Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center hosts Ed/ge Exhibition
By NANCY CARPENTER
This story is a part of our Arts section. For more arts stories as well as our arts calendars, visit www.stunewslaguna.com/arts.
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Courtesy of LBCAC
“Ed/ge” will be on display at LBCAC until May 28
One of many striking details that defines Laguna Beach: Collaboration is evident and critical, and that is why so many remarkable things happen. Case in point, the Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center (LBCAC), in conjunction with the Laguna Ocean Foundation, opened their gallery space at 235 Forest Ave. to showcase nine artists whose works, in various media, embrace the environment. More specific, the ocean, whether looking at it, on it, in it, or under it.
Laguna Beach has seven-and-one-half miles of land yielding to ocean and all of this minus harbors with docks luring yachts. The LBCAC show is aptly called Ed/ge, curated by Tom Lamb, councilmember for LBCAC, and Ed Almanza, member of the board of directors for the Foundation. Their goal is to raise environmental awareness and stewardship.
A long flight of stairs brought me to the LBCAC second-floor gallery. Strictly speaking, no longer at sea level, but with all that art, I felt connected to the ocean. I joined a lively crowd, many sipping wine, for an evening opportunity to meet both Lamb and Almanza and, wonderfully, the artists. Surrounded by their efforts, whether photography or prints or paint, each would have an opportunity to discuss their work. Unlike acting or music, art (along with writing, I might point out) is a solitary business.
Almanza was one of the first people I encountered, and he was eager to talk about the exhibition which runs through May 28. He and Lamb have a mid-century-old, decades-old friendship underscored by their common interest in the environment, and most specifically the ocean. In reading through usefully placed literature, I learned that only 5.3% of the world’s oceans are protected. Almanza explained that Laguna Beach is one of the Marine Protected Areas in Southern California, mostly under the designation of State Marine Reserve (SMR). Further south, right around Treasure Island and Aliso Creek, the designation changes to State Marine Conservation Area. What is common to both is they are “no take” areas that prohibit fishing or harvesting of any and all marine resources. An artist’s dream.
In some ways, coastlines are the most vulnerable to change. To quote Almanza, “Living on the edge means living in real time, forever co-evolving with the world. It is the fault-line where the world is born.”
Almanza feels keenly his responsibilities to the foundation. He is hoping the exhibition will raise awareness and people will get involved as volunteers and docents. With the summer season upon us, it brings with it many visitors. The need for volunteers is keenly felt.
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Courtesy of LBCAC
Oriana Poindexter’s “Giant Kelp Study 64,” cyanotype on paper, 22” x 30”
Oriana Poindexter was the first to share her story. A freediver, she uses both traditional and alternative photo-based processes. While not strictly time-lapsed photography, she has come to appreciate revisiting places, continuing to photograph them and thus over time capture their history and interaction with their environment.
She confessed, “I decided I better become a marine scientist so I know what I am looking at.” She took her personal challenge seriously, earning an M.A.S. in Marine Biodiversity & Conservation from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and a B.A. in Visual Arts from Princeton University. Smithsonian Magazine, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have published her photos. She has also exhibited at the Oceanside Museum of Art, the Center for Fine Art Photography and the San Diego Public Library. She blends art and science for exhibitions at Southern California’s leading aquariums. She concluded by saying, “Artists and scientists come from the same place – observation.”
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Courtesy of LBCAC
Casey Parlette’s “Finders Keepers” Hermit Crab, wood and bronze, 12” x 14”
Next Lamb introduced Casey Parlette. The program bio placed him as a native of Southern California, giving him access to explore both hills and the ocean while growing up. After a degree in anthropology from UCLA, he became a commercial diver, then a career ocean lifeguard, squeezing in eight months exploring the Amazon. It’s impossible to visit the Amazon and be short on inspiration.
Parlette is comfortable with a variety of materials that make their way into three-dimensional art. Look closely at the grain in wood. He wants you to see what he sees: A resemblance to patterns, colors, or textures found throughout nature. Maybe an octopus emerges from wood burls; a tiger shark crouches in the wood’s stripes.
In contrast, metal appears sterile until hammered and blacksmithed and the sheets and rods yield themselves to new textures and shapes. “The intertidal zone is the harshest of environments animals can live in,” he said in summary. “I like the weird, underrepresented species.”
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Courtesy of LBCAC
Fredric Hope’s “Floating Series Sketch – Drift,” oil on Arches Huile paper on panel, 11” x 9” x 0.25”
Fredric Hope immediately confessed to being an introvert and perhaps claiming that allowed him to generously share his approach and philosophy. He too is a local who, as a kid, turned caves into pirate hideaways. But he was always drawn to the ocean. “I wanted to be in, on and under the water,” he said. Indeed, he clambered across rocks so he could dive for lobster and abalone. His bio further explains his contributions: “In many ways, this series represents kind of a self-portrait, reaching deeper into my personal imagery and experiences.”
He has moved from direct observation to memory, and memory yields more personal work. He’s a little harsh with himself when he confesses, this approach also leads to more “failed attempts.” I would rephrase that as “mistakes that need correction.” Either viewpoint, the result is a body of work, mostly oil on panel, many part of a Tidal Zone Series that insists you pay attention to the incredible detail at the juncture of land and ocean.
The LBCAC gallery has this wonderful community space. People were free to leave, but no one did.
