf Rocker”, I wanted to be very thoughtful and focused with my imagery. I began simply drawing sketches and writing down ideas, as well as collecting objects and ephemera to fill the large amount of wall space I was given. When I had narrowed down the ideas into a definitive, cohesive direction began the process of time management in my studio preparing all of the paintings, objects, photographs, and support pieces. Once I had begun the installation process at the museum the fun really started, but strategic editing had to also take place during the process. I always bring way more of everything than I need for a large-scale installation, and this was no exception! Finally, building what I had envisioned in my mind for months on the MOAH walls was an incredible…and at times exhausting…experience.

In 100 years from now, what do you think will be said about the New Contemporary art movement?

100 years from now I believe what will be said about our movement will be that it has been the most all-encompassing, inclusive movement in history. This movement has the most diverse styles, disciplines, genders, ethnicities, geography, exhibition venues…the list of inclusion goes on and on! The New Contemporary Movement is the first to have grown up during the internet age…giving an instant platform to artists of all kinds worldwide. This kind of exposure has shone a bright light on artists and styles that would have never seen a glimmer in the past gallery/museum pantheon. This exhibition is a shining example of that fact!

What does it mean to you as an artist to have your work be shown at a museum?

Having my work…and our movement…shown at museums is the realization that all of the hard work of the artists, gallerists, collectors, and fans is being accepted at a whole other level now. Although, it still means almost as much to me to show my work in a local gallery, coffee house, warehouse pop-up, or anywhere that supports current and up-and-coming artists. The wide variety of venues available to new artists has had a huge impact on why The New Contemporary Movement has grown to museum levels.

If your body of work had a signature cocktail or drink, what would it be made of and called?

Oh man!!! I suppose it would have to be some kind of kitschy tropical drink with lots of rum and fruit juice…garnished with pineapple chunks, flowers and a tiny umbrella…and would probably be called “skibs kula’i wai”…loosely translated as “skibs knockout juice”…HA!

Favorite part about Lancaster, or something you learned about Lancaster during your time there working on your install for the New Vanguard II?

Oh, this one is easy…favorite for sure was the people! Not just the people who work in the museum…who were all amazing. The people in the shops, restaurants, bars…everyone was extremely nice and excited to see and meet us while we were out and about in their city.

There are a lot of amazing artists in the exhibition, and this question may be difficult to answer, but which artists in this show would you want to collaborate with on or steal an artsy secret/technique from that you want to use too?

Geez, come on!!!! I guess if I had to narrow down that insane list of talent…I would want to do a collab with Chris Konecki. I think his 3D, mixed media, sculptures, and ambiguously vintage imagery would mix well with my similar aesthetic. I would want to steal some of Jaune’s stenciling techniques…the details and accuracy he creates with that hard edge technique are incredible

The New Vanguard II & Pow! Wow! Antelope Valley Full Recap

Above is a full recap of Pow! Wow! Antelope Valley and The New Vanguard II from leaders in Lancaster and the artists themselves, discussing the power of art and its ability to inspire and excite a community.

“…instead of a regulator, you become a facilitator” – Mark Bozigan, Lancaster City Manager

POW! WOW! Antelope Valley Recap Pt. 1

Pow! Wow! Antelope Valley was a weeklong mural festival that took place in Lancaster, California from October 14^th through the 21^st. International and local muralist adorned the walls of the city with fresh new art that engaged and excited the Antelope Valley community. Below is part one of a three-part visual recap showing the progress and development of the murals over the course of Pow! Wow!.

Make sure to explore the city and check out all the murals and street art that is on view in conjunction with The New Vanguard II showing at the Lancaster Museum of Art and History now through December 30^th.

More Photos After The Jump

Continue reading POW! WOW! Antelope Valley Recap Pt. 1

A Behind The Scenes Look at The New Vanguard II Installations

A life-size giraffe, a shower of color, a cityscape covered in mischievous workmen – the installations inside The New Vanguard II at the Lancaster MOAH are impermanent masterpieces that must be seen in person. The installation artists worked tirelessly throughout the week leading up to the opening on October 19th, their finished pieces highlighting the museum’s expansive space and allow opportunities to view art at new heights. The site-specific installations were developed by Andrew Hem, Dan Witz, HOTTEA, Isaac Cordal, Jaune, Laurence Vallieres, and Spenser Little.

Visit our full recap of the exhibition and opening here.

All available work from the exhibition can be viewed on our website.

The New Vanguard II is open now through December 30th at the Lancaster Museum of Art and History.