Billboard with mountains

Jennifer Bolande, Visible Distance #8, 2017, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by the Ralph M. Parsons Fund, © Jennifer Bolande, digital image courtesy of the artist

Groovin’ to Golden Hour at CSUN

April 20, 2022
Eve Schillo, Associate Curator, Wallis Annenberg Photography Department

The exhibition Golden Hour: California Photography from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is part of LACMA's Local Access, a three-year program supported by the Art Bridges Initiative that brings works from LACMA’s collection to places you can access without the (usual) commute. So far, Golden Hour has travelled to the backyards of folks in Lancaster (at the Museum of Art and History), Riverside (Riverside Art Museum), and East L.A. (Vincent Price Art Museum). Currently, it is on view at the California State University, Northridge, Art Galleries through May 14.


Rick Bolton, Marjiuana Dispensary, 1314 South Lorena Street, Boyle Heights, 2015, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by the Ralph M. Parsons Fund, © Rick Bolton, digital image courtesy of the artist

Golden Hour brings together over 70 artists and three photography collectives to offer an aesthetic approach to understanding the complexities and histories of California. Pairing masters of photography with experimental practitioners in a range of lens-based media that includes photo sculpture, vernacular, and video work, the exhibition blurs the boundaries of the tropes that formed the state's identity. With works ranging from the early 1900s to the present day, Golden Hour is neither a didactic history of California nor an inclusive tale of photographic history, but rather, artists’ impressions of the state of being in, and being influenced by, California.


Rafael Cardenas, Dos De Asada, 2010, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by the Ralph M. Parsons Fund, © Rafael Cardenas, digital image courtesy of the artist

In celebration of this final presentation at CSUN, the university's Art Galleries and local-favorite public radio station the Independent 88.5 FM (which is based on campus) have organized a free, open-air concert adjacent to the galleries for the exhibition's closing reception on Saturday, April 23, from 1–6 pm. Find a campus map and directions here.

We invite everyone—especially you Licorice Pizza fans—to come explore the Valley, hear local bands, and engage with artists whose images of California are anything but usual.


Siri Kaur, Christopher, 2014, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by LENS: Photography Council, 2017, © Siri Kaur, digital image courtesy the artist

Golden Hour is on view at the California State University, Northridge, Art Galleries through May 14, 2022. You can find more info on the closing reception on Saturday, April 23, here.