Moorpark College Gallery
Wildfire LA -- Stephen Callis and Patrick Marcoux
January 28-February 14, 2010
Reception and Discussion: Thursday, January 28, 6-8 p.m.
Wildfire (Fern Canyon, Griffith Park, May 2007), Enamel on epoxy, 7” x 24” x 17”, 2007. 802 Acres, Stephen Callis, 2007.
The Griffith Park fire of May 2007 consumed approximately a fifth of the park, including popular attractions such as Dante’s View, Captain’s Roost, and the bird sanctuary. This spectacle was a vivid reminder of our relationship to the natural world and our shared responsibilities towards it. Natural phenomena such as this can be both mesmerizing and ecologically regenerative, but they are also destructive to landscapes much needed by urban dwellers and local flora and fauna alike. It is difficult to walk through the scorched park without feeling a shared responsibility, realizing how one dropped cigarette can reveal the fragility of the natural world. Callis and Marcoux, without knowledge of each other’s work, created artworks directly related to this specific fire and these issues.
Callis’ interest in the Griffith Park fire relates to the tension between accepting the burned landscape as part of a natural and healthy ecological cycle and the terrible destruction of a vital recreational resource to the city. Marcoux’s sculptures of a particular half-charred hill in Griffith Park and the matches that started the Esperanza fire west of Palm Springs reflect upon the abyssal intensity and energy that is unleashed with increasing regularity across the landscape of Southern California. His sculpture and drawings pay homage to the people and places involved.
Stephen Callis teaches photography at Moorpark College and lives in Los Angeles. He has photographed the LA River from its source to its mouth off and on since 1992. His latest project involving the river documents the historic bridges through downtown Los Angeles. Callis is also known for producing and publishing two bilingual (English/Spanish) fotonovelas involving Los Angeles labor unions. Patrick Marcoux lives and works in Los Angeles. He holds an MFA from California Institute of the Arts. Marcoux is currently in development on a podcast series of critical discussions on art and theory.
Location: Moorpark College Gallery, 7075 Campus Road, Moorpark, CA 93021. Gallery is located in the Administration Bldg (A). Gallery Hours Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. and Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Directions: I-5 N. CA-118 W exit. Exit 19B for Collins Dr. Turn right at Collins Dr. Turn right at Campus Park Dr. Continue on Campus Rd. Park in P-Lot A. Machine for parking is in the lot (ONE DAY $1.00). |