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Courtesy of LBCAC
Sean Hunter Brown’s “Serene,” fine art paper acrylic facemount, 40” x 70”
Next. Would Sean Hunter Brown have found his center in surfing if he hadn’t grown up here? Moot point because he is local and the surf did draw him in. He brings all that surfing – 30 years’ worth – and requisite wave watching to his art. Many of his photographs capture the power of those waves that when considering how rapidly they change and disappear, are quite fragile. “When there is no surf,” he said, “I photograph what is under the water.” One of those efforts is titled Serene which is an explosion of color. Take a moment with it and the serenity is evident.
His interests are not limited to the ocean. He is a consulting arborist focused on protecting California’s native oak trees.
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Courtesy of LBCAC
Patsee Ober’s “Cleptopus,” (So named because it stole Ober’s camera) Two-Spot Octopus (These blue spots act as false eyes and help confuse predators). Laguna’s Marine Protected Area (MPA) dye-sublimation photograph on metal, 6” x 8”
Patsee Ober prefers not to digitally manipulate her photographs, revealing, as she puts it, “what my eye discovers and my camera captures.” Interestingly, in doing so she blurs the lines between illusion and reality. Her work takes patience, letting the inhabitants of this world unfold and react to the tides, currents and light. Letting them tell their story.
As she explained it: “I spent time under the docks while growing up on Lido Isle in Newport Beach.” She migrated south to Laguna Beach and has been here ever since. She is an open-water swimmer as well as a 100-ton Yacht Master who has sailed the world. It occurs to me how much our roots, where we grew up, informs the choices we make, the professional and recreational paths we take. Are there many marine biologists from the Great Plains states?
No surprise that Ober is an advocate of the ocean. She sees this as both a personal and universal imperative. As an educator, she often tells children, “This is your world. You’ve got to take care of it.”
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Courtesy of https://jasonhanckart.com
Jason Hanck’s “Montage Cove,” Laguna’s Marine Protected Area (MPA) oil on canvas, 20” x 20”
Jason Hanck spent his childhood in Corona del Mar tidepools, those ever-changing and fragile samples of the vast underwater life just a little further out in the ocean, previews of what’s to come. Later, he followed his childhood love for artistic expression with a degree in Fine Art from UC Berkeley. Not yet satisfied, he apprenticed for four years under painter John Eagle. And yes, he surfed. All of this is evident in his work. I found myself reinspecting his textured painting, Montage Cove, and each time, made new discoveries.
There’s no improving on his artist statement in the program. “Every day, I’m awe struck by the gift of the world we are all so fortunate to be a part of. I’ve always felt it was my calling to share the way life is presented to me.”
He confessed, “If I can paint and make a life, I’m hooked.”
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Courtesy of LBCAC
Sharon Williams’ “Anemone #Ten,” 2024, Laguna Beach underwater photography 26” x 39”
Sharon Williams was not able to attend, but she is definitely important to the exhibition and this story. Hers was a circuitous path to photography by way of advertising and editorial photography as a wardrobe stylist. I had to look that job description up. She combined her passion for landscapes with road trips with her son, and as she puts it, “…documenting him in some of the most beautiful places in the West.”
Eventually she started working closer to home. “What I found was it’s often challenging to see what’s familiar in a new way.”
Sea anemones clustered in tidepools during low tide became her tiny muses. This led to a prestigious Communications Arts award for photography, and from there, a presenter in 2024 Festival of Arts. While photography stills a moment, nonetheless the delicate and psychedelic anemones appeared to be in motion.
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Courtesy of LBCAC
Stillman Sawyer’s “Cloud Burst,” 1980/1989, intertidal zone, North Laguna B&W gelatin silver photograph 24” x 16”
Ed/ge paid homage to Stillman Sawyer, 1927 – 2007. Professionally he was an engineer for Union Oil. But fortunate for us, his passion for nature – specifically mountains, beaches and sand dunes – brought him to photography. As noted in the program: “He was deeply involved in all aspects of the photographic process, from black and white film development and printing to toning and matting, using only archival materials and techniques to produce his images.”
Courtesy of LBCAC
Tom Lamb’s “Migration,” 2022, KELP SERIES, photogram, photographically, printed on Arches BFK, 23.5” x 23.5”
Which brings us back to Tom Lamb who is not only active in LBCAC and the de facto curator of their gallery but also represented in the show. Without him and Almanza, none of this would have happened.
He was first drawn to photography, most notably aerial, which he later took a step further to create photograms that have a screen or block print sensibility. One of them – Migration – depicts kelp, but it also looks like birds in flight.
We spent a few minutes in front of his series of aerial pieces – a shoreline as seen from 200 to 400 feet, although more often he works in the 600 to 2,000 range. I had to ask how he achieved this perspective. Primarily from a helicopter, he answered.
As busy as Lamb is with his art plus board or council memberships (in addition to LBCAC, the Festival of Arts and Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, among others) he also runs an active, working studio in Laguna Beach that collaborates with nonprofits around the world in championing art and environmental awareness. He is president of the Phen-dey Foundation for Tibetan Culture and the Arts.
The gallery is open during all LBCAC programs, during First Thursdays Art Walk and by special appointment. It is worth the climb up those stairs to find yourself at sea level, and below it.
Courtesy of LBCAC
Tom Lamb’s “Edge Three,” 2000 by Tom Lamb, aerial color photograph printed on Arches BFK 14” x 21”
For information about the Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center and schedule of events, click here.
Interested in getting involved in our very special environment? To explore volunteer, educational forums and other opportunities and events with the Laguna Ocean Foundation, click here.
This story is a part of our Arts section. For more arts stories as well as our arts calendars, visit www.stunewslaguna.com/arts.
