The Harvey Milk Photo Center presents the exhibition Lana Z Caplan : (for seven generations), a book of the same title is published by Kehrer Verlag.
The Oceano Dunes just south of San Luis Obispo in California are known in part for their majestic natural formations and miles of windswept rolling sand. These are the iconic dunes of Edward Weston’s breathtaking photographs; of Cecil B. DeMille’s recently excavated and restored sphinxes from his 1923 Ten Commandments movie set; of the Dunites—a bohemian group of artists who squatted in dune shacks in the 1920’s-40’s—and of the nearly lost Northern Chumash tribe who holds a vast and rich cultural history going back over 10,000 years.
Today, the Oceano Dunes have been transformed into a place that is far from the utopian American West landscape that was embraced by the Dunites. Rather, it is now an active and wildly popular State Vehicular Recreation Area filled with hikers and campers, RV encampments, and members of the local community. California State Parks issues 1,500 day passes and 600 nightly camping permits to the riders for their off-road, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) that they rip up and down the dunes wreaking havoc on the environment. Vehicles grinding sand under their wheels everyday creates dust blowing off the dunes, generating days of the worst air quality in the nation for the nearby residents. The dust contains particulate matter small enough to lodge in the lungs, causing asthma and other medical conditions.
Photographer Lana Z Caplan, who hails from Brooklyn, now calls this region home herself, and for seven years she has engaged with tribal leaders, land use and city pollution boards, historians, the ATV community, and other vested people to learn, photograph, and create a visual conversation about the complexities of this unique part of the country.
Oceano (for seven generations)
Photographs and Videos by Lana Z Caplan
Curated by Melissa Castro Keesor
Harvey Milk Photo Center
50 Scott Street, San Francisco, CA 94117
https://www.harveymilkphotocenter.org/
Opening Reception: Saturday, January 25, 2 – 5 pm
Exhibition on View: January 25 – March 1, 2025
Book Signing and Q & A: Saturday, February 22, 2 pm
Lana Z Caplan in conversation with Ron Beinner
Lana Z Caplan : Oceano (for seven generations)
Published by Kehrer Verlag
Texts by Lana Z Caplan, Matthew Goldman, Hanna Rose Shell, and Mona Olivas Tucker
Hardcover | 30 x 24 cm | 128 pages | $55
ISBN: 978-3-96900-123-3
www.kehrerverlag.com
